A popular breed for all the right reasons

Don McHardy says his interest in Droughtmasters was a natural progression in his quest to breed more efficient beef cattle that are able to realise optimal financial returns. Denene Erasmus reports.

- Denene Erasmus

If you meet Don McHardy on his farm near Dargle in the scenic KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, there are two things about him that you will not forget. The first is his unassuming way of talking about what he has achieved, and the second is the care and respect he shows for his animals.

He is a Midlands local, having grown up in Mooi River, and while his grandfather farmed, and his father owned a feed store, there was no farm for McHardy to inherit. In fact, it wasn’t until fairly recently that he was able to buy his own farm. But his career of working with animals goes back to the early 1990s when, during his time serving in the army, he was trained as a farrier, an occupation that complemented one of his other great passions: playing polo.

He furthered his studies as a farrier in the UK, and today, even though he now works full-time as a farmer, he still runs a clinic specialising in hoof care for cattle and horses.

Cattle used to be a sideline business, which he operated by leasing land. Then, nine years ago, he had the opportunity to buy the 750ha farm that he now owns.

He describes himself as an impatient perfectionist and it shows in the way that he has been able to transform a run-down farm, which was overgrown with alien vegetation, into a lush, well-organised farm, in perfect working operation in only a few years.

A PERFECT FIT

McHardy is mostly known for his Reeba Red Brahman stud, and he also runs a large commercial beef herd bred from a three-way cross between red Brahman, Simmentaler and Sussex. It was only three years ago that he bought his first Droughtmaster bull.