Beefmasters produce heavy weaners despite drought

Coenraad Viljoen, who ran the Josephus Beefmaster Stud on Sunny Slopes near East London, said that strict selection criteria had paid off in the long run.

- Coenraad Viljoen

This article was written by Michelle Viljoen in collaboration with her late husband Coenraad Viljoen, before his death on 1 June 2020. Viljoen was born on 21 February 1960, and passed away during an emergency operation. He was healthy and fit, well respected and well loved by his wife and three daughters. The Beefmaster Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa offers its condolences to the Viljoen family. He will be sorely missed by the Beefmaster community.

Coenraad Josephus Viljoen was the owner of the Josephus Beefmaster Stud in the Eastern Cape. He applied strict selection criteria to his bulls, cows and heifers. According to Viljoen, this certainly paid off, as even after the severe drought, his cows still delivered calves with high weaning weights.

The Josephus Beefmaster Stud is run on the farm Sunny Slopes in Macleantown, close to East London.

“I am still amazed at how grateful the thirsty land and the stud cattle were for every little drop of mercy rain we received over the last couple of months,” said Viljoen. “Our Beefmasters are still in good form due to the impressiveness of their progeny, their high calf survivability, adaptability, fertility and hardiness on natural veld.”

Vaccines

With the rain, came the ticks. The farm is a haven for tickborne diseases such as redwater, heartwater and gallsickness.