After several years of breeding we decided to document our simple strategy for herd improvement. Our entire program can be summed up in A, B, and C. These are the three main categories in which we rank our cattle. What follows is a brief explanation of how the cattle enter into or move between categorizations as well as the destination of the cattle in each group.
The cattle in group A are the ones that have a permanent position in our herd. All are registered. They are the ones expected to have the highest probability of improving the quality of our cattle and elevating the Seven Sparks brand in the seedstock marketplace. The selection of these animals involves both pedigree and conformation to breed standards. The Dexter breed standards are limited in scope, which allows the breeder some freedom of preference to establish their own ideal Dexter cow. We take advantage of this freedom to strive for thick and deep cattle that can produce a lot of milk.
Obviously, this group is made up of mostly females and is limited in number by our capacity to support them with pasture and feed. These five or so females are afforded long-term accommodation but can also be demoted to type B or even type C. Age, the performance of offspring, and up-and-coming replacements are factors in these decisions. It takes at least two years for a female to qualify for entry into this category.
Another example of a type A animal is the herd sires that we acquire from top breeders. Ironically, herd bulls are usually demoted only because of the quality females they produce and our reluctance to breed progeny to parent. On a side note, it was eight years before a Seven Sparks bull was allowed into this category. His type A status is expected to be short-lived as we believe there is a limit to how much a herd can improve in a closed state. Yet, the more we improve, the more difficult it will be to find herd sires that are better than what we produce ourselves.
Group B cattle are quality animals that still deserve to be registered and offered to other breeders as seedstock. Most of our fertile male offspring belong to this fraternity. Because they are direct descendants of herd sires with great pedigrees, they are attractive to other breeders who also desire to improve their herd.
The females in this category are usually offered after they have successfully calved and then are sold along with their calf. These females are a great starting point for any breeder interested in continuing the legacy of the Dexter breed. They contain no defects, but they are not deemed an improvement over what we already have in the type A group. It is tough letting these great cows go. Reenie, Lilly, Mavis and others were beautiful cows but we had to make the decision to move on.
Teh quality of our baseline is dependent on our type A stock. Over time, as the type A cattle improve, this group B also improves by extension. Many high quality stock are purchased from top breeders who offer their so-called type B cattle. We, at Seven Sparks Dexters do not give the buyer the option to register or not. We are confident that after many years of breeding, our type B cattle have much to offer the Dexter associations to which we belong. Registration is included in the sale price of these animals, always. There is no financial penalty for desiring a registered animal.
From time to time, we possess an animal that no longer fits into our breeding program. They might stray outside the Dexter breed standard, have some other minor visible defect, or just age out of production. These are either offered for commercial breeding stock, or culled and slaughtered for our own beef.
Again, if sold as commercial stock, the buyer has no choice in registration. In our minds, because they will not be registered, or are deregistered, they officially cease to be purebred Dexters. That's why if we offer these for sale, we state "from registered Dexter stock". Not "registered" and not "purebred". We don't want anyone passing these animals off as individual purebred Dexters. The proof of Dexter lineage is in the paper only. For type C animals, such certificate no longer exists or never did.
We effectively disassociate type C animals from the Seven Sparks brand.
So, there you have it. A-B-C. Our (over-)simplified breeding program: Apex animals, the herd mainstays and herd sire acquisitions, Baseline animals which we can share with other breeders, and Culls which are discarded entirely. Roughly 25%, 50%, and 25% of our calves eventually end up in goups A, B, and C respectively.
We would love to increase our herd capacity, but the limitations force us to be extremely selective in choosing our top seedstock producers. This is good news for our customers. As we move forward, the herd improves and all categories benefit from the improvements made at the top level. And judging by what we have achieved thus far, it appears that we are going in the right direction.