TRADE NEWS •••
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Johan Styger with two of his three Pionters .
“ I do what I love ,” he says while his Pointers , Kaizer , Tarka and Rommel , play all around us . Johan has many years of experience in the engineering field . He has a B . Eng . degree , which he obtained in 1980 , and obtained a B . Eng ( CIV ) ( Hons ) degree in 1986 . After a few years at a consulting engineering firm , Johan started his own engineering business , MDCC , in 2000 in Klerksdorp . He used to be the managing director but focuses more on his specialist field now , namely development and project management . everything has to be done right - this is what precision farming entails .
• Fertility is 50 % of the recipe for success - “ When you have a poor quality calf you at least have something to sell . But when you have no calf you have nothing to sell .”
• BTB ' s female animals run a hurdle race . If they do manage to jump any hurdle , they are eliminated . The first hurdle is to reach the correct mating weight at 13 months , to become pregnant within 45 days and to successfully wean a calf every year .
• Should all your cows not become pregnant , it could mean that you are spending too much on supplements and that there is not enough pressure on fertility in your herd to make any meaningful genetic progress .
• His project management approach comes in quite handy . All genetic measurements are done on weaning day . In order to facilitate management and to put more pressure on fertility , the mating season takes place once a year for a period of 45 days .
• Buy the right feed for the right purpose and make sure of the after-sales service .
• The most important aspect regarding feed is that you should optimally utilise the available resources .
* Look out for the second part of the article in the next Senwes Scenario .
ABOUT FEEDING To start with , animal feeding is about two aspects , namely quality and price . “ As far as animal feed is concerned , I am always prepared to pay more . The correct nutrition is of the utmost importance for my bulls since every one of them could possibly become a stud bull ."
The old saying goes : “ Half the breeding is in the feeding .” It means that it is possible to make an ordinary bull or cow look very good since fat hides faults . " But ", Johan adds , “ this is not where I am heading .”
He also limits the number of show animals due to the fact that feeding actually hides the real genetic potential . " Feeding also hides the single most important element , namely fertility ,” he says . Johan explains that in a good year , all the cows could become pregnant . However , there are always the less fertile cows in each herd . A drought such as the past one , very clearly points out the less fertile cows . We attempt to get rid of the less fertile cows .
A FEW SECRETS ABOUT BTB ' S CATTLE FARMING Johan shared a few secrets with us :
• Since margins are very low , the best available technology and genetics have to be used and
SENWES Scenario • FEB / MAR 2017
17