A farm family in PEI is sustainably raising compact, friendly beef cattle

Visitors to the Dexter Cattle Company can expect to meet Henrietta.

“She is our official greeter,” jokes Mike Lafortune. “She has to say hello to pretty much everybody.”

While I am chatting with Mike and his wife, Evelyn, at their farm in North Milton, PEI, it is clear the purebred brown Dexter is sizing me up. She doesn’t let me get too close at first, but that attitude doesn’t last long. Pretty soon, we are good buddies and she follows along as I chat with the couple on a tour of some of their summer pastures. Several times she nudges against me, each time slightly lowering her head for a pat.

Most breeds of cattle don’t like a pat on the head. They don’t like strangers near them and could charge if the visitor makes any sudden moves. Don’t worry though—it is pretty much impossible to mistake any other breed for a Dexter.

 

Size matters

As Mike is fond of saying, “when it comes to cattle, size matters and smaller is better.” Just how small are we talking? Dexters have an average weight of 300–350 kilograms and average 92cm—107cm tall. Nicknamed the “poor man’s cow” in Ireland because they deliver both meat and milk, they are the smallest pure breed in the world.

With a herd of 125, the Lafortunes have one of the largest Dexter operations in the country. They are even more unique in the fact they raise the cattle organically, rotating them through their pastures to feed on grass. The animals are kept outside all winter, as Mike and Evelyn stock shelters that serve as protection from the elements when needed with plenty of hay. Each animal will eat the equivalent of a bale of hay per day. They also receive feed from the East Coast Organic Grainery in nearby Freetown.

The cattle are raised organically and regularly rotate grazing areas from one pasture to another.

“Weather doesn’t seem to bother them,” Mike observes. “They are found everywhere from Alaska to Australia, and they just seem to be able to adapt to wherever they are.”

For Mike, it is just one more argument for why Dexters are the perfect cattle. They require little in the way of care, meaning the couple can operate the farm largely by themselves. Ask any of what Mike calls “big breed cattle” owners about farming, and stories are sure to follow about helping to deliver calves in the middle of the night.

 

Easygoing, easy care

Mike and Evelyn both laugh when asked how many calves they have helped deliver. “Zero, none, nada,” Mike jokes.

Immediately after a calf is born, Evelyn explains that the mother will lick the calf clean so there is no smell to attract predators; move the calf outside of the main pasture to protect it from being trampled by the herd; and hide it in the long grass for protection.

“Most times we know a calf has been born but we can’t see it,” Mike says. “However, when the calf makes a sound to let the mother know it is hungry, she goes right to it. It is amazing.”

Earlier this year, a calf named Jamieson—bred through artificial insemination—became the first animal in the Woodmagic line of Dexters in
the country.

“We are pretty proud of him and he is extra special,” Mike says in describing the black calf that was born this spring. He is happy to be introducing the heritage line on this side of the Atlantic.

So how did the Lafortunes become the country’s biggest Dexter cattle barons? Mike had worked with the breed on a farm in Colorado before moving to PEI in 2014. They both knew they wanted to farm, and so, as Mike says, “it just seemed logical to go with what we knew.”

The small size means fat is absorbed for future energy storage, giving the beef a unique taste by the time they are shipped to the market. When they began signing up customers for 2021, they were sold out within 24 hours. Customers who sign up for their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiative receive
120 pounds of beef between June and November.

Each cow also produces approximately two gallons of milk per day. Since they are not part of the provincial quota system, the Lafortunes are unable to sell the milk and must dispose of anything they are unable to use for themselves.

 

Good stewardship

The Lafortunes are eager to let other producers know about the benefits of being Dexter owners, and have sold breeding stock throughout the Atlantic provinces. Despite the fact the breed has been in Canada since the 1920s, it has never really taken off and Mike maintains it’s because, “people seem to think cows have to be big. I couldn’t disagree more!”

Mike and Evelyn are both big believers in regenerative agriculture and were one of the first Island producers to sign on to the delayed-hay-cut initiative sponsored by a provincial government initiative called the Alternate Land Use Systems (ALUS) program. By delaying the farm’s first hay cut until after July 15, birds can successfully raise their young until they are old enough to fledge the nest. Of particular concern is the bobolink, classified as threatened and protected under the federal Species at Risk Act.

Every time he hears a bobolink in his field, Mike is thankful this small change has allowed another species to survive for another generation. 

The farm is located at the headwaters of Crooked Creek, a major tributary to the Wheatley River. Another ALUS supported project allowed for more than 6,000 feet of livestock fencing and alternate watering systems on the land. That prevents livestock from wading directly into the stream in search of water, producing more biodiversity and cleaner water for everyone downstream.

Dexter Cattle Company also employs many regenerative agriculture practices, such as rotational grazing, no-till seeding of crops, and silvo-pasturing, or combining woodlands and cattle grazing in a mutually beneficial way. These practices have the added benefits of cutting costs and sequestering carbon on the farm.

Before the onset of COVID-19, Mike says they regularly welcomed visitors to the farm—everyone from curious schoolchildren to cruise ship passengers stopping on their way to Cavendish.

“It is a little quieter these days, but hopefully it will pick up again once COVID is under control,” he says, joking that he doesn’t want Henrietta getting too lonesome.