Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Beefmaster
Pat and Wade Bailey decided to establish the Impact Beefmaster Stud after they saw the difference that the breed made to their existing mixed cattle herd.
Pat Bailey and his son, Wade, run the Impact Beefmaster Stud on the farm Lily Park in the Kei Road area of the Eastern Cape.
Pat was introduced to the breed in 1989 by fellow cattleman and neighbour Graham Hart, owner of the Hart Beefmaster Stud. At that stage, Pat ran a herd of South Devon cows that he crossbred with Brahman and Bonsmara bulls.
He bought his first Beefmaster bulls from the Hart Stud and Martin Bam of Ixopo, and was so impressed with the difference that these animals made to his herd that, with the help of Graham, he started up the Impact Beefmaster Stud.
At the end of 2007, Wade joined the operation after completing his diploma at Cedara Agricultural College.
Nutrition and breeding
The growth of the Beefmaster breed in the Eastern Cape has been phenomenal. The single annual bull sale of the breed has grown to about 13 annual bull sales offering more than 300 bulls in total. This is testimony to how well these bulls are doing in commercial herds.
The Impact Stud and commercial herd are run together under extensive conditions. The stud herd comprises 500 animals, which are run on the veld and receive a phosphate lick in summer and a protein lick in winter.
Heifers are mated at two years old. Bulls are put to the heifers on 1 October, while bulls are put to the cows on 1 December. The bulls run with the female animals for three months.
Pat and Wade use singlesire herds to ensure accurate parent verification. The herd has maintained a conception rate of 90% over the past five years, despite receiving rainfall of well below average over the past four years.
Disease & herd control
Abundant tick loads in this area mean that virulent heartwater, gall sickness and redwater are pervasive. Animals are allowed to have ticks on them before dipping to encourage them to build up resistance to tick-borne diseases and develop hardiness.
The Baileys adhere to Beefmaster breed founder Tom Lasater’s belief that form follows function.
“We aim to breed functionally efficient and adaptable cattle with excellent fertility and weaning weights,” explains Pat.
Every year, about 25% of heifer calves are kept as replacements and 10% of the bull calves are kept at weaning as replacement bulls and potential sale bulls. These calves are given no special treatment after weaning. To develop their hardiness, the Baileys place them in bush camps with no more than grazing and a protein lick. At the end of this veld test, any bulls not up to standard are culled. Only the top 8% of the bulls are then offered at the Hart and Bailey Bull Sale, held in August each year.
The sale has enjoyed great success in recent years, and this is attributed to local commercial breeders returning annually to buy bulls. Hart and Bailey will hold their 29th bull sale on 21 August 2019 at Lily Park Farm.
The Baileys try to keep their cattle breeding programme as simple as possible. “Breeding Beefmasters has made this philosophy easier,” says Pat.
• Phone the Beefmaster Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa on 051 410 0935, or Wade Bailey on 084 549 8280.