Bonsmara breeder laments predator attacks

Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday July 26, 2017 12:15

Visser raised his concerns in an interview with Mmegi after a field walk organised by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security (Animal Production) under the theme, ‘To encourage preservation and development of feedstock of stud breeds commercially’.

Visser said a major stumbling block in commercial farming includes predators such as hyenas, which target bonsmara cross breeds. He said because the law prohibits use of guns to kill the predators, it is difficult to control the carnivores as they continue to prey on his animals. Visser stated that the best solution is to keep the livestock safe by staying alert and guarding the farm.

He said other challenges include water connectivity and looking after grass for different grazing systems. He urged farmers to breed bonsmara as it has good mothering abilities and as a result of intensive selection, calves are produced off the veld at a very low cost. He said bonsmara has good growth under intensive and extensive conditions and round off very well in feedlots and on the veld with best grading at young age.

“Bonsmaras are docile animals, easy to handle and as result they require less labour. They also play an important role in any crossbreeding programme,” he said. Visser said that farmers should also control breeding by castration of the cattle and dishorning all the calves before seven months to avoid injuries to other animals and humans.

He said they give the breed supplementary vitamins to be strong and to take care of their calves. He said that they also have a vaccination programme in which they test for parasites using cow dung twice a year. He said vaccination help prevent diseases such as anthrax, botulism, black quarter, pasteurella, bovine viral to only mention but a few.

He also spoke about the importance of record keeping, which keeps tracks of the reproduction in the farm. Visser said through record keeping they are able to see the mating and bull performance in a controlled breeding season. He noted that they also weigh animals to calculate the weaning percentage weight of calf in relation to the mother.

“We also calculate the Inter Calf Period (ICP) which primarily will help to get rid of unproductive animals,” he said. South Africa Bonsmara Society breed advisor Louis Steyl encouraged farmers to anaylse the market in their area. He said when breeding bonsmara, cows should be in a position to pay rent.

He indicated that more income would be realised if animals have adapted to the environment and multiply by reproducing. Steyl said that they would be a lot of challenges in husbandry such as water shortage and grazing methods.

He said one could succeed in commercial farming if able to control their own environment and control their animals. He encouraged farmers to consider breeding bonsmara because it is currently performing well in the market. He said the bonsmara breed is the biggest registered animal in South Africa and is a synthetic breed, which performs well in cross breeding programmes. “Already, 55% of animals in the feedlot are bonsmara. The breed produces 80kg more,” he said.