WHILE the national outlook for beef prices in 2010 is firm, the Dexter Cattle Society is expecting an even more significant increase in stock prices as demand for Dexter beef grows.

Reacting to the increased demand, the Dexter Cattle Society held a National Dexter Beef Network day at Stoneleigh – which was attended by 100 Dexter beef producers from all over the country.

The meeting followed extensive television and media exposure, applauding the excellent eating quality of Dexter beef, which led to a surge in demand.

A survey of the 1,400 Dexter Cattle Society members indicated that around 70 per cent of breeders are now keeping their Dexters for beef.

The majority of Dexter breeders are small family farmers or smallholders with just a few animals, and rearing low-input grass-reared beef, with sales often direct to the public on an occasional low-volume basis.

Now, with many restaurants wanting to add Dexter beef to their menus, Crossgar Meats from County Down has approached the Dexter Cattle Society to set up a supplier agreement for their Provenance Foods range of rare-breed meat and poultry.

A team from Crossgar Meats attended the Dexter beef meeting to explain how demand in Ireland was close to outstripping supply.

The company's marketing has attracted the interest of restaurants, which in turn has put the pressure on the supply chain and cattle producers.

The Dexter Cattle Society, while evaluating the opportunities that the Crossgar Meats association brings, are now setting up a national register of beef and quality stock producers.

Key to this scheme will be a quality assurance scheme to ensure only quality stock with the much sought-after grass-fed diet and fat covering will be entered into the Dexter beef market.