‘Small, light on land and easily finished off grass – Dexters are ideal for organic farmers’

By jeorge jacob On Jan 6, 2023

When Niall Moynihan took over the 64ac family farm in Co Cork from his father in 2003, his aim was to keep it commercially productive and environmentally sustainable.

elling produce direct was not really on his radar, but in 2009 while doing an MSc in Organic Farming at SRUC in Scotland, he visited organic farms doing just that.

“It opened my eyes to the possibilities of selling direct even for a smaller family farm,” he says. “Here at Duhallow Organics we produce excellent-quality meat and by selling direct can get a good return for what we do.

“It is a simple approach that requires a lot of work but our meat is a fantastic product produced to extremely high animal welfare standards.

“We farm in a truly sustainable manner with innumerable environmental benefits, which is a good farming story and a good option for a lot of farmers.

“In 2010 we started to sell organic eggs direct and now we have approximately 400 laying hens and sell into 15 independent shops in Cork, Kerry and Limerick.

“We now sell organic beef, poultry and pork products direct, and demand is strong and growing.”

Niall farms with his partner Emer Fahey and their three small children in Boherbue near Mallow. When he converted to organic with the Irish Organic Association in 2006, they were producing weanlings from Simmentals and Charolais cattle.

Niall Moynihan selling his product direct to the consumer

The farmland is a heavy clay so finishing these breeds from grass and buying in organic concentrates was not really a viable option.

“After a particularly wet summer when we had to house animals, I began to look around at smaller breeds and the Dexter really shone,” Niall says.

“I started out by buying five in-calf-heifers and sold the meat through farmers’ markets. Then in 2015/16 I changed the whole herd to Dexter and we now carry roughly 45 cows and breed our own replacements from a Dexter bull.

“Animals are finished at around 30 months as this gives them time to age nicely, enabling the meat to marble and flavours to develop properly. The texture of meat from smaller animals is excellent and finishing them off grass really enhances the taste.

“Once slaughtered the animals age for 30 days and are then expertly cut by an artisan butcher before being sold either fresh or blast-frozen to consumers and restaurants.”

Handling a rare breed like the Dexter does require specific husbandry skills.

“We didn’t know a huge amount about Dexters before we bought them,” says Niall. “Like other rare-breeds they are not overly domesticated and some of the herd can be strong-willed at times.

“We practise holistic grazing and move the animals to fresh grass daily so they have become used to a certain amount of handling, which is increased during the housing period. Keeping the animals’ stress level low is a priority for us.

“I was delighted to see rare breeds included in the ACRES scheme — breeds like Dexter have unique qualities and it is great to see breeds once close to extinction being farmed again.

“These animals are approximately half the size of a typical Hereford or Angus, they are very light on land, causing little compaction and are easily finished off grass, making them ideal for organic farmers.”

Close

Niall says ‘like other rare-breeds they are not overly domesticated and some of the herd can be strong-willed at times’

Duhallow Organics work closely with neighbouring organic farms to rear their animals in a co-operative manner.

“We work with like-minded farmers in the area who finish our animals for us throughout the year,” says Niall.

“We kill approximately four animals a month; in this way we can ensure continuity of supply while farmers get a guaranteed price.

“It is a win-win and really helps to build up a very local food-supply chain. The animals are slaughtered in abattoirs in Ballincollig, Mitchelstown and Macroom, all of which are in a 40-mile radius from the farm.

“Small local abattoirs are dying out in Ireland and we need to reverse this trend as they are critical in sustainable food production for both farmers and small producers who rear their own animals

.”

The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic shift in business for Duhallow Dexter.

“Before Covid we sold around 20pc of our products at three farmers’ markets a week, with the other 80pc sold to restaurants,” says Niall.

“Then when Covid hit, our business totally flipped, with 80pc being sold direct to consumers and the rest via shops and restaurants.

“That trend has continued, with consumers purchasing the majority of what we produce on farm.

“It was a real test for our business but thankfully it has worked out well. We are producing grass-finished organic meat and people are becoming more aware of how their food is produced.

“I am not a marketing guru, but one thing I do know is that if people did not like our meat they would not buy it again and again, and the majority of our customers are repeat customers so we must be doing something right!

“People can order our meat online and our meat-box sizes vary from 5-20kg, giving customers a variety of options depending on their needs. We cater to specific dietary requirements of certain customers, so organs and bones can also be included in their order.

“Our customers are predominantly local and we have a developing national market for our products sold through our website.”

Grace Maher is development officer with the Irish Organic Association, [email protected]

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