It was never just about the Cows
Tim and I had been hunting for a property for years, but nothing quite fit. This one wasn't exactly perfect—it was farther from work than we wanted, a mile and a half down a dirt road, overrun with weeds, and the pond barely held water. It was, quite literally, only knee deep.
Most people probably would've kept looking.
We bought the farm.
Then the work began.
We spent months clearing fence lines, pulling barbed wire, and giving the land something it hadn't had in a long time: rest. Instead of asking what we could take from it, we started asking what we could give back. Sorghum went into the soil to encourage soil stability and grass growth. Patience replaced shortcuts. Slowly, the farm began to come alive again.
The funny part?
We never intended to own cattle. Or at least I didn't. Only after our first Dexters arrived did Tim tell me he had always dreamed of raising cows like his big sister. So here we are. In this wonderful world of heritage breeders. The small(er) cattle with big personalities and big potential.
Why Dexters?
Two words: Temperament and Manageability.
Before we coughed up any money, we went on a research spree. We talked with farmers we knew personally, watched more YouTube than I care to admit, and compared breeds: Herefords, Lowline Angus, Zebu, South Poll. Living in South Georgia, heat-tolerance mattered. We also wanted a breed that was known for easy calving. (We weren’t looking to pull calves at 1 am before leaving for work at 5.)
We’d been watching Pete from Just a Few Acres Farm on YouTube for a while and liked everything he had to say about Dexter cattle.
Then, while visiting family in TN, we reached out to a couple of farmers who were willing to show us their operations. One of those stops was Mark and Kathy Chaney’s. We pulled up to their farm, the cows came running to the fence, excited to meet someone new, and we were sold!
The size was practical. The easy-calving genetics made sense. But it was their temperament that won us over. We wanted cattle we'd enjoy working with every day - not just twice a year.
We left their farm knowing we were going to raise Dexter cattle.