SMD Genetics

​​Silver Maple Dexters is not organized around individual animals or short-term opportunities. It is organized around the long view of a breeding program.

 

The genetics represented in SMD are the result of sustained selection across generations for function, type, and dual-purpose balance in the Dexter breed.  Each mating, each retained femaile, and each sire decision has been made with the same objective: to produce cattle that work as true-dual-purpose Dexters and that transmit those qualities consistently. 

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Program Foundations

  The foundation of SMD genetics is maternal continuity.

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Cow families are evaluated not on pedigree alone but on performance across time: fertility, udder integrity, carcass merit, longevity, and structural soundness. Selection pressure is applied generation after generation so that the herd moves forward deliberately rather than drifting with fashion or convenience.

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This emphasis on maternal strength allows sires to be used not as shortcuts but as tools, reinforcing traits already anchored in the female base rather than attempting to correct weaknesses after the fact.

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Genetic Direction

SMD selection aims at a Dexter that remains recognizable and functionally dual-purpose.

Animals retained and offered through the program are expected to demonstrate:

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• Balance of frame, capacity, and muscle

• Top quality udders with durable attachments and productive structure

• Fertility, temperament, and longevity suited to working herds

• Carcass merit and fleshing ability consistent with a Dexter type and a dual-purpose animal

 

The traits are not pursued in isolation.  They are slected together so that cattle remain useful across generations not merely for a few seasons.

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External Genetic Anchors

While the foundation of the herd is maternal continuity within Silver Maple Dexters, the program has also made deliberate use of imported semen from well-established United Kingdom Dexter herds and lines.

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This has not been done for novelty or pedigree appeal, but to infuse top-quality genetics and maintain a connection to the functional type developed in the breed's country of origin. These genetics serve as a reference point, reinforcing balance, capacity, udder quality, and carcass traits of the durable dual-purpose structure that defines the Dexter as a working breed. 

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Used in this manner, these genetics help prevent the drift toward single function and exaggeration, inconsistent with balance. This effort allows the SMD program to strengthen type while preserving continuity. 

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The Long View 

The purpose of maintaining a genetic breeding program is not simply to produce animals.  It is to shape a herd that achieves the breed purpose and remains coherent over time. 

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Silver Maple Dexters seeks to steward genetics that continue to function as intended purpose of the breed, transmit reliably,  and contribute to the strength of the Dexter breed across generations. 

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