Dexter Cattle | Richard Browning, PhD | Faculty & Staff

Dexter and Mashona Cattle

Small-Scale Breeds for Small-Scale Production

Tennessee State University established a herd of Dexter cattle in 2015 to complement the meat goat breeding program. The Dexter is a small-framed British breed that is dual-purpose in type. It is considered a heritage breed like the Spanish and Myotonic goat breeds. The Dexter cattle will be used to assess the production potential of non-traditional small-breed cattle for small-scale beef production as well as for teaching activities. The TSU foundation Dexter cattle are registered in the American Dexter Cattle Association herdbook  (search under Owner# 10042).

Mashona herd sires were introduced to the breeding program in 2019. The Mashona is a smaller-framed Sanga beef breed from Zimbabwe. The breed has tropical adaptations that may be of value in the southern states. Mashona bulls are being crossed with the Dexter cows to produce F1 calves for evaluation. Fullblood Mashona cows were added in 2021. The TSU herd consists of over 100 Dexter, Mashona x Dexter, and Mashona females.

The TSU herd sires are presented below.