Commercial cattle farming forms the backbone of the beef industry in Namibia. Over the past few years, the demand for good-quality Namibian beef products, both at home and abroad, has continued on a steady upward curve. Farming in Namibia, however, comes with an array of challenges. Unpredictable weather and frequent droughts are common challenges that farmers have to deal with.
This, combined with fluctuations in the market and disease management, means that aspiring beef cattle farmers or producers hoping to diversify into beef production must carefully consider the financial implications of every decision they make, including what breed to farm and what production system to implement.
Commercial beef cattle production systems can be run under intensive, extensive or semi-intensive conditions. Under an intensive system, cattle are kept in confinement and must be provided with feed and water.
Under extensive conditions, veld or natural grazing is the main source of feed for cattle. The cattle have the freedom to roam outdoors and have some autonomy over diet selection through grazing, water consumption, and access to shelter. Under semi-intensive systems, cattle are exposed to a combination of intensive and extensive husbandry methods, either simultaneously, or varied according to changes in climatic conditions or the physiological state of the cattle. Regardless of the production system you choose to follow, animal selection, nutrition and health remain crucial components of any livestock farming operation. Since livestock farming requires a great deal of capital with a relatively low return on investment, the investment in good genetic material is crucial. Good-quality genetics is essential to improve the productive capabilities of cows and bulls, as well as the quality of weaners.
Commercial cows are selected according to their size, age, condition, stage of production and market price, and must be largely evaluated on reproduction statistics. I hold the opinion that there is no ‘perfect’ breed. Instead, there are better or worse choices for specific conditions and purposes. Your particular farming environment, production and breeding system, as well as your market requirements, should determine your breed choice. The breed you ultimately select should also match your available feed resources and your specific on-farm conditions.
Moreover, climate and vegetation zones, the seasons and the terrain are also important factors to consider when choosing a breed to farm with. These elements should be weighed against the breed’s characteristics and temperament, as well as your beef production strategy, which determines the goals you have for your operation.
Since all breeds are different in terms of their marketable traits, a crossbreeding programme could be an option for a commercial beef farmer. If properly implemented, crossbreeding may significantly increase your herd’s productivity. Moreover, combining the merits of several breeds may provide you with a competitive edge on the market. When considering a crossbreeding programme, keep in mind the traits you want to improve in your herd, as well as the heritability of such traits. For instance, characteristics such as reproduction and longevity have low heritability. As such, these traits respond very slowly to selection, as a large portion of the variation observed in them is due to environmental factors and non-additive genetic effects.
As a commercial beef producer, you may want to focus on producing calves with low birth weights and higher weaning weights. If you’re using an extensive production system, you may also want to focus on improving the walking ability of your animals, for example. Confirmation is important in this instance.
Before embarking on a crossbreeding programme, decide what your production goals are, and select breeds that will complement each other to produce the ideal animal for your farm.
We will tackle more on this in the next column.