New Additions!

Three Dexters cows now call Kittleson Family Farm home.  With grass as high as they are, these four-legged friends seem to already be relaxing into the good life.  And we see some fattening up in their very near future.

Dexters are one of the smallest breeds of cows in the world and are known for being a dual-purpose animal, offering rich milk and delicious meat, all while being excellent foragers and mild-mannered.  They originated in Ireland from the Kerry dairy breed and proved to be very useful to smaller farms. Typically they grow no more than 40" tall and render roughly 60% yields compared to their full-sized counterparts.

We first heard of this breed when my brother Don and sister-in-law Diana brought them onto their farm, just outside of Jacksonville.  Compared to the cows we had raised, these little cuties were reminiscent to the Corgi dog with their short legs and hefty bodies.  We were hesitant about their size, however Don and Diana raved about how easy they were on their land and fences, what good mothers they were to their calves and how tasty they were on the BBQ.  Adding this heritage breed to our farm seems like a great fit.

While milking is a year off, we plan to work with Lucy and Topsy to get them tame enough for hand-milking once they have their first calves.  The young steer, Zipper, has a good year of growing left to do.  We're excited to have cows back on the farm and the pigs seems equally interested in their new roommates.