CONTACTS
LINKS
CONTACTS
LINKS
The email address for the Dexter Cattle Society Office
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The herd book is now available on line for everyone to use
If you would like us to add your email address to details on
the cattle for sale page please email the webmaster
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On line Herd Book
Manage your herd, Registrations &Transfers
Registration £10.00 Transfer £8.00
Please do not forget to enclose AI or Bull Service Certificate if you do not own the sire.
An electronic Herd Book which gives you access to extended pedigrees, progeny lists and member details direct from the Breed Society to your own computer via the Internet.
What it does ....
Provides the Breed Society member with the tool to access the Breed Society data, in an interactive electronic format.
Bluetongue Update
As you are all aware, the risk of bluetongue to our herds has dramatically increased over the last year. With the development of a vaccine which will be available to farms in the South East in mid-May we should hopefully be able to prevent an epidemic. However, the vaccine is not going to be here for a few weeks so here is some advice on how to protect your herd in the meantime…
The risk of bluetongue to our cattle will increase as the days start to get warmer. Warmer temperatures result in an increase in both the midge population and the amount of virus that the midges carry, thus increasing the risk of bluetongue virus transmission to livestock.
The current veterinary advice is that you should apply an ectoparasite pour-on to your cattle that is effective at killing midges (e.g. Butox Swish). You should apply the pour-on as soon as the weather gets warmer or when you start to notice more flies about. For effective midge control you will need to apply the pour-on every 3-4 weeks which will help to protect your cows until they are fully protected by the vaccine. It is worth noting that cattle require 2 bluetongue vaccinations 3-4 weeks apart (unlike sheep who only need one dose) and that the vaccination does not become effective until 3 weeks after the second dose. This means that even if you get your first vaccinations completed mid-May, the cows will not be protected until 6-7 weeks later i.e. the end of June. You therefore want to ensure that your cows are protected with the ectoparasite pour-on until the end of June.
If you have not already done so, you should order your bluetongue vaccine from your vets immediately, as they should be placing their orders for the vaccine now. The bluetongue vaccine only comes in 50 dose bottles (although you will be able to buy 20 dose bottles in the future) and must be kept in the fridge and used within 8 hours of opening; so make sure you are organised and can vaccinate all the stock on your farm on the same day (sheep and cattle together if you keep both).
For more advice on protecting your cattle from bluetongue virus you should contact your own vet.
Caroline Farrant BSc
For further information please check with the DEFRA website
Defra News . . . . . . . . .
Bovine TB:Pre-movement testing in England
The decision has been made by Defra to extend the pre-movement testing rules to include cattle from a younger age. From March 2007 all cattle over the age of 42 days moving out of a 1 or 2 yearly tested herd will have to have a negative TB Test within 60 days prior to movement. The pre-movement tests are to be paid for by the owner. Routine bTB surveillance tests will qualify if the animals are moved within 60 days after that test.
OCDS . . . . . planning ahead
(Older Cattle Disposal Scheme)
At present OCDS provides compensation for cattle born before 1st August 1996, this was introduced to replace the Over Thirty Months Scheme, if you want to claim compensation for any older cattle this must be done before December 2008. After that time the Fallen Stock Scheme will be made to dispose of cattle born before 1st August 1996 and there will be no payment.
Genetics Project - Progress Report
Veronica Schofield
Yvonne Froehlich and I attended the presentation given to the RBST Conservation Committee by Prof.Mike Bruford on 11th January at Stoneleigh
The presentation summarised the first two years work. Five groups of Dexters, based on pedigree information have been sampled:
Dexter Old
Dexter General
Dexter Woodmagic
Dexter Aberdeen Angus introgressed
Dexter Mixed Introgression
The DNA profiling identifies three main population groups, one of which is the Woodmagic herd. The other two groups are made up of a mixture of the other four pedigree groups. In work using three different methods to analyse suspected admixture of other breeds, the “Old Dexter” animals are looked at as a potential “parent” of the main Dexter population, along with Kerry, Aberdeen Angus and Red Poll. All three methods showed the Old Dexter group to be by far the greatest contributor to the main Dexter population.
This confirms the fact that the Dexter is very definitely a distinct breed, with no significant influence from any of the other breeds used in the project so far. However the work is currently being expanded to include Devon, American Milking Devon, Welsh Black, Shorthorn, mainland Jersey and Guernsey, together with some more Dexter samples including some from some old American lines.
The project has also established that there is a high level of genetic variation within the breed in comparison with levels of variability within other British and European breeds. There could be a number of reasons for this – the fact that the Dexter is still a dual-purpose breed, with a range of conformation types could be significant. This is a healthy situation and reduces the risks of problems from inbreeding. Even the Woodmagic herd, which as a closed herd has less variation than the population as a whole, does not display a particularly high coefficient of inbreeding
Work is also being carried out on the origin of the dun coat colour. This particular mutation has not been found in any other breed to date.
Future work could involve tying up the allelic frequencies found in the breed with physical traits – colour and conformation for example.
