Johann worked with prof Bonsma for many years, and was asked to join the team permanently, but chose to return to ranching and consulting on the side. The second article did not paste, but you might find this one interesting - have you watched Johanns' video workshop from Florida? -
https://heatherdugmore.co.za/man-cattle-and-veld/
Johann Z. says, according to the article, that he wound up with a smaller framed, easier fleshing animal because that is what was required to work with the forage resource he had. I didn't see anything in the article about using smaller framed cattle to maximize profit like the small frame gurus preach.
"Where I come from, in the north of Zimbabwe, we would get 1000mms of rain in four months. The grass grew incredibly fast and there was a lot of it but 86% was a very fibrous grass called
Sporobolus pyramidalis. while the far more palatable grasses, such as
Setaria species were in the minority. There was also severe capping of the soil in the dry season," he explains.
"I had to find a non-selective grazing method to graze down the grass, soften it and break the capping of the soil but at the same time I had to make sure that I maintained good condition and production in the cattle."
When animals that are used to grazing selectively are put into a system where they are put under pressure to graze non-selectively (to improve the veld) their condition drops.
"To compensate for this I realised I needed a hardy, 250 – 450kgs cow with a higher grass intake relative to its size. Smaller framed cattle with African genetics, such as the Nguni and Angoni are ideal for this," continues Johann.
"I realised my Beefmaster herd needed indigenous blood to achieve this smaller size, hardiness and natural resistance to parasites and disease. I believe in adapted genotypes rather than dipping and dosing, which is not only expensive, it is detrimental to the environment, killing off not only the parasites but also critical ecosystem workers like dung beetles. All we have been doing over the past 100 years is breeding dip-resistant ticks instead of tick-resistant cattle.
He went on to say:
"Successful cattle farming is all about keeping your eyes open, being observant of your own cattle, your own veld and your own wallet to see what works for you. There are so many perceptions dressed up as facts that mislead farmers and block common sense from prevailing. The problem with common sense is that it is not so common," he concludes.
