Selecting Beefmasters For Functional Efficiency

Selecting breeding stock using economically important criteria over many years has enabled Tony Spolidoro to build up a stud herd of hardy, productive, no-nonsense Beefmaster cattle second to none. Chris Nel visited him on his farm near Magaliesburg in North West.

- Chris Nel

“Beefmaster genetics remove much of the guesswork for a cattle farmer. Whether for stud or commercial, Beefmaster breeders breed cattle for cattlemen.” So says Tony Spolidoro of Spolidoro Beefmaster.

Spolidoro has been involved with Beefmaster since 2001, when he established a herd on a portion of his farm off New Thorndale Road near Magaliesburg in North West.

He has no formal training in animal husbandry, only an enquiring mind and a keen curiosity about the subject. In a sense, this has been an advantage: it has freed him from the restrictions of conventional science, enabling him to keep an open mind, make observations and draw his own conclusions. Over the years, imported semen and Lasater genetics have boosted the Brahman influence in his herd.

“Commercial cattle farmers recently started buying some of the most expensive bulls and females at Beefmaster auctions. This has increased the demand for high-quality breeding animals, leading to intense competition among stud breeders to offer top-quality bulls,” he says.

FUNCTIONAL EFFICIENCY

A cow’s daily feed intake, expressed as kilogram dry matter, is directly proportional to her metabolic weight, Spolidoro explains. In his herd, with the average cow weighing 500kg, the long-term, average 205-day calf weaning weight (both sexes) is 265kg, or 53% of the cow’s weight. “Obviously, a 500kg cow that weans a 250kg calf [50% of her body weight] is more functionally efficient and productive than a 650kg cow weaning a 259kg calf [less than 40% of her body weight],” says Spolidoro.

A NEW BULL IN THE HERD EVERY YEAR