Benefits of the Project
· registrations queries (eg herds believed to be pure but whose registrations have lapsed)
· promoting Dexter beef as a distinct brand,
· investigation of animals which do not conform to the breed standard (establishing if they are Dexter mutations or if another breed is involved).
· Prevention of future accidental introgression from other breeds
· There may be some future benefit in having a genetic template for the breed as far as the new government initiative on conserving traditional breeds is concerned
The 23 microsatellite markers being used in the project include 15 out of the 16 markers used for the Society’s DNA profiles. It would help to expand the pool of samples and provide a wider analysis of the breed, if some of the profiles could be used for the work at Cardiff. Council have agreed this in principal, providing permission is obtained from the owners of the animals concerned.
Any breeders who have had animals DNA’d and would be happy for the profiles to be used as part of the project, please contact Yvonne at the office, or, if you would like to discuss this further please give me a ring on 016974 73426 (evenings or weekends) or e-mail me on vschofield@btinternet.com
news update.....news update.....news update.....
EGM
24th May 2008
Jersey Pavillion, Stoneleigh Park, Warks.
Details will be sent to members
Dexter's have been excluded from the Native Cattle list
Council were extremely concerned to be advised that the Dexter breed has been excluded from the list of Native Breeds.
The Eire Government has claimed the Dexter as an Irish breed along with the Kerry, Irish Draught and the Galway, the consequences of this ruling effect the native breed qualification. This has implications for those in agri-environmental schemes, conservation grazing and anyone wishing to enter Dexter’s in a native breed show class.
A new committee has now been appointed and the Dexter Breed will be represented on 6th March 2008
Bill Butcher
26th July 1925 - 25th March 2008
Members who know him will be deeply saddened to learn of the recent death of one of the society’s longest standing members, Mr Bill Butcher.
Bill was a hugely colourful character who had lead a life so fascinating that if it had been part of a film script, it would have been rejected as being too outlandish. Born in South Africa, Bill was educated at one of Britain’s top boarding schools (which he hated) and by the time he was a teenager found himself serving in the tank regiment from D-Day through to the end of the second world war. Always artistic in nature, Bill then decided to enter the world of show business, a career that took in Spanish dancing in Spain and running a club in Soho!
By the time he joined the Dexter Society in 1975 Bill was running a horse riding centre in Devon, his prefix ‘Crowsnest’ coming from the name of the farm. Like myself, Bill was fascinated by Dexter cattle and their pedigrees, and was soon immersing himself in the stock. Although he initially had a variety of types, like a few other breeders at that time he soon came to favourite the longer legged or ‘non-short’ animal, as he correctly considered these as the best option for eradicating the bulldog gene. This lead him to acquiring one of my fathers cows, Canwell Daisy, who was a small non short animal of considerable milk pedigree and as well as becoming his favourite, future herd policy was based around her.
Bill had strong connections with New Zealand and this lead to an ambition to introduce the breed into that country and Australia, neither of whom had any Dexter Stock at that time. In order to achieve this Bill persuaded both governments to accept the import of Dexter semen and created the Overseas Bull Fund for this purpose. It should be stated that although my father (who was Society Secretary at the time) organised the paperwork, the entire cost of exporting the semen was paid for by Bill himself, and he can therefore be seen as being almost wholly responsible for the establishment of the breed in those countries. Bill was very careful to choose non-bulldog producing bulls for this task, and this lead to the initial selection of his own Bookhams Robert (who he had acquired as a calf with his mother Canwell Daisy), followed by Mrs Schofield’s Shootlands Ben Macdhui a few years later.
Despite his success in this area, sadly his own attempts to immigrate to New Zealand were rejected due to his age, and this lead to him returning to Britain and acquiring a farm in Wales. Although he stayed a few years, the remoteness of the property became too much and he was eventually forced to disperse the stock and sell up. Here again his generosity came to the fore, as, when hearing that my parents and I were looking to purchase Dexters again, he gifted us a cow and heifer calf from his own stock.
Although semi-retired in recent years, he continued to keep himself busy and for a time was both a DJ and a Punch and Judy man! He maintained his interest in Dexters and was much travelled, visiting herds and owners in Australia and New Zealand, and also South Africa, taking a qualified judges course in that country. His knowledge of the breed was immense, and I doubt if any other British member had a greater knowledge of overseas stock than he did. The tremendous success of the Dexter in Australasia is a tribute to him, as it is debateable whether this would have occurred without his own massive contribution. It is sad therefore that in recent years his knowledge and experience was almost complete overlooked by the British Society, particularly as I know he was a little hurt by this, and it is unfortunate that some form of recognition was not granted to him.
Bill was at times outspoken and did not always suffer fools gladly, but he was nevertheless tremendously loyal to his friends, of whom he could count many from all over the world. I am sure they will all join with me in sending commiserations to his family. I myself knew him since I was a young boy and I and my family will miss him greatly.
Rob Key