Original Article About Dexters

A number of Dexter breeders place information or services on the Internet. All of these are Internet consumers as well and will fit into one of the six categories described in Part I of this Paper. But in addition they fall into one of four different types of Internet suppliers.

Personal Web Page Owners – Some Dexter breeders set up a web page for themselves, often on someone else’s website. Sometimes these are family or farm or stud web pages. Such pages may refer to Dexter cattle only in passing. Alternatively, they may have a paragraph of information on the Dexter breed. Some Personal Web Page owners harbour the ambition to graduate to the next level, to develop their own website.

For example, a Dexter cattle stud from Montana, GJ Farm, developed a page in 2000 on an Internet service that hosts such pages (www.angelfire.com/mt/gjfarm). Ballymoney Farmstay and Garden, near Christchurch in New Zealand, is owned by a Dexter breeder. It has a web page on the website of “Friars’ Guide To New Zealand Accommodation For The Discerning Traveller” (www.friars.co.nz/listing.php?t=F&p=bal). It is mentioned there that “The 14-hectare (35-acre) farm is home to many rare breeds of animals and birds such as white peacocks, water fowl, Dorset horn sheep, Dexter cattle, donkeys and Saddleback pigs.”

Another Dexter breeder, Ivan Allanson, set up New Zealand Lifestyle Breeds which has a small number of web pages on another site (www.weare.co.nz/nzlifestylebreeds). The aim of the service promoted by Ivan is to allow rural small holders to buy and sell a range of animals, advertise their studs, and use a Breed Consultancy service. This is an excellent way initially to get such a service onto the Internet.

Hamish Ensor is one of a few New Zealand Dexter breeders who have taken the opportunity to place a page about his stud with the New Zealand Rare Breeds Conservation Society site (www.rarebreeds.co.nz/glenaan.html).

Lesley Wickham has developed a large and interesting web page for her Cwmchwefru Farm in mid-Wales (www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~confer/farm.html - or see www.lesleywickham.co.uk). The farm is the home of the Vatch Dexter herd, with a flock of coloured sheep and other animals being run there as well. The web page helps to market “packs of home-produced meat…bagged and labelled ready for the freezer”. It also advertises Lesley’s craft gallery and stoneware pottery, and contains links to a number of rural and agricultural organisations. Photos of Dexters, sheep and craft products are provided. The page was developed three years ago and has been expanded and up-dated since then. Lesley reports that the page has been very successful. She has received lots of emails from customers and others.

Personal Website Operators – Some Dexter breeders set up for themselves a website consisting of a number of linked pages. There is a wide variety of such sites set up by Personal Website Operators. This diversity relates to the purpose of the websites, their complexity, the use of photographs and graphics, and the extent to which sites are up-dated. Sometimes these are family or farm or stud websites. They refer to Dexter cattle to varying extents – Dexters may be mentioned only in passing or they may be highlighted as the focus of the site. Some Personal Website Operators provide some basic information on the Dexter breed and perhaps two or three links to other Dexter websites, especially to a national organisation one. Some Personal Website Operators are more “passive” than others in relation to their website. It is set up and then left without modification for a long time. Others may up-date their site every year or two.

Some examples: Mike and Sue Vaughn of Rhema Farm, Kentucky USA have a set of pages about farm, family and Dexters hosted by Angelfire (www.angelfire.com/ky2/rhemafarm/farm.html). Chris and Ann Burns of Queensland, Australia, have a website for their Stonehaven Dexter stud and Kalahari Red and Boer Goats (www.stonehavenstud.com.au) - their emphasis is on their stock. Old Orchard at Stockdale Farm (www.oldorchardatstockdale.com) is a website for a 200 year old Pennsylvania USA farm that raises Haflinger horses, miniature donkeys, Jacob and Tunis sheep, and pygmy goats along with Dexters. Sally and Warren Coad from North Carolina USA have developed a website for their Freedom Farms Dexter stud which focuses on the marketing of Dexters, with stock for sale, the sale and lease of bulls, and Dexter beef. Hobbit Hill Dexter Stud’s website (www.brp.com.au) is at the more sophisticated end of the spectrum of stud websites, with a soundtrack attached.

In January 2002, Scott and Helen Miller, from Queensland in Australia, set up a website for their Kadina Downs Dexter Stud (www.dextercattle.net). It is a large informative and interesting site, with lots of photos of the animals and the family. Scott reports that he finds it especially useful when talking to people at shows or field days to give them the website address so they can see more photos of their animals and get more information on the stud. Between January and August 2002, the website received about 700 hits.

