Why Santa Gertrudis?

The modern Santa Gertrudis are medium framed cattle. They are exceptionally good foragers (non-selective) and with an excellent walking ability cover long distances in search for food and water. The modern Santa, with its dark red, smooth coat, well hooded eyes (more resistant to cancer and pink eyes) and excellent legs and feet, is tailor made for future South African trends. They are medium - quick maturing, carrying a lot more muscling than those imported in the nineteen seventies and is definitely better adapted to our extreme climatic conditions.

Santa weaners, both pure bred and crosses, consistently excel in feedlot growth tests. Weaner weight for male and female calves were 227 kg with an ADA of 930 while the national average for all breeds is only 217 kg with an ADA of 869. Weight gains of up to 2 kilogram per day are common and they are sought after because of their high cutability (slaughter percentage) with up to 65% having been recorded.

The South African Santa breeder is leading the field in breeding for superior Feed Conversion. Many of our growth test bulls are consuming less than six kilogram of feed for one kilogram of weight gain. This is achieved because we believe that performance is the only criteria by which a breed can be judged and in this aspect the Santa Gertrudis has excelled. This is proved by the latest data released by the National Beef Performance Testing Scheme. (2002)

Approximately 55% of the total feed and non feed costs of lean meat production is required to maintain the cow herd (Dickenson 1983). Approximately 70% of the cost of rounding off cattle in feedlot is feed costs. The larger part of the variation in production cost, is therefore related to feed conversion.

If all the facts are considered, FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) as calculated in Phase C of the SA Performance Testing Scheme, is a trait that should be given greater emphasis in the selection of superior animals. In this regard the Santa has made steady progress with many Phase C tested bulls now achieving FCR's of less than 5.5 with some already have broken the magical 4,00 barrier, the best being 3,84 (the best ever in South Africa for all breeds.)

Taking the above in consideration, it should be obvious that the cattle breeder in South Africa would benefit financially if he use Santa Gertrudis Bulls. BLUP analysis on all Santa bulls is available.

The Santa Gertrudis are non selective feeders therefore whether an intensive high pressure grazing system or a light grazing system is employed, pasture degration is negligible. Inspiring and aiding pasture management and natural resources.

Even in the showring the Santa Gertrudis are performing well. At Vryburg, Bloemfontein and Johannesburg shows the Santa Gertrudis won the Gold Cup during 1997 and 2001 with 3 different animals, judged by 3 different judges

Cross Breeding.

If you are considering or doing crossbreeding - SANTA GERTRUDIS IS THE ANSWER

In the stud industry the biggest problem is that breeders forget what the cattle industry is about. Stud breeders can thus start living in their own small world in colour markings and pedigrees that they forget what is really important, namely the requirements of the commercial breeder. If stud breeders would listen to what the commercial breeder says and produce what he wants, he will always be in business.

Commercial breeders attend auctions and tend to buy the cheapest bull on sale, no matter what breed it is, it is going to be the new bull / breed in his crossbreeding programme.

What we should be striving for is to be producing the biggest amount of saleable beef from the grass growing on the farm. To achieve this goal, we must breed cattle that will maintain high standard in the following production characteristics: fertility, milk production, vitality, weight gain, length, muscling and temperament. Cattle must also possess constitution, of which the Santa Gertrudis breed has ample.

Characteristics with a low heritability, e.g. fertility, the most important characteristic of breed production, cannot be improved upon quickly by selection, but can be greatly enhanced by using Santa Gertrudis bulls in the crossbreeding programme.

Mortality goes hand in hand with fertility. Dr Rex Butterfield of Australia once said: "A dead calf still has a distressingly poor growth rate even if we know why he is dead". Santa Gertrudis cows have a very low calf mortality rate and are renown for producing calves op to 16 years of age.

Milk production is just as important. The commercial breeder cannot afford to try and rectify this characteristic by selection alone when he can do so by using another breed. It is probably the highest single factor that will determine how many kilograms of beef a cow will produce over twelve months, because milk is a food. In the case of the weaner calf producer, the weaning weight produced by the breeding cows per hectare is the correct measurement to use.

Fertility is very important, and therefore one must not overlook the cow. It is of the utmost importance that one's cows are highly fertile.

With crossbreeding you can find the desired combination to suite your conditions and production system. The bigger the genetic variation between breeds, the better the hybrid vigour.

In extensive conditions the best results of crossbreeding will be achieved by crossing an European breed (Bos Taurus) with a Zebo (Bos Indicus) breed or a developed breed such as the Santa Gertrudis.

Hybrid vigour is not heritable. To maintain this, the crossbreeding programme must be correctly managed (do not buy the cheapest bull on sale). In any crossbreeding system selection with performance and conformation in mind, is just as important as in stud breeding.

Thus, one of the most important aspects in a crossbreeding programme is the bull in use. The purchase of a bull must be seen as in investment and not a burden or liability. It is mainly the bull that will determine the quality of your future herd. In influence of the last three bulls you bought into the herd is nearly 90%. The long term effect of a good or poor bull in the future herd is there-fore clearly noticeable.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What natural feed resources are available?

• What cultivated fodder is economically available?

• Based on feed resources, what system of production (weaner, yearling, long yearling, oxen off the veldt or feed lotting) is the most profitable?

• Finally and most importantly, do I like the breed?

What is a better bull? It is a bull that when you look at him and his performance records (BLUP figures) and his ancestors and you think he should breed you better calves with better weaning weights than your previous bull, the chances are good that it is a better bull. If the bull meets all your expectations, then you should buy him.

By using a Santa Gertrudis bull, you can of course need only concentrate on one breed because the pure Santa Gertrudis weighs as much at 18 months as other breeds with the advantage of crossbred hybrid vigor. You have the added advantage of having an uniform cherry red herd.

In the conclusion the following:

Firstly, breed quality: For the consumer, so that he can feel satisfied and gets value for money.
Secondly, for the butcher so that he can keep his customers happy and make a profit.
Thirdly, for the feedlot owner: So that he can keep the butcher happy and also make a profit.
Fourthly, for yourself because you want to be proud of your product and you deserve to make a profit.

If you use Santa Gertrudis bulls, you can have confidence in your product.

Lasiter said: "Cattle breeding is a simple process - the secret is just to keep is simple".