Succeeding with a big Simbra herd in the unforgiving Klipveld

Rocco Botha runs a commercial herd of Simbra cattle on North West's Klipveld, an aptly named area noted for its rocks and sourveld. Annelie Coleman spoke to him about his veld and animal management

- Annelie Coleman

According to Rocco Botha, the Klipveld near Lichtenburg in North West is no easy place to farm cattle. "The challenges not only come with the terrain being very rocky and the winters being dry and harsh, but also with ticks and tick-borne diseases in the summer months.

"European breeds are more likely to have a harder time under these conditions. I therefore decided on the Simbra because of its hardiness, adaptability to extreme farming conditions and relative resistance to pests and diseases. An added factor is the Simbra cow’s strong maternal ability, with abundant milk and unequalled parental instinct,” he says.

Botha runs more than 1 000 Simbras on 13 000ha that stretches from the west to the east side of Lichtenburg. The average yearly precipitation is between 400mm and 500mm and the Klipveld consists mainly of sourveld with isolated spots of sweetveld. The grazing is made up of prominent grasses such as red grass (Themeda triandra) and other indigenous grasses, as well as indigenous trees and shrubs. Alien species are continually eradicated from the veld.

FERTILITY AND MILK 

Botha’s breeding philosophy is to breed fertile cows with high milk and meat properties. He prefers medium- to large-framed animals with a smooth dark skin, long ears and a white face.

“Performance testing is one of the most critical points when it comes to our structures and implementation of our management style on the farm. Our commercial herd is tested for pregnancy three to four times a year while the bulls’ performance, fertility and possible deficiency are tested two to three times a year. We source genetics from well-known breeders with a proven track record,” he says.

GRAZING MANAGEMENT