Make a donation

Help fund our work to amplify nature-friendly farming’s benefits to farmers and policymakers across the UK

Policy & Views

Read a variety of articles, including topical blogs, comment pieces on policy developments and updates on key moments in farming.

Campaigns

Catch up with our latest campaigns and find out more about our work.

Farm Practices

Explore information on many aspects of nature-friendly farm practices.

What is the NFFN?

Discover our mission, our vision and the challenge we meet.

Meet The Team

Meet the farmers in our regional steering groups and the staff team at our core

FAQs

Got a question about nature-friendly farming? We've got it covered here

Supporters

We're proud to work with many organisations who support our mission.
Voices from the Fields

More than growing Dexters

Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
direct selling
Diversification
Livestock
Low-input farming
regenerative farming
stacking enterprises
supply chain
Educating the public

As Nature Friendly Farming Week 2025 highlights how farms do far more than just grow food, NFFN Northern Ireland Steering Group Chair Stephen Alexander and his family reflect on what diversification means to their Ballyboley Dexters business.

We never set out to be where we are today. It began with a love for native breeds, particularly the hardy Dexter, and a tight budget to run the farm. Nature-friendly farming came naturally to us. It all started back in 2009 with just two pedigree Dexter heifers. Ballyboley Dexters began as part of a personal rehab project for Stephen, after he contracted a potentially deadly strain of bacterial meningitis while on holiday in Spain. 

Since then, the herd has grown slowly and naturally to around 130 heads, mainly pedigree Dexters, with a handful of Belted and Black Galloways. We're still a small, family-run farm with land in two main areas: Greyabbey on the shores of Strangford Lough and Orlock on the East Coast. Over the years, Ballyboley Dexters has grown into something bigger than we had ever imagined - but always in ways that stay true to our values. 

We’re proud to be a certified Pasture For Life farm and retailer – currently the only one in Northern Ireland. The certification fits perfectly with how we farm and what we stand for. It guarantees our calves are raised on nothing but their mother’s milk and a 100% pasture-fed diet thereafter, while meeting strict animal welfare and environmental standards. It’s slower, more seasonal farming – but it works for our animals, our land, and our customers. Certification gives people confidence in what they’re buying, and that matters. 

We farm regeneratively – using no artificial fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides – and are working to restore permanent pasture across our land. One of our biggest projects has been transforming Orlock Farm, where we secured the first long-term tenancy with the National Trust in Northern Ireland. This former intensively managed arable site is now home to a thriving, biodiverse landscape. Insects, birds, and pollinators have returned in force. Bee and butterfly surveys have even recorded higher counts on the farm than along the nearby coastal path – and you can feel the difference when you walk the fields. Both areas provide grazing pasture and produce our preserved grass for winter feed. Nature is bouncing back. 

We felt a lack of control over the value of our animals. We knew our way of farming differed, and we wanted to regain control of our supply chain.

Stephen Alexander & family

To continue doing what we’re doing, we’ve had to ensure the farm is not only environmentally, but also financially sustainable. 

About ten years ago, we reached a turning point. Dexter beef schemes were coming and going, and we felt a lack of control over the value of our animals. We knew our way of farming differed, and we wanted to regain control of our supply chain. That’s when we decided to sell Ballyboley Dexter beef directly to customers. We have never looked back. 

Since then, we’ve built a loyal customer base, with new customers discovering us each time we release a batch. People travel across Northern Ireland to buy our unique, Pasture For Life-certified beef. We get regular requests from across the water too – there’s definitely a premium market in mainland UK – but we’ve chosen to stay local. We want to feed our community and stick to our values. With limited cattle numbers, there's a ceiling to how much beef we can produce, and demand already outstrips supply. We are constantly striving to improve and test our product and have accumulated an impressive collection of ‘Great Taste’ stars, as well as Irish Food Awards and business awards. This recognition gives us pride and adds to our consumers' confidence in what they are buying. 

So, we diversified further. 

In 2019, we attended our first local market. It opened up new doors for us, not just for selling beef, but for connecting with customers face-to-face. We expanded into hot food, offering high-quality beef dishes cooked over charcoal and featuring other local producers whenever possible. Over time, we’ve learned which events suit us best. We’re lucky to be part of a fantastic local food and drink network – Taste Ards and North Down – run by our local council, whose support has been invaluable. 

In 2022, we began opening the farm to the public with a focus on education and connection. We started hosting on-farm events: guided walks, relaxed dining, afternoon teas, and family-friendly days out. More recently, we’ve stepped into the world of corporate and private events – including bespoke experiences for clients of Charles Hurst Ferrari, and incredible collaborative events with Echlinville Distillery, pairing our beef with local spirits. These partnerships have brought new people to the farm – many of whom had never stepped foot on one before – and helped show the care and passion behind everything we do. 

In 2023, we introduced some hives of Native Black Irish Bees to the farm to help with pollination and produce our Great Taste Award-winning Orlock Honey. 

A small quantity of our beef also goes to select local restaurants and supper clubs. Chefs come to us for flavour, traceability, and a story that connects their diners to the source. Our beef is born, reared, and finished right here. We know the animals, the pasture, and the seasons – and that connection is something you can taste. 

We also work hard to ensure that no part of the animal is wasted. We sell carcass-balanced premium beef selections and are always exploring innovative ways to use offcuts, offal, and bones – constant steps toward using whole carcasses and reducing waste. 

We have developed a sought-after Ballyboley bloodline of thrifty, hardy pedigree Dexters that thrive as they should without intensive inputs. We have a significant market for selling breeding heifers directly and have exported Dexters throughout the UK. This strand of our business is essential to managing cattle numbers, providing additional income, and driving us to breed our particular style of pedigree Dexter. 

Like many small farms, we’re navigating difficult times – the cost-of-living crisis, busy schedules with off-farm employment, lack of support in Northern Ireland for native breeds and nature-friendly farming, and a lot of public misunderstanding around how meat can be produced sustainably and ethically, educating the public ‘it’s the how not the cow’. But we believe in what we’re doing. We are committed to sharing our story and a positive and realistic view of what goes on on our farm via our various social media channels, website, and newsletters. For us, it’s not about scaling up, it’s about digging in, doing things the right way and enjoying the process. The key here is that we all as a family enjoy and are immensely proud of Ballyboley Dexters and what it is becoming. 

We’ve realised that farming this way is as much about people as it is about produce. It’s about conversations, shared meals, curious visitors and fresh ideas. It’s about resilience, connection and creating space for wildlife, community, and a better food system. 

Consumers are at the heart of change. Their interest in nature-friendly food production and their demand for transparency will drive change from the ground up and ultimately push for greater government support for the farmers making that change. 

We’re proud to be part of the Nature Friendly Farming Network and stand with other farmers who are showing that farming can help nature on its way. Because farming today really is about more than just growing food. 

It’s about growing trust, biodiversity, and something worth handing down.