Recent content by andybob

Doing some sorting through my files, and found this poem I wrote a few years ago; The Horseman The horseman mounts and sets his course, Riding on his new winged horse, And starts upon his final quest, To follow the sun...

A good article on efficiency, Johanns' book is definitely the best beef production handbook available today, as a hands on cattleman, from a family who have ranched for generations, he has applied his degree in genetics (under the tutlage of Prof Jan Bonsma) is invaluable for ranchers looking...

I dread to think what his foreign policy will look like, his past support of communist terror organisations, resulting in his negotiating on behalf of ZANU and the ANC in Africa has been one factor in promoting distrust amongst my people both at home and the over four million in the diaspora...

For interest, on the subject of hide damage, in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, we were paid a premium for branding on the neck or lower leg, I always had my registered brand on the right side of the neck, with the birth date code on the left.

They are a rare heritage breed, so hobby rules apply rather than commercial considerations, so Longhorns are required to have horns for their registration, as a matter of interest, the British Longhorn was the first cattle breed to start a registry and so are the first official pedigree breed,

Neighbours British Longhorn cattle, Dunster Castle. -

The usual birthweight is about 36Kg, some bulls will throw heavier calves, this will be indicated on their performance data.

They are South African composite Bonsmara, these are three years old if my memory serves me, the herd has been established using embryos from Dr Stricks herd in South Africa and have been thriving for over 20 years. The breed is the most performance tested breed in the world, and was bred from...

A photo for the Canadian members, Bonsmara bulls at Thornbush Bonsmaras in Alberta - not mine, but an old neighbour Dr Gordon Strick - anyone interested in using these in temperate climates?

Welcome to the forum, I agree on the social media comments, we were the happiest as a family before social media, and when we lived off grid in Africa. In recent years, I have spent some time doing consultancy work in places where there is no internet connection, and everything just slowed back...

Some photos of my neighbours' British Longhorns.

Correctly managed high density grazing regenerates pasture which has been poorly managed or had the grazing animals - wild or domestic - removed to "rest" the land. Zero till with a good mixture of forage crops as cover crops, properly managed, will rebuild exhausted soils. Getting this message...

I was in South West Matabeleland province of Rhodesia/Zimbabwe as indicated by Burnt, 4 Diamond much of Alans' work was still in progress with the regeneration of veld being the primary aim, mainly through short duration grazing in fenced cells or small paddocks. Some of the earlier setbacks...

The Kalahari bushveld used to produce a vast amount of fodder, the outbreak of Rinderpest in 1896 led to the start of deterioration of the foliage cover due to the kill of most of the ungulates in the system. When I bought my land in the early 70's this problem had been increased due to...

My chief aim during the 70's - before the Holistic concept had fully developed - was to get the grass back to what it had been 60+ years before, and restore the wildlife to historic numbers and varieties, several antelope species had disappeared as the environment deteriorated. A former...