notselectfora non-profitable
trait.Ittakesonlyoneortwo
generationsif youusetheright
bulltogeta colouryoulike.
Ratherselectyourheiferson
conformationandgeta bullthat
willintroduceyourdesiredskin
colour.SouthAfricanswillget
usedtohoney-colouredcattle,and
thesoonerit happens,thebetter.”ThecommercialmarkeT
“Moreandmorecommercial
farmersarebuyingBeefmaster
bulls,withgreatsuccess.The
breedis thrivinginSouthern
Africa,wheremanyfarmers
needtobeefuptheircattle.
Predictionsarethatdemandwill
bemuchhigherthansupply.“WithBeefmaster,you’rebuying
cattlethatareefficientand
canadapttoanycondition.”
Odendaalstressesthat
farmersareinthecattle
industrytomakemoney,and
theBeefmasterhastheright
toolstohelpthemachievethis.
“BybuyingtherightBeefmaster
bull,you’llspeedupthecattle
evolutionthatstartedmore
than 10000 yearsago.Asbeef
producers,weshouldalltryto
breedsuperioranimalsandhelp
feedtheworld.It’snevertoo
latetobuya Beefmasterbull.”- PhoneFransOdendaalon
072214 6300,or phonethe
BeefmasterCattleBreeders’Society
of SouthAfricaon 051410 0935.
ABOVE:
According to
data compiled
by Studbook SA,
Beefmaster cows
haveshorter
intercalvingperiods
thanotherbreeds.
RIGHT:
Beefmastercows
aresmallerthan
otherbreeds,but
produceheavier
weaners.to work for, as it’s part of the
Beefmaster’scomposition.”
reproducTion
andgrowTh
“The Beefmaster’s average age at
first calf and intercalving period
(as measured by SA Studbook) is
better than the average of other
breeds. The cows are smaller
than average and the calves at
weaning are heavier,” he says.
The Odendaals have conducted
many experiments with the
WO herd using various breeds,
and only the Beefmaster
showed the ability to calve
at the age of two years and
produce a calf every year with
a reasonable weaning weight.
The other breeds did not adapt
or reach target weights in time.
Young bulls in the WO herd
gained more than 2kg/day on
a production lick in summer.
“The breed also does extremely
wellinfeedlots,”addsOdendaal.
Brahmaninfluence
TheBosindicusfactoris
oneofthemostimportant
aspectsthatdifferentiatesthe
Beefmasterfromotherbreeds.
“Thebeefmarketis expanding
inAfrica,andfarmersneed
cattlethatcanadapttodifferent
conditionsandarehardy,aswell
asresistanttoticksanddisease.
Theyshouldbeabletowalkwell
andstillproducegood-quality
meat.Duetoitshybridvigour,
a Beefmasterbullcanprovide
allthebesttraitsofB.indicus
andB.Taurusinitsoffspring.”
colour
While most Beefmasters are red,
they can be other colours too,
and this is not detrimental.
“Many of South Africa’s best
cattle are slaughtered because of
colour,” says Odendaal. “This is
the biggest mistake that farmers
can make. Farmers should
9 August 2019 farmer’sweekly 69‘BEEFMASTERS
POSSESS BUILT-IN
HYBRID VIGOUR’