Zimbabwe's Tuli cattle make financial sense and are easy to farm

The Tuli is an iconic beef breed of Zimbabwe that will make any breeder proud, according to Kerry Stewart, Tuli stud breeder and chairperson of the Zimbabwe Tuli Breeders' Society. Annelie Coleman spoke to her and other breeders about the advantages of farming Tuli cattle.

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Dynamic, robust and unfaltering, is how Kerry Stewart describes the Tuli breed. It was developed in Zimbabwe to thrive under often challenging D climatic conditions. Stewart runs the LZ Stud near Gwanda in southern Zimbabwe.

The medium-framed Tuli comes in four basic coat colours: red, gold, ivory and dun. These colours and their sleek, shiny coats have enabled them to adapt well to the intense sunlight typical of Zimbabwe.

As the Tuli breed developed in relative isolation, it has a unique genetic make-up, being neither Bos taurus nor B. indicus, rendering it especially successful in cross-breeding programmes. A high degree of hybrid vigour is achieved, plus the added advantage of polled calves.

TAXING AFRICAN CONDITIONS 

Just like the Tuli breed, Stewart was also born and bred in Zimbabwe, and she grew up with the breed. She took over her family's Tuli stud in 2014. The LZ Tuli stud was started by her father, Joseph Stewart, in 1976. She says she continued with the Tulis because of the breed's inherent capacity to excel under often taxing African conditions.

"On the farm I also run small pure herds of Sussex, Beefmaster and Jersey. The Tuli, however, is the all-round winner in terms of calving ease and fertility. The breed's adaptability to climatic conditions, varying from multiyear droughts to excessive rain, can't be surpassed," says Stewart.

She describes the Tuli as a medium-framed, allrounder beef animal with an even temperament. "Whilst they are medium-sized, they are considered the biggest of the Zimbabwean indigenous breeds. Their biggest advantage is their fertility, calf-to-weaning ratio, and early maturity. The Tuli’s tick resistance can’t be matched by any other breed,” says Stewart.