19 Jul 2017

Local cattle farmers have been advised to breed animals that are suited and adapted to their environment if they want to get returns on their investments.

In addition, they have been encouraged to establish functional cow herds that can produce.

The call was made by a breed advisor from the South African Bonsmara Society, Mr Louis Steyl during a farm walk at Calla Visser’s Medupi Bonsmara farm outside Francistown recently.

The farm walk was organised in conjunction with the Department of Animal Production to afford Batswana farmers the opportunity to learn from their peer, Mr Visser, who is a stud breeder of Bonsmara cattle.

Mr Steyl highlighted that farmers who want to breed Bonsmara cattle should always look at the market for their finished products.

However, he explained that like any farming venture, they will always be challenges such as water provision and grazing to grapple with as beef breeders.

For Bonsmara stud breeding to succeed, he added that there is need for farmers to look after and control their environment, especially grazing areas and animals too.

Consequently, he informed them that the Bonsmara breed has proven itself as an adaptable breed to many African countries including South Africa, Botswana and Namibia since its development on 1934 in the Limpopo province.

“The Bonsmara was developed by merging the Hereford, Afrikaner and Shorthorn,” he said.

The Bonsmara Association, he asserted, assists farmers by monitoring and improving genetic standards for breeding.

Furthermore, Mr Steyl noted that the breed can live of the veld and look after itself.

On other issues, he explained that in South Africa, the Bonsmara has proven itself in the weaner and feedlot system and that research has proved that its feed conversion rate is the best.

The breed advisor also informed farmers that the Bonsmara is currently the biggest registered breed with 130 000 registered animals.

“Fifty-five per cent of animals in feedlots in South Africa are Bonsmara,” said Steyl.

When sharing his experience on the breeding of Bonsmara cattle, Mr Visser who was the host of the field walk explained that his journey started three years ago after being affected by the foot and mouth disease.

After losing his entire herd of Nguni cattle during the foot and mouth disease outbreak, he mentioned that he went through a lot but had to come up with a plan to stay relevant.

“My interest in Bonsmara cattle came from South Africa where the breed had been doing well for many years,” he noted.

However, he said that he had a challenge of registering as a stud breeder.

At Medupe Bonsmara farm, he noted that they chose the breed due to its good adaptability on the veld, good mothering abilities, good growth under intensive and extensive conditions and temperament.

Like any farming venture, Mr Visser noted that they face challenges of predators and snaring around the farm.

However, he said that kraaling at night has assisted them a lot and they monitor their movement.

The animals, he added, have adapted to this system and the success rate is very good.

As a way of dealing with predators, the stud breeder highlighted that they maintain a friendly environment by keeping some game animals on the farm which predators can feed on.

Mr Visser further explained that they practiced two controlled mating seasons in the farm and dehorn cattle in the first thirty days after birth as a requirement from the Bonsmara Society.

“We supplement our animals with winter lick and phosphate lick and don’t depend on zero grazing.

In addition, we have a vaccination programme and twice a year we vaccinate to prevent diseases,” he noted.

He asserted that they have not had any problems with ticks and said that the advantage of having paddocks is that it gives different parts of the farm the chance to recover from overgrazing.

Medupe Bonsmara Farm, he noted, is divided into three blocks and in the rainy season they allow animals to graze one part hard and allow it to recover for two years.

He also emphasized the administration side of farming, encouraging fellow farmers to keep a register for dates of births, weights, weaning and vaccination.

Record keeping, he highlighted, is necessary and assists them in making the choice on which animals to sell.

Mr Visser noted that he has succeeded in stud breeding of Bonsmaras because he likes to help others with information, reads a lot, attend shows and also asks for advice when necessary.

For his part, the District Agricultural Coordinator in the North East district, Mr Nkaigwa Joel explained that the objective of the farm walk is to afford farmers the opportunity to learn from each other.

He explained that they do this by approaching a farmer who has done something special to have a day to teach others on how they succeeded.

“Medupi farm will teach other farmers how to breed Bonsmara, which is doing well in the country,” he explained. Mr Joel also said that they realized that farmers learn better when getting information from their peers.

He also indicated that the Bonsmara breed was already doing well in Botswana in terms of its good mothering abilities, hardiness and weight. BOPA