Dirco Swart and his wife, Robyn, keep their Blinkmeneer Beefmaster stud on 580ha near Frankfort in the Eastern Free State. The stud, started in 2010, consists of 180 breeding females, of which a third are replacement heifers.
Swart uses eight bulls (four from his own stud) on his cows. A Blinkmeneer stud bull, DR 16 7302, went for R120 000 at the Sarwipi Beefmasters Auction held in August. In July, another Blinkmeneer bull, DR 16 1507, realised R48 000, the highest price at the Makiti Auction in Frankfort.
Annually, the stud produces 20 quality registered bulls, most of which are sold to commercial farmers. The focus is on producing top-performing animals, not on selling as many as possible. Swart has followed in the footsteps of his father, Manie, a former principal of the Wilgerivier High School, who farmed parttime until his retirement. Swart, who works in the banking sector, says his father instilled in him a love of beef cattle. The stud is named Blinkmeneer in memory of Swart’s late brother, Pieter, whose nickname for him was ‘Blink meneer’.
“It’s a pleasure to combine my love of numbers and the skills I acquired in the corporate environment with livestock breeding,” he says. “Numbers are important because, as a part-time breeder, I can’t afford to maintain animals that don’t excel economically.”
To maximise profit, Swart opted for a stud from day one, starting with 38 cows and two bulls on 210ha of leased land. He maintains that producing stud animals costs very little more than raising commercial ones, but the return on investment for a stud animal is considerably higher.
CHOOSING THE BREED
This story is from the October 25, 2019 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 25, 2019 edition of Farmer's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
