Diversification of income streams important in a beef production enterprise

ONE of the frequent questions that I am asked by aspiring farmers is to do with the viability of a beef production enterprise.

Often aspiring farmers want to know what herd size is viable and whether they can live solely on beef production.

This week I will, therefore, try to answer some of the questions and hope to assist a few upcoming livestock farmers.

I must hasten to say that it is not easy to find literature which gives you figures that are relevant to our own country or region in terms of minimum viable herd sizes. However, my own interaction with most livestock farmers who have walked the mile is that they will tell you that you can begin to live from your herd if you have at least 50 breeding cows.

This will also depend on one’s expenses and liabilities. In other words with a reasonably small family and an average lifestyle this kind of a herd composition should be able to carry you.

It is, however, important to note that livestock production and specifically beef production is a long-term investment which means it takes time to harvest from your initial investment.

This is where most of us fall by the wayside because we have immediate financial needs that cannot wait for the calf born today to become a two-yearold steer to be sold.

Also there are recurrent costs that will need to be cleared say on a monthly basis such as your water and electricity bills and these will definitely put pressure on your cash flows.

It is therefore prudent for starters in the beef production to consider other quick wins in terms of income streams so that you take off the pressure from the beef production enterprise.

You may therefore want to support your beef production investment with such fast maturing projects as your broiler production or even layer production so that you have diversification of income streams.

I appreciate that some of these quick turnover enterprises are almost flooded in the market and you may not make as much as you would wish or you can even run a loss but it is still a more friendly option rather than trying to wait for a calf to grow into a heifer and you sell it at two-and-a-half years.

Beef production enterprise like any business venture, has running costs such as personnel, utility bills, veterinary costs and the cost of supplementary feeds at times.

All these will draw from your pocket and hence the need to diversify your income streams. This is the reason why your typical yesteryear commercial farm would have many other small business units such as the tuckshop, poultry and piggery section, horticulture section and even a grinding meal just to harness every possible cent outside the main income stream.

One other thing is that one has to be willing to invest into the enterprise so that you produce the kind of product that you can proudly sell.

Most people want to get into beef production because they think it is less involving than other enterprises. They figure animals just go out and look for their own feed and its less stress to the farmer. It’s far from it.

A beef production enterprise can be more stressful than some other enterprise in the same sector because of the level of investment one puts in. For example the most expensive bull at this year’s bull sale went for $5 600 which means that’s how much investment one farmer has decided to put in acquiring a pedigree bull and the following week your boys call to inform you that it has been caught by a snare!

You may hang yourself in that snare if you are not brave.

While this might seem like an outrageous amount to some, it is actually a statement of intent by the farmer to say I am aiming for the premium product.

I will hazard here to hypothesise that the level of attention you give to your farm is directly proportional to the amount of investment you sunk in the enterprise. This is precisely the reason you hardly find good quality Brahman, Beefmaster or any such breeds hit by a truck on your highway. It is a pricey animal and it is guarded jealously but your everyday munjanja is left to roam around.