THE DINGLE DEXTER

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THE DINGLE DEXTER

(note: organic job opp at the end of piece!)

If you are visiting Santa at Killarney Farmers' Market, or if you are lucky enough to eat in the Killarney Park Hotel on Christmas day, the chances are you will encounter organic Dexter meat from Dingle.

In fact, the 'Dexter Dingle' itself will be at the Killarney market – a van modeled on the railway carriages that brought cattle along the Dingle Tralee railway line once a month in the 50s, after the line itself was closed to passengers.

Kerry County Vet Paddy Fenton is one of the six Dexter farmers involved in a profit share with this this venture, which received supports from the Department's Organic Unit.

All are organic or in conversion: Sean Dineen, Helen Mcguire and Steve Collins are all based in the south west, while two others are from further afield - John O Neill of Kilkenny and Diarmuid O Liatháin of Westmeath.

Fenton's Ventry farm is, despite the altitude of most of the Dingle Peninsula “good fattening land. We are a bit exposed to south westerlies. There is some good land along here, we have mountain but the bit between the mountain and sea is good.”

Dexters most likely are derived from the Black Irish Cattle of the Celts. According to the Dexter Cattle Society, an 1845 report states that a Tipperary-based “Mr Dexter had produced his curious breed by selection from the best of the hardy mountain cattle of the area, and to have succeeded to a very high degree”.

What Dexters loose in size – they are, literally, hip height - they more than make up for in numerous other ways. For one thing, their good meat to bone ratio allows for a killing-out percentage of over 56%.

Fenton's 40 diminutive Dexter cows and followers are all out at the moment, as they are hardy animals especially suited to Irish Winters. They also “don't cut up the land” according to Fenton, who also adds that they are every low in inputs.

As well as his home farm, Fenton is involved in a conservation grazing programme on the southern slopes of Mount Brandon, with Geraldine Swanley-Stein of the IT Tralee.

The study investigates the effect of cattle grazing on biodiversity, so a baseline sample of the grasses has been taken already. One of the aims of the initiative is to keep purple moor grass under control while increasing biodiversity through a well managed grazing regime.

Then there is the meat itself. As a selling point, Dexter beef's flavour is something to savour. “the meat has a unique and peculiar taste – its like a strong gamey beef crossed with Venison. Its Ireland's Kobi really”, he claims. The levels of marbling in the meat have also been commented upon by many aficionados.

Indeed, Dexter is the meat of choice for many of the highest end chefs around, featuring as the main course winning dish on the Great British Menu in 2008, and the Northern Irish regional award in 2009.

Initially, the meat was sold at the Dingle farmers' market. Demand was very strong, but margins were not good enough to justify the costs, especially with the small carcass size of the Dexters.

Hot food is where its at, profit-wise. So, “we sold steak sandwiches and beef burgers at the Dingle Food Festival last year, and it went really well. The next step was to bring it on, to add value, and a burger bar was the way to go” Fenton says.

And thus was born the Dingle Dexter railway carriage style catering van, as seen this year at the Listowel Races, Dingle Food Festival and the farmers' market in Killarney. Fenton hopes to return to the Dingle Farmers' Market in April of next year, and is also currently supplying some eateries in Dingle town, including Fenton's restaurant.

What's more, there is a business opportunity for a budding organic entrepreneur: “We're looking for a partner to run the burger van, a committed organic person. We'd like to set them up to run the van on profit share with us.”

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