promotional supplement
P
roducingmeatofexcellent
qualityata reasonableprice
is themainaimofbreeding
beefcattle.Meatcanbemarketed
ina numberofways,however.
Thefirstandmostcommon
wayintheSouthAfricanred
meatindustryis tosellweaner
calvestofeedlots.Thereis also
theoptionofbackgrounding
calvesonthefarmtofattenthem
upforfeedlotsorslaughter.
Anotheroptionis tooperate
theentirevaluechain,from
breedingtheanimalsto
weaning,backgrounding,
feedingandslaughtering
them,andthenretailingthe
meat.Butfewfarmershavethe
capacitytocarryoutallthis.Themostimportantaspectof
meattradingis theanimal’s
abilitytogrow.However,in
recentyears,themeasuringof
ananimal’sfeedconversion
ratio(FCR)hasalsobecomea
keyfactor.TheFCRis oneofthe
mosteffectivewaystoincrease
theprofita farmercangenerate
fromcattle.Accordingtoa
studybyAlisonSundstrom,a
10%improvementinaverage
dailygaincanproducean
increaseof18%inprofit,while
a 10%improvementinFCR
canseeprofitrisingby43%.Performancetesting
Themosteffectivewayto
selectforgrowthis touse
performancetesting.
Bonsmarabreedersarethe
leadersinthisrespectasthey
aredeterminedtoensurethat
onlythefinestgeneticsareused
inthebreedandthensoldon
tothecommercialindustry.
Morethan 7000 youngbulls
aretestedannuallybyBonsmara
breedersinon-farmgrowth
tests,andonlythebestendup
becomingbreedingbulls.Bonsmarasarewellknownfortheir highgrowthandfeed
conversionrates.Theyperformexceptionallywellin intensiveand
extensivesystems,and addvalueto anycattleoperation.
Bonsmara
weaners remain
the first choice
for feedlotsHigh growth rate: a
true Bonsmara trait
66 farmer’sweekly 9 August 2019