Based in north Westmeath, approximately three miles from Delvin, is pedigree Dexter breeder, columnist and all-round character Bernie Comaskey.
Bernie, who is now retired, keeps himself busy with his herd of 12 Dexter cows on his 20ac Westmeath farm.
Agriland recently paid a visit to Bernie’s holding to find out more about his small but mighty herd of native Irish cattle.
Bernie started out his career as a dairy farmer before he quit farming altogether to embark on an interesting career journey, involving property, pubs, travel and sport, as well as a weekly column, which he continues to write in a local newspaper.
He has also published a number of interesting books and novels and in recent years, he has returned to farming and now breeds Dexter cattle.
Commenting on why he keeps Dexters, Bernie said: “I was looking for a project to pick up when I retired. I hate the sound of the word ‘retired’. To me, retirement means not doing nothing, but just doing what you want to do.”
“I always knew when I retired, I was going to do something with livestock. I happened to be in Denmark around the time I retired and a vet wanted to meet me over there to talk about Dexter cattle.
“I love working with the Dexters,” he said.
“It’s therapeutic and I get a great sense of joy from seeing a cow and calf.”
Since they’re a native Irish breed and Bernie was previously a farmer, the Danish vet assumed Bernie would know all about the breed.
However, Bernie admitted: “I knew nothing about Dexters but luckily, I Googled it and read up on the breed.
“I came home from that trip knowing that’s the breed of cattle I wanted to keep,” he said.
He said that continuing to keep cattle in retirement is “scratching an itch in a sense”.
“I was a full-time farmer in another life when I milked cows,” he said.
“I milked around 30 cows from the mid-70s to late-80s. It was a struggle at the time and interest rates were very high.
“I was supplying liquid milk to Mullingar Co-op for the reference year of the milk quotas and I sold my quota and cows in 1988. I had a fierce attachment to the cows and after I quit dairy, I used to have unpleasant dreams about abandoning the cows.
“There was a sense of guilt there after I sold them, I’d often dream I didn’t milk them but since I’ve returned to keeping the few Dexters, I don’t have that dream anymore.”
Bernie’s Dexter system
The Westmeath Dexter breeder started the Dexter herd initially with four in-calf heifers which he bought from Henry Judge, a breeder located on the Ox Mountains in Co. Sligo.
“Then I got another one, and another, and so on; but now I have 12 cows, a stockbull and I rear all the heifer calves and sell them in-calf,” he said.
“I sell the male calves as steers. I could sell them as bulls but it would be too much trouble, so I sell them on as weanling steers,” he said.
Bernie added that he has finished a few Dexters for beef over the years and said: “They’re very easy-finished. The beef is ideal for families or restaurants, it absolutely comes first for taste, flavour and texture.”
The Dexter breed
Commenting on the breed itself, Bernie said they have “so much to offer as a breed”.
“They will eat anything, thrive on rough grazing and will finish with no meal, just grass. The few I finished were almost overfat off grass alone,” he said.
“It’s fascinating to see them grazing; they mow everything in front of them. I strip graze all the paddocks.”
According to the Irish Dexter Cattle Society, the breed came from crossing the Kerry and mountain cattle and was founded in the 1700s by a Mr. Dexter in Co. Tipperary. A Dexter cow was once known as ‘the cottier cow’ or ‘a poor man’s cow’.
Dexter cattle have a low mature weight which generally ranges from 360-420kg.
With just a handling yard, crush and small shed to calve a cow in if needed, Bernie admitted he has a “minimalist setup”, but that he has all he needs.
“I have a yard, a bedded pen, a chute and that’s all I need. I can manage most tasks on my own but I have my wife Pamela and good neighbours to call on if help is needed,” he said.
His cows all calve outdoors with the odd exception which may require assistance. Bernie said they’re “a hardy breed that prefer the outdoors”.
In cases of extreme weather, his herd have access to the yard and a bedded shed and Bernie said “when there’s very bad weather coming, they do come up to the shed”.
The Irish Dexter Cattle Society
Commenting on society involvement for the breed, Bernie said: “When I started breeding Dexter cattle a few years ago, there were about 100 members in The Irish Dexter Cattle Society.
“There’s probably over 700 members in it now and a lot of the growth has been driven by the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES).”
ACRES applicants who select the Conservation of Rare Breeds action and show proof of membership of the relevant breed society at the time of the application, are eligible for payment under the scheme.
“The society is just brilliant. There’s great people in it to offer guidance and advice on managing the breed,” Bernie added.
“The Dexter breeders are enthusiastic people and there’s a great comradery in the society.”
Challenges
Bernie said that the demand for Dexter breeding stock has grown phenomenally over the past year and said with more breeding Dexter cattle, there will be more resulting Dexter progeny.
“We have to start thinking about the market for the beef down the road,” he said, adding that he was confident that markets will be secured for Irish Dexter beef.
Due to the smaller size of the Dexter cattle, Bernie said: “You could feed three Dexters where you would feed one larger cow.”
While this is the case, Bernie said that under Nitrates Regulations, one Dexter cow has same stocking-rate value as a Charolais cow or a Limousin cow. There is no allowances made for their small size, which he said “is desperately unfair”.
He said that while this sometimes works to the advantage of breeders on extensive holdings for meeting minimum stocking rates, it can be an issue for smaller holdings.
Regarding the future, Bernie is as optimistic and ambitious as ever.
“I’m going to keep doing what I am doing for as long as I can,” he said.
“I can’t do idleness. When the cows are calving, I love it. I believe that mentally and physically, you have to keep the machine going.”