Excelling when feeding on the veld for longer

To address the perception that Borans are unsuitable for commercial feedlots, Francois Smit developed an on-farm system that enables him to realise and retain the profit that would've gone to those feedlots.

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The Boran’s ability to deposit fat quickly during finishing can be a challenge for commercial feedlots, but not so for farm feedlots that put this trait to good use. For them, it’s a key factor in maximising the sustainability and profitability of beef cattle production.

Francois Smit of the Fonteine Borans stud near Derby in North West is one of the producers who has been trying to convince feedlots that discriminating against Boran weaners is not doing anyone any good. To overcome this problem, he developed a system in which his cattle are grown out on the veld first.

Smit, a chartered accountant, and his wife, René, started farming alongside his father-in-law, Isak van Zyl, in 1996. Unfortunately, the pair farmed together for only seven years before Isak passed away.

Today, Smit and his sons, Franco (and his wife Melizé), Christiaan, and Van Zyl (part-time) run a crop farm, the Fonteine Borans stud (comprising 500 breeding cows), as well as a commercial herd of 1 000 cows that have been bred to Boran bulls to achieve almost pure Boran cattle over the years.

ABILITY TO REGAIN CONDITION

The cattle industry is known for holding fast to its opinions, says Smit. Many believe the Boran and other indigenous beef cattle breeds to be unsuitable for the feedlot industry because the Boran is deemed to deposit fat too quickly before reaching its target weight. However, the ability to regain condition following difficult feeding conditions, and to do so quickly, becomes the most important trait to a producer who selects for adaptability, fertility, low maintenance, or animals suitable for higher stocking rates in a high-density grazing system. “This is the trait that your beef cattle herd must possess if you want to produce beef sustainably and economically from the veld. Yet, this is also the trait that feedlots discriminate against,” says Smit.