‘Use top-quality cows for commercial success'

Simmentaler stud owner Willem Botha from the eastern Free State says the quality of the breeding cows in a beef cattle herd is crucial to producing the best product and hence fetching the highest prices. This makes them a key component of profitability. Annelie Coleman reports.

- Annelie Coleman

FAST FACTS

High-quality female animals are a key element in a commercial breeding herd.

Although it is expensive to buy stud cows for a commercial concern, the animals that do not make the cut for stud breeding are a viable option for commercial breeders.

The economic realities of beef cattle production mean that commercial breeders can no longer afford to retain poor performers.

Willem Botha, who owns the Tendele Simmentalers stud near Senekal in the Free State, explains that South Africa’s beef cattle sector comprises stud breeders, commercial beef producers and weaner producers, the buyers and sellers of the beef, and finally, the consumer.

All seek maximum returns on investment and/or value for money. It is therefore the stud breeder’s responsibility to provide commercial producers with optimally performing seed stock that makes it possible for them to market fastgrowing and well-developed weaners. This pertains mainly to bulls and, occasionally, female animals, for the commercial sector.

The value of a top-performing commercial cow should never be underestimated, says Botha. It makes little sense to keep a breeding herd of substandard female animals, as not even the best bulls can cancel out the effects of poor-performing cows.