Cattle

What do you get when you cross a Brahman with a Hereford? You get the Braford: a fertile animal with amazing mothering abilities that has a long life expectancy and produces a carcass that can be compared with South Africa’s best. Susan Marais travelled to Bethal in Mpumalanga to learn more about this exceptional breed from Gert van der Merwe and Johan de Jager, owners of the Bonheur Brafords stud.

The Roets family of the Eastern Cape’s Barkly East district has been associated with South Devon cattle for approximately 90 years. Yet it was only in 2017 that PD Roets registered a stud. Mike Burgess visited him to find out more about his commitment to the selective breeding of South Devons in this cold, mountainous area.

Optimisation of the environment is the single most important requirement for sustainable beef production, according to animal scientist Hennie Snyman. For that to happen, the implementation of precision farming principles is of the essence, he says.

Role players in the South African beef industry believe that, although they have come at a rather late stage in the game, the government-enforced restrictions on the movement of cattle in the country are imperative to the sector’s survival.

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Pretoria attempt to explain why some types of cattle may be more likely to serve as prey for lions.

Top-quality heifers and well-balanced nutrition form two of the most important cornerstones of effective red meat production, writes Henco Leicester, technical manager at Telwiedre, an animal feed manufacturer, in Heilbron. He explains the principles of heifer management and the role of lick supplementation.

The spread of foot-and-mouth disease across South Africa will continue unrelentingly unless all industry players step up to the plate and do their part to control the disease as much as possible

JK Basson is a three-time winner of the ARC’s National Master Dairyman of the Year Award. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how he manages to survive in an industry plagued by rising production costs.

Frans Jordaan and Dr Ben Greyling of the Agricultural Research Council provide recommendations to help breeders apply good management and recording practices that can optimise their herds’ genetic evaluations.

The Bonsmara, which was developed in South Africa from the 1930s, was bred specifically for African conditions, and is the most dominant beef cattle breed in the country today. It has also spread to many other countries around the world. Louis Steyl, CEO of the Bonsmara Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa, spoke to Annelie Coleman about the development of the breed, and its future.

A successful commercial beef cattle enterprise is one that keeps cow mortalities to a minimum, while achieving maximum weaner growth. Rian van Wyk, who farms Brangus in Mpumalanga, spoke to Lindi Botha about his breeding philosophy.

Frans Jordaan and Dr Ben Greyling, researchers at the Agricultural Research Council, write about the importance of choosing bulls based on breeding and performance indices, rather than their visual appearance.