withineach 13 to 14 months,
youhavea passenger.”
Althoughsheusedartificial
inseminationwhenoperating
a stud,andagreesthat
improvementordesiredgoals
canbebroughtaboutrapidlyin
thisway,sheprefersusingbulls.
BULLseLection
andcaLving
Ford uses stud bulls, mostly
Simmentaler, Bonsmara, Brahman
or Brangus, on her cows to
maintain balance in the herd and
pursue specific breeding goals.
She narrows her initial selection
down by using data to identify
bulls that score high on certain
traits. Finally, she conducts a
visual appraisal to ensure that
each animal is balanced and
will complement her herd.
She insists on acquiring true
veld bulls, as cattle that have been
fed to show or sale condition can
lose up to half their weight when
they are turned out onto the veld.
She prioritises correct
proportions and muscling,
good performance, good meat
production traits, and bulls that
will produce good heifer calves
with a medium-plus frame. She
also tries to achieve a balance
between producing a calf that
willfarewellina feedlot,yet
atthesametimeserveasa
suitablereplacementheifer.
Herbull-to-cowratiois
approximately1:28.
Fordrunsthecowsinherds
of 180 to200,whicharerotated
throughvariouscamps,
dependingontheconditionofthe
veldandtheproductionphase.
Cowscalveatdifferentintervals
intwomaincalvingseasons:
thefirst(JunetoSeptember)
forheifers,andthesecond
(OctobertoFebruary)forcows.
Bullsareputinfrom
mid-Novembertothe
beginningofDecember
forthreetofourmonths,
dependingontheclimate.
“IfI seeit’sa verydry
timeandtherainsarelate,
thenI’llleavethebullinfor
anothermonth,”shesays.
Ford does not makeuseof
flushing or synchronising,
preferring instead toemploy
nature’s cycles. Shehighlights,
for example, that cowstendto
become receptive afterrain.
She records the dateofbirth
of each calf, and attachesa
coloured ear tag toit toindicate
its birth month. Thisenables
her to identify calveseasily
as they approach weaningor
marketing age. In anormal
year, she weans calvesatabout
seven months, andtakesthem
to a sale in North West.She
produces mostly weaners,but
sometimesalsosellsheifers.During the drought,shehas
been weaning at sixtosix-
and-a-half months.Although
this might result inlessvalue
for the calf in the shortterm,
there are long-termbenefits.
“It’s to preserve theveldsothat
I don’t have to reducetoomany
females. I take a financial knock,
but next year, I make it up.”
Apartfromsavingongrazing,
thisapproachalsoenablesthe
cowtorecuperatebetterand
improvechancesofconception
inthenextbreedingseason.grazing
Fordexplainsthatshehas
patternedhergrazingtechniqiue
onthatofZimbabweanholistic
managementexpertAllanSavory.
“Ifyoucan’tmanageyour
veld,howcanyoumanageyour
herd?”sheasks.Herson,AJ,
whoalsorunscattleona farm
inthedistrict,attendeda holistic
diplomacoursepresentedby
DickRichardson,andboth
haveembracedtheconcept.
Theveldis nevergrazed
downcompletely,sothatit can
betterutilisewater.Fordsays
that20mmofraininanarea
thathasbeen“grazedflat”isLIVESTOCK Commercial Cattle
‘I wantan
attractIve
anImalthat’s
productIve’worth only 5mm, but conversely,
5mm of rain in an area with
cover could be worth 20mm.
Grass species on the farm comprise
Eragrostis, finger grass (Digitaria),
red grass (Themeda triandra),
bristle grass (Setaria), and couch
paspalum (Cynodon dactylon).
The bush component consists
of camphor bush (Tarchonanthus
camphoratus), white karee
(Searsia pendulina), wild olive
(Olea europaea ssp. africana), and
sweet thorn (Vachellia k arroo).
Some of the higher lands have
turpentine grass (Cymbopogon
caesius), but she says that this is
coarse and not really palatable.
Apart from caring for the grazing
resource, optimal herd management
also requires that the farmer
knows the veld and conditions
intimately. Ford’s camp rotation is
geared to optimise different parts
of the veld at different periods. For
example, she allows cows to graze
the high-protein pods carried by
sweet thorns, but limits access
by heifers to prevent them from
producingcalvesthat are too big.FUtUrePLans
Although the cattle component is
her main income generator, Ford
is excited about diversifying into
agritourism. “This landscape
hasa harshness,butwithinthat
there’sa beauty.That’ssomething
Iwish to share with others.”
She has a dedicated game camp
that has been stocked with a variety
of species, as well as other free-
roaming wildlife endemic to the area.
Hiking trails, new guest rooms
and a small conference venue have
been added. She can accommodate
hunting groups (as the game
population must be controlled), and
even Sunday lunch excursions for
visitors from nearby Kimberley.
Ford says she has reached
a stage in her life where she
has begun pondering how
she can start giving back.
“I want to be able to help people
who really have the will and
potential to farm. You don’t climb
the ladder alone,” she says.- Email Alwene Ford at
[email protected]. ▪FW
38 farmer’sweekly 9 august 2019