Archive of News about Additions and Revisions to Dex-Info

FEBRUARY 2007

22 Feb 07 - Dex-Info's second birthday today - still going strong and still consulted by Internet users wanting to know more about the Dexter breed

OCTOBER 2006

5 October 2006 - I am presenting a Seminar tomorrow at University on the range of teaching aids I use in my lectures on social research methods. I will mention how my lecture dealing with Internet research refers to my research on "Dexters on the Internet" which resulted in the establishment of this website.

JUNE 2006

Have exhausted my current stock of research papers on Dexters; please feel free to send me anything you have that could be added to this site to be made available to people interested in the Dexter breed

MARCH 2006

11 March -Have been very busy recently with the start of a new teaching term so have added little over the past month; added a 1953 article by Young on "Population Dynamics of Dexter Breed"

21 March - It was with great sadness that I received the news that Bev McCulloch, a contributor of Original Articles to this website, died this afternoon after a period of illness. Those who knew her, her passion for rare livestock breeds, and her well-researched writing will share a keen sense of loss with me.

FEBRUARY 2006

1 February - Summary added of a 1992 book chapter on blood group analysis of Dexters and Kerries showing that the two are separate breeds

4 February - New article by Carol Davidson on history of Dexters in Canada

5 February - Some information from 1990 on Dexters as a rare breed in Canada added

6 February - New summary of a 1997 article dealing with Dexters - "A Contemporary Geography of Indigenous Irish Livestock"

19 February - Added extracts on Dexters from Frank Garner's "The Cattle of Britain" (1944)

22 February - Dex-Info's birthday today, first going on-line exactly a year ago

JANUARY 2006

3 January - Just last week, a discussion in the "Homesteading Today" forum about Dexters and milk production included a posting by "Rogo" with a photo showing her riding her Dexter steer (complete with saddle!) - scroll 2/3 down the page to find it

20 January - New historical entry on the Dexter and Kerry breeds (1892)

18 January - Added an entry on Dexters from Valerie Porter's 1987 book, "Practical Rare Breeds"
 

12 January - New additions of extracts from a 1912 book on stock-breeding which refers to Dexters, and a section on the Kerries and Dexters from an 1886 book by Pringle
 

9 January - Added two extracts from Alderson's 1978 book on rare breeds, one on congenital defects and size in Dexters, the other on genetic value and vulnerability in the Dexter, the Kerry & Irish Moyled

5 January - Added Summaries of two papers that were presented to the First Dexter Congress - Sheppy on Genetic Research on Dexters 1970-1998 and Alderson on Dexter Cattle: Origin and Relationships
 

1 January - New Original Article added, Crew's 1923 scientific article on the bulldog calf in Dexters
 

DECEMBER 2005

31 December - Summary of an entry on the Dexter breed from Porter's (1991) Handbook on Cattle Breeds
 

29 December - New original article by Wilson (1918) on the Kerry and Dexter breed, with a lot of detailed historical information; and extracts from the same book on Dexter beef
 

26 December - A surprising Christmas conversation I had about Dexter history
 

21 December - Christmas greetings to all from a warm if rather humid, at times wet, New Zealand! Latest addition is a summary of an entry on the Kerry and Dexter breeds in a book on 200 years of British livestock
 

11 December - New article summary, "The Changing Geography of Rare Livestock Breeds in Britain", has been added, along with a link to a Paper on rural smallholdings - both mention Dexters only in passing but assist an understanding of their growing popularity 

8 December - An article, "Smallfarming Landscapes, Real and Imagined" which includes a tale of a Dexter bull, originally on another website, is now in the "Original Articles" sections on this site
 

6 December - Have added a summary of a scientific paper on the dun gene in Dexters, identifying it as unique and arising from a mutation, not from recent interbreeding
 

5 December - Have added a scan of a 1994 DCS UK Bulletin article and photo about Dexters as conservation grazers

NOVEMBER 2005

30 November - I have added a new original article, a Paper given at the 2nd World Dexter Congress on "The Founder Effect: Origins, Characteristics and Future of the NZ Dexter Herd" - thanks to the author Tony Cutten for permission to include it; I have also added one more to the list of Dexter characteristics on the Home Page, Dexters as an Ancient Breed.

29 November - I have tidied up some minor errors and expanded some of the pages on the various functions of the Dexter e.g. Dexters as Show Animals which now includes two illustrative photos; I am also starting a check of all the links in the site as some are no longer live.

28 November - I'm back! Now that my teaching & marking duties are over after a busy semester, I have time to devote to this website once again. Current up-dates include information on availability of Beryl Rutherford's book. The Canadian Dexter Cattle Association has recently up-loaded its renovated website. Also, the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America has recently launched its PDCA on-line pedigree; the American Dexter Cattle Association's on-line pedigree now has over 400 photos on it - both on-line pedigrees are invaluable free-to-all resources on North American Dexters. 

