Dexter Subject Directory

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1) Dexter Cattle Organisations: Part Two 

NORTH AMERICAN DEXTER ORGANISATION WEBSITES

(written December 2004, some minor revisions November 2005)

American Dexter Cattle Association (ADCA) (www.dextercattle.org) is a comprehensive site containing a wide range of information. When there was a major division within the ranks of the ADCA at the July 2004 AGM, leading to the establishment of the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America, the ADCA website was revised. Chuck Daggett is the webmaster. It currently consists of seven main sections:

* 2005 Annual Meeting - includes a registration form for AGM attendance.

* Breed Description - three brief paragraphs on the history of Dexters, including the estimation that there are currently about 15,000 head worldwide, with 6,000 in the USA; then two paragraphs on the triple-purpose character of Dexters (milk, draft and beef);then the ADCA breed guidelines for bulls and cows.

* Dexter Web Sites - a list of 41 ADCA members with websites plus links to the websites of six national organisations and three ADCA Regional Groups (Region 4 The Mountains and Plains Dexter Breeders, www.region4dexters.homestead.com/index~ns4.html; Region 13 Iowa, Manitoba, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin http://daggettc.com/dist13.htm; and the Missouri Dexter Breeders Association www.jcn.net/mdba which is the largest and most informative, with ten pages on topics such as the history of the Dexter, meat and milk production, breeding and reproduction, feeding requirements, cattle for sale, and links to members' websites.

* Members - a very long list of all the ADCA members and their addresses.

* Sales - ADCA members can list cattle for sale here for a small fee. Few have yet done so.

* AI Bulls - ADCA members can post a photo and information about AI bulls. Six are presently listed.

* General Info - contains a useful "Buyers Check list", information on ADCA registration, and comments on Inbreeding, Linebreeding and Crossbreeding.

Also on this website is an On-line Pedigree service (recording, in February 2005, 9864 cows and 3640 bulls, 10541 of them black in colour with 250 red Dexters) which is available to anyone. This is an extremely valuable resource to those interested in North American Dexters and their pedigrees. As at November 2005, there were over 400 photos of Dexters included in this on-line pedigree.

[Note: The ADCA was formed in 1957, though an American Dexter and Kerry Club was organised in 1911.]

Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America (PDCA) (www.purebreddextercattle.org) is the newest main organisation website, created in July 2004 just after the PDCA was formed. It is still being developed by webmaster Rebecca Perez. The organisation seeks to be represented in all of North America, having the Mexican, US and Canadian flags on its logo. The website is a colourful one, and currently has six main sections:

* Purebred Dexters - this page is central to the site as it has links to a range of articles about Dexters, to PDCA documents, Dexter cattle links, Dexter newsgroups, and general cattle and livestock links. Among the articles is one using photos to show the three Dexter colours; another contains photos of some AI bulls; there is also a short history of Dexters and an account of their triple-purpose character containing a link to an excellent article by Kathleen Smith on Dexter oxen (with an outstanding photo of a pair of draft Dexters). 

* Regional Information - a list of regions and directors.

* Membership Directory - following the convention established by the ADCA, the PDCA lists its members on its website.

* News & Events

* Classifieds

* PDCA Family Album - a page for photos which has just been constructed.

NOTE: PDCA launched its on-line pedigree in November 2005.

Canadian Dexter Cattle Association (CDCA) (www.dextercattle.ca) is a website that started out as a relatively simple one with a link to an invaluable public online herdbook and pedigree information service. It then underwent  significant revision and extension and became one of the largest of the organisation websites. It went off-line in February 2005 (though an older CDCA website was still available at http://members.allstream.net/~jbush). I then noticed in November 2005 that www.dextercattle.ca had reappeared in a simpler format than before. It has 7 main sections:

* Home page - a brief welcome and introduction to Dexters, a "thrifty and hearty breed of cattle".

* History - contains three paragraphs about the characteristics of the breed (but nothing on its history!).

* Directors - a list of CDCA officers.

* CLRC - the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation records the registrations of all Dexters in Canada on behalf of the CDCA and provides a publicly-accessible on-line herd book (see further comments below).

* Cattle for Sale.

* AI Bulls - a list of sources for Dexter semen.

* Associations - contact details, off-line and on-line, for five other Dexter cattle organisations.

* Contact - how to contact the CDCA.

The on-line herd book made available through the Canadian Livestock Records Corporation (CLRC) is a valuable resource to Dexter breeders of all countries. When you get to the Corporation's homepage (www.clrc.ca/index.shtml), click on the "Members and Pedigrees" button in the left-hand margin, then "Dexter" in the Table of "Currently Participating Breed Associations". You can search for the names of studs, animals or breeders. Included in the records are the animal’s birth date and colour, along with its sire and dam. You can click on both the sire and dam’s names to find their parents, and so on for a number of generations. This is a particularly valuable resource as these pedigrees include many US and UK animals. Information is also provided on the progeny of both cows and bulls, so you can work forwards as well as backwards. You can find details on the individual CDCA members and the names and pedigrees of the Dexters that they own. Statistics are also provided on the number of Canadian registrations each year, broken down by Province - you can see these by going to the home page, clicking the "Associations" button in the left-hand margin, then click on "Cattle" in the Table of "Association Information", click on "Dexter" in the Table of "Cattle Associations", finally click on "Annual Statistics". The CLRC website is well set up and easy to use, and the records are regularly up-dated.

[Note: The CDCA was formed in1986 and its first herd book was published in 1988. Prior to that, Canadian Dexter breeders were usually members of the ADCA, and some still belong to that organisation and/or the PDCA]

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If your Dexter organisation’s website is not listed above and you want it to be included, or if you want to to correct any inaccuracies or to up-date this information, please Email the Web Master