Meatmasters: Bred For Tough Conditions And Good Meat

Jean Du Plessis Refers to Himself as a ‘bush Breeder’, Someone Who Selects With the Eye and Farms in Harmony With His Natural Environment. Sabrina Dean Visited Him in the Arid Northern Cape to Find Out More About His Extensive Meatmaster Sheep Farming Operation.

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A small flock of crows fly to a tree and settle there as we drive through the Karoo shrub on the farm. Jean du Plessis says the birds let him know when he has lost lambs to predators overnight.

“They are pointers and show me early in the morning when there has been damage. They also fly when the ewes start lambing; they hang around to pick up the afterbirth,” he says.

Du Plessis selects his sheep phenotypically, based on the correct appearance to survive and produce in the extensive conditions on his farm.

He and his wife, Cecile, run their commercial operation, Elandsnek Boerdery, in the arid terrain near Strydenburg in the Northern Cape, where they have been farming Meatmaster sheep since the mid-1990s.

Du Plessis says the Meatmaster gives them the best of both worlds, as the animal is hardy, fertile and adaptable, but still produces a good meat yield and carcass.

ORIGINS OF THE BREED

A Meatmaster is an indigenous Damara crossed with another sheep breed. The most common cross is with a Dorper, but many of the first Meatmasters were crossed with breeds such as the Ile de France or the Van Rooy.

The Damara is a tough sheep, recognisable by its long, slender form and thick, fat tail. It is known for its ability to survive in tough environments such as Namibia and the Karoo.

The problem with farming purebred Damara, says Du Plessis, is the carcass. It carries the bulk of its fat in its haunches, with the shoulder cuts appearing narrow and the very lean meat having a venisonblue colour, which results in the carcass being penalised by abattoirs. This prompted pioneers like Du Plessis to start experimenting by crossing the Damara with other sheep breeds to create the first Meatmasters.