OCTOBER 2005

No changes

SEPTEMBER 2005

No changes

AUGUST 2005

No changes

JULY 2005

21 July - Apologies to regular visitors to this website, as well as those who have sent me material to add. I have been unable to add new material over the past month or so - I am currently very busy with teaching and research activities at the University as well as winter stock work on my smallholding. This is likely to be the case for another 3-4 months

JUNE 2005

30 June - When on holiday, at home or abroad, you can sometimes find a Dexter breeder with accommodation - e.g., in the USA (Sweet Dream Farm Tennessee), UK (at Gaer Farm Wales, Thorford Hall Farm Kent), and New Zealand (Westminster Lodge Rotorua)

14 June - An article on John and Belle Hays' Talisman Farm and herd of Dexters on the Dexter blog- John was author of the recently reissued book "Dexter Cattle"

13 June - A little more on the British Royalty and Dexters from Whitlock's book, "Royal Farmers"

1 June - Just had a reply from Royal Archives at Windsor Castle about Queen Victoria and Prince Edward's Dexters

MAY 2005

26 May - Restructured a couple of pages that were taking too long to download; also changed some page backgrounds for same reason

24 May - Added some Dexter photos sent to me by Duncan MacIntyre, including 3 "Original Population" bulls (Ypsitty Bridegroom XXXII,  Statenboro Saprophyte & Sarum Bullrush), as well as Daren Jane & Langley End Forsythia; Check List of Photos of Dexters on this website for more

22 May - Two new articles added, one on Dexter breeders' views on how the Internet could be better used, the other on the dun gene in Dexters and its implications for "grading up" in countries like New Zealand

18 May - Dexter oxen have been used in an experimental research farm in Southern England, a replica of a Celtic Iron Age farm (of about 300 BC) 

12 May - Added the transcription of Part 5 & Part 7 of Dexter cow entries in 1890 Herdbook, completing this publication; Added some more photos, including one of Bookhams Robert

6 May - Karen & John Kohut III have developed a Taxonomy for Dexters; I have started a list of Dexter books & videos for sale and advertised on the Internet; Article on "Profiles of Dexter Internet Users" has been up-dated and revised

5 May - I am starting to compile a list of where people can buy Beryl Rutherford's new book about her "Love Affair with the Dexter" - please e-mail me to add further outlets; have added a list of Dexter photos on this web-site; also added some illustrative photos to various parts of the site, e.g. Dexters as a Rare Breed and Dexters as Environmentally-Responsible Grazers

4 May - When in Australia recently, I visited the Stonehaven Dexter stud of Chris & Ann Burns, on the Sunshine Coast near Maleny (the name of one of our 2004 calves) - thanks for the hospitality - contacted them through "The Dexter Trail"; Added more photos to article on bloodlines in UK Dexters

APRIL 2005

19 April - I'm off to Australia on holiday for 10 days so further additions to Dex-Info will be delayed until early May

18 April - An Albertan school pupil shares her farm home and Dexters in an online project about Canadian local histories; Added photos of some of the influential UK Dexters to Andrew Sheppy's article; posted photos of a bulldog calf - not for the faint-hearted!

17 April  - Publication of Beryl Rutherford's new book, "My Love Affair with the Dexter", has just been announced - see http://users.dragnet.com.au/~bindalee/dexterbook; an article on the first Dexters imported into New Zealand in 1904 has been added

16 April - Added a historic photo to the Home page - with thanks to Ted Neal for permission to use material from his 1992 Book "The Life and Times of Dexters"; Added Entries 156-185 of Dexter cow entries in 1890 Herdbook, with a photo of Red Rose (#178) from Ted Neal's book

14 April - Find out about Duke the Dexter steer, being cared for by the New Jersey (USA) Humane Society who are looking for virtual sponsors
 

13 April - I have added comments from DCS UK about Andrew Sheppy's paper on UK Dexter bloodlines
 

7 April - Added Entries 53-81 of Dexter cow entries in 1890 Herdbook

6 April - Links to the Australian "Dexter Trail" on www.dexter.com.au, and drought photos from the Stonehaven Dexter Stud (Queensland) website, have been added to Section 14 of Dexter Subject Directory

MARCH 2005

29 March - Added to "Original Articles" a listing of Entries 126-155 of Dexter cow entries in 1890 Herdbook, which includes a white Dexter.
 

28 March - Been away seeing my first grand-child, a girl - Olivia - born to my step-daughter on Good Friday; returned to correct some spelling errors ("Aicmee") in Dexter cow entries in 1890 Herdbook identified by Duncan MacIntyre - Thanks Duncan!

25 March - Added to "Original Articles" a listing of the first 24 Dexter cow entries in 1890 Kerry & Dexter Herdbook
 

24 March - fixed 3 corrupt links in Part 3 of Dexter Breeders Websites in Dexter Subject Directory
 

20 March - Added to "Original Articles" a listing of Dexter bull entries in the first volume of the Kerry & Dexter Herdbook, 1890

19 March - Many thanks to those who have provided feedback and made suggestions over the past 4 weeks; added photo of a non-short bull to discussion of Dexter as a small breed; added entry on website of German Breeders Association (BDDZ)

18 March - Made a small number of corrections and up-dates, including noting that the Canadian Dexter Cattle Assoc website appears to be unavailable

17 March - Corrected hyperlink to free translation site in Note on Translation

6 March - In response to questions raised on Dexter Discussion Boards, comments on the importance of temperament in the Woodmagic breeding programme have been added

5 March - Added Swiss Dexter Assoc website to Section 1 of Subject Directory; up-dated Note on Translation

4 March - Corrected 3rd last paragraph in Article Summary about research on chondrodysplasia gene and height of Dexters 

2 March - Began Section 14 of Dexter Subject Directory "New and Unusual" with entry on a Dexter blog.

FEBRUARY 2005

25 Feb - Some incorrect links & inaccurate statements corrected, thanks to feedback - still working on some technical issues.
 

23 Feb - Woodmagic added to "Dexter Studs".