27 Jul 2015

South African Simmental breeder, Mr Willie O’Brien said he was impressed by the quality of cattle breeds showcased by local breeders at Serowe District Show, Friday (July 24).

Mr O’Brien who was a judge expressed his surprise at the high quality breeds kept by local farmers saying they had exceeded his expectations.

In fact, Mr O’Brien had expected some ordinary lame Tswana cattle only to be surprised by high quality Brahmans and Simmentals.

In an interview, the owner of Wensim Simmentalers hailed local breeders as enthusiastic and energetic but, observed that they needed to be capacitated in judging various breeds of cattle.

He observed that the breeds were in consonance with Serowe District Show’s theme of ‘Agriculture, the driving force behind food security.’

“I will be back to offer them a course in effective cattle breeding,” Mr O’Brien promised and added that the quality of the breeds he was exposed to could compete globally.

However, the Simmental breeder who improves his cattle by way of in embryo flushing, in vitro (is the process of fertilisation by manually combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus) as well as artificial insemination, said local breeders should register their cattle with societies in South Africa so that they could be appreciated by many in Africa and in the global sphere.

He advised that Batswana farmers should import bull genetics in order to improve their breeds. He observed that the development could be eased by the fact that Botswana government was supportive to its farmers.

He also said local farmers enjoyed good relations with their South African counterparts and therefore urged them to utilise such relations to further their farming endeavors.
So impressed was Botswana Meat Commission chief executive officer, Dr Akolang Tombale who observed that cattle quality was improving drastically.

In a brief interview, BMC CEO advised that farmers should keep records of their cattle.

He also appealed to the farmers to help reduce measles which he said was very high by acceptable standards.

Winner of the female cow grand yard champion, Mr Thapelo Setlalekgosi hailed the Serowe District Show arguing that it was better than that of Gaborone.
Mr Setlalekgosi observed that the quality of breeds exhibited was ‘extremely good.’

“It is one of the best shows I ever attended,” said Mr Setlalekgosi who, together with his brother Thebe, breed Simmental and Charolais cattle at their Mookane farm. Ends