GENERAL

The ability to adapt under vastly different environmental conditions Dexter's have been subjected to all the different environmental conditions that exists in South Africa over the past fifty years.  They excelled in semi-arid to arid regions of central part of South Africa, winter rainfall regions (mediterranean climate) of the Southern Cape, sub tropical regions of Natal and the low veld as well as the savanna's of North and North Western parts of South Africa...

Factors such as changes in consumer preference towards lean tender beef moving from early maturing type to a leaner, faster growing type seems inevitable.  Conformation and production should be directed towards traits of economic importance e.g. milk reduction, fertility, growth and carcass quality.  Outstanding results have already been achieved with milk and growth performance testing and more recently feedlot trial all under the auspices of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).  Show ring standards will have to be adapted favouring larger animals especially now that DNA testing make it possible to eliminate the negative effect of achondroplasia.

GENETIC VARIATION

The large imported population and upgrading system assured a good variation in the South African Dexter population but the use of A.I on a relatively small population led to increased inbreeding.  The use of semen from a number of unrelated Canadian Dexter bulls (bred out of the best British and American bloodlines)  should improve the situation as well as the Australian semen that has been used more recently.

THE DEXTER UPGRADING SYSTEM

The Dexter upgrading system consist of 3 generations but it must be borne in mind that many commercial herds have been using pure bred registered bulls for many generation's.  At a recent dispersal sale of a large commercial (40+ animals) it was stated that the owner used registered bulls since 1958