Stormberg-Tough Beefmasters

Benchmark Beefmasters in the Eastern Cape’s Stormberg is a combination of the old and new generation of Beefmaster breeders. It seeks to produce a versatile animal that thrives in a harsh climate and resists tick-borne diseases, according to stud owner Justin Stretton.

- Justin Stretton

Benchmark Beefmasters brings together the high-quality cattle, and expertise, of the Stretton and Ford families.

The former’s relationship with Beefmaster cattle began in 1982 with a visit to the Isa Cattle Company in Texas, says Justin Stretton, the owner of Benchmark Beefmasters. This is where the family’s long relationship with the Lasater programme began.

In 1984, Justin’s father, Trevor, owner of Creative Beefmasters near Sterkstroom in the Eastern Cape, secured semen from proven Beefmaster sires in Texas. Two years later, the first genuine Beefmaster calves were born on the farm Coldstream.

To create a solid genetic base, Creative Beefmasters continued to improve its herd by using semen from the Lasater herd and Casey Beefmaster, a Texas-based stud that selects according to

Lasater’s Six Essentials. Using the best of local genetics from top breeders also had a major influence over the years on the Creative Beefmaster herd.

Begelly, the Ford family farm, is situated south of Grahamstown in an area infamous for tick-borne diseases.

In 1999, the family purchased three separate herds of Simbra, Tauricus and Bonsmara cows. In addition, they imported 30 Simbra stud cows and calves, and four bulls from the well-known Metsibra Simbra Stud in Nambia. This would later became the nucleus of Begelly Beefmasters.

In 2010, the Fords introduced the first Creative Beefmaster bulls to the herd to improve uniformity and fertility. Fifty Creative Beefmaster heifers were introduced the following year.

In July 2014, the Stretton and Ford beef farming operations combined their Beefmaster herds to form Benchmark Beefmasters. At present, the enterprise has a female herd of about 800 cows and in-calf heifers, and 250 replacement heifers.