SMART SMALLHOLDER
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produce a Kentshire (so
named for its birth place of
Kent, Washington). The aim
was to produce a breed with
the best characteristics of both
foundation breeds. These
characteristics were identified
as the docile nature and
excellent beef standards of
the Hereford as well as the
good milk and beef features
and the size of Dexters.
Thus, when Tiganis called the
advertised number, he
opened himself up to the
world of Red Kentshire cattle.
His first purchase was Raoul
~ the product of imported
Kentshire semen from a first
Tiganis’ first bull, Raoul, as a newborn calf with his Dexter mother
generation Kentshire bull
called Happy Mountain and a
local Dexter. Raoul was the
first known Red Kentshire in
South Africa. After that,
Tiganis purchased the next
product of Happy Mountain,
a cow named Christine.
The breeding process
originated out of the
International Miniature Cattle
Breeding Society (IMCBS).
Tiganis' first animals were
certified by the IMCBS and
registered on its database.
Today, more than ten years
later, he has a herd of eight
cattle, progeny of his first
breeding pair of Red
Kentshires, which he now
prefers to call “Dexfords”
because he has discontinued
their registration with the
IMCBS.
Gradwohl had set out the
guidelines for breeding and
certification of Red
Continued on page 12
Tiganis with some of his Red Kentshire/Dexford small breed cattle
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