Steve Rawlings set up his “Dexter Beef” site (www.dexterbeef.co.uk) about three years ago. During the first 18 months, he made a number of minor adjustments to the site as a result of feedback he received about it. The result is another well-organised and presented site, but one aimed primarily at marketing beef, not breeding stock. Steve and his wife Janice run Cheshire Coppice, a 115 hectare farm in North Shropshire in the UK. Their small Dexter herd is expanding in the face of keen demand for their beef. The main aims of the website are to market Dexter beef and to provide potential customers with information about the production and processing of the beef. Emphasis is placed on “fresh home grown beef, produced in a traditional manner”. Customers are provided with details about the cattle breed, how the cattle are reared, and the philosophy of the farmer. A real relationship can be established between producer and consumer. Steve is very happy with the success of the site as a marketing tool. He thinks that there are about 30 to 40 visits to the site each month.

Another well-constructed website emphasising Dexter beef, also by a Rawlings family but in Australia, is that by Mark and Margaret Rawlings (www.dexterbeef.com.au), which went online in May 2005. Mark and Margaret outline their marketing strategies, a set of valuable ideas worth considering by other Dexter breeders. Andy and Sherry Kindred’s UK website (www.brambledeldexters.co.uk) is one that markets both beef and breeding stock. It is often ranked highly on search engine results, and receives 400 to 450 visits monthly. The Kindreds specialise in red Dexters. A website specialising in dun Dexters is that of Beverley McCulloch and Michael Trotter (www.dundexters.co.nz), which has interesting sections on the dun colour and the history of dun Dexters.

Personal Website Operators are responsible for the great diversity and richness of the Dexter presence on the Internet.

Dexter Cattle Promoters – Some personal websites are more significant than most in their promotion of the Dexter breed. As well as containing information on a particular farm or stud, such websites also contain significant sections on the breed, its history, and its characteristics. Some may provide links to a number of other Dexter websites. The best example of the latter historically has been Misty Ridge Farm (the no longer live www.dextercows.com), now no longer in existence. It contained a long list of Dexter breeders, often including their email addresses and website URLs.

Gabriella Nanci's website for Belle Fourche California Dexter Stud (http://bellefourchedexters.tripod.com) is one of the most informative about Dexters and practical breeding and handling issues. has good information on the breed ,

The websites developed by Karen and John Kohut III, Oklahoma, for BT Farm (www.angelfire.com/ma4/dexters), by Diana Lusty of Thorford Hall Farm, Kent, UK (www.thorfordhall.co.uk/dexters.html) and by Lyle and Fiona Young of Cowichan Bay Farm, British Columbia, Canada (www.cowichanbayfarm.com - currently in May 2005 being revised) are all examples of websites that provide information on the history and characteristics of the breed.

It is noticeable that over the past two years (2003-2004), the websites developed by Dexter breeders have generally included much better quality information on the breed than many previous sites. This partially reflects the way in which the Internet itself has made such information easier to find.

Dexter Cattle Promoters play a key role in providing reliable, detailed and attractive information on Dexters on the Internet. The people who turn to the Internet to find out more about Dexters in order to decide whether to raise them will often be significantly influenced by the websites of the Promoters, as well as of the next category of providers.

Dexter Community Service Providers – There are key individual Dexter breeders who construct and/or operate the websites of the national Dexter organisations and oversee the Dexter discussion boards. They provide and maintain the basic infrastructure for the community. In addition, a few individuals with special knowledge are crucial to the successful operation of the discussion boards - a vet willing to respond promptly to a wide range of inquiries and problems, an older breeder passing on years of accumulated practical experience, someone well-read in Dexter genetics clarifying difficult technical issues, an Internet surfer passing on new and useful websites.

Those who operate important Dexter selling sites, such as Dexter Cattle For Sale (www.dextercattleforsale.co.uk), are also important Dexter Community Service Providers. There are also those who come up with new ideas providing other services to Dexter breeders, such as "The Dexter Trail", a list of Dexter breeders across Australia that openly welcome visits from Dexter breeders from home or abroad (www.dexter.com.au/theDextertrail.htm), and the first Dexter blog originally set up in August 2004 to disseminate information to members of the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association of North America (http://pdca-one.blogspot.com).

The commitment, skills and energy of these people are crucial to the global Dexter community on the Internet, providing points of integration and interaction which construct a vital sense of community. Often they go without acknowledgement but their contribution is of great significance.

Reference

Paterson, J., 2001. "What are New Zealand Smallfarms Like? First Findings from the Smallfarming NZ Survey. The Smallfarmer, no. 39, December, pages 1-2.

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