By Charl van Rooyen
The mountainous environment of Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal is a harsh world. Here, cattle must thrive in acidic conditions high above sea level and occasionally in snow. This is precisely what Rustin Shawe, Voermol’s Beef Farmer of the Year for 2024, accomplishes.
If you are a farmer in the acidic sour veld, where cattle must climb up to 2 200 meters in search of grazing, and infertile cows can spell the end of farming, you would do well to select like Rustin Shawe. With purposeful attention to frame size, adaptability, and fertility, only those cows that become pregnant first during the breeding season remain in the herd; the rest are sold.
Why Droughtmaster?
Rustin, who was named Voermol’s Beef Farmer of the Year in 2024, and his wife, Monick, farm cattle – specifically a Droughtmaster stud and commercial cattle – and plant 150 hectares of maize for silage for the cattle and for grain to improve cash flow. All the land on the home farm, Grassfields Farm, and the other properties Rustin has acquired over the years is in KwaZulu-Natal. The home farm is 30 km from Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga and 50 km from Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal.
Upon Rustin’s arrival at the family farm, his father, Hubert, had a Brahman, Simmentaler, and Angus breeding stock. Later, they transitioned to a commercial herd, bred from these three breeds and using Beefmaster bulls.
In 2010, Rustin read about the Droughtmaster and realised that the Beefmaster and Droughtmaster are different breeds. “I could see that the Droughtmaster looks slightly different. My father and I went to look at Johan van der Nest’s herd in Vryburg, and that same year, we bought two stud bulls at an auction to use with our cows.”
A Droughtmaster breeders’ association was established in 2012, with Hubert serving as the first chairman and Rustin being one of the founding members. Rustin is currently a board member responsible for production.
F1 animals were recognised as breeding stock due to the limited gene pool. Cattle expert Ian Curran examined breeders’ F1 cattle, and those that phenotypically resembled Droughtmasters were accepted as F1. In this manner, Grassfields also developed their herd into full Droughtmasters. Rustin and his father’s Grassfields Beef Droughtmasters were registered in 2012.
Droughtmaster SA was admitted to SA Stud Book as a full breeders’ association in 2022.
High fertility
The breed is medium-sized. “Our environment determines the ideal size for cattle. It is mountainous with sour veld, a short summer, and a long winter. During this time, temperatures can drop to -15°C, and we receive snow due to the elevation, which ranges from 1 600 m to 2 200 m.”
Rustin’s Droughtmasters have become relatively uniform over time.
His method of strict selection guarantees high fertility. Although the breeding season lasts 110 days, he retains only those female animals that become pregnant within the first 60 days with the bulls. The heifers are allowed to run with the bulls from October 1 to January 10 and the cows from November 1 to February 10. On February 10, he performs pregnancy tests to confirm the pregnancies from the first 60 days and then again on March 10 to identify which animals became pregnant during the last 50 days.
The cows and heifers bred by the bull during the first period remain on the farm while the others are sold. On average, 80% are pregnant after 60 days, and by the end of the breeding season, 95% are pregnant.
Rustin has a well-equipped auction complex on his home farm. This year’s production auctions are on June 12, when he will offer 400 to 450 cows and 70 bulls, and in early November, he will present cows with small calves, around 30 bulls, and approximately 200 long weaners.
Healthy weaning percentage
This rigorous selection for fertility and breeding of the appropriate type of animal for the environment allows Rustin to maintain an inter-calving period (ICP) of 360 to 380 days in both the stud and commercial herds.
He says it is difficult to calculate an average calving percentage because he sells the animals that do not conceive within the first 60 days. The herd consists of 2 100 production cows and heifers that graze with the bulls. Of these, 1 600 remain after the June auction, including 300 stud animals and 1 300 commercial production animals. The most fertile stud cows and heifers achieve a weaning percentage of 90%, while the commercial herd reaches 96%.
He weans the calves in mid-April when the oldest calves are 9.5 months and the youngest are 6.5 months old.
Long weaners add value
Rustin retains a portion of the weaned calves and allows them to grow out to sell as long weaners to feedlots in November and December when meat prices are high — the remainder he sells as weaned calves to feedlots.
Rustin has enough veld for the system to raise long weaners. He aims to raise all the calves and sell only long weaners, adding more value. By growing out the long weaners on the veld, his production costs are lower than if the calves were grown out on contract at a feedlot. He tried it once, but the feed costs were too high.
The last consignment of long weaners yielded him about R2 500 more per animal than weaned calves, while he invested just R1 000 extra per animal on feed, resulting in an additional profit of R1 500.
The commercial cattle herd was used for many years to breed bulls and production animals for the farm before they started with the stud.
Fine grazing management
The soil type varies considerably. There is turf and red soil at the foot of the Utrecht mountains. In other areas, some sandy soil is used for planting maize. The veld is quite rocky on the slopes and on the mountain.
The veld primarily consists of red grass and is quite acidic. In the past, they also farmed with sheep, which impacted the veld negatively. As a result, few good grasses remained. Since they changed to farming only with cattle and practising good crop rotation, the veld is beginning to recover.
During the summer, the farm operates a five-camp grazing system, allowing each camp 30 to 40 days of rest. Rustin rotates the camps until the end of January to ensure some camps will still have growth until May. They are then grazed again in June and July.
In August, he moves the cattle back to smaller camps closer to the house to receive hay and silage as they begin calving. In October, the animals return to the summer camps, which are burned as standard practice to remove the mat of dead grass. The cattle then graze on the fresh grass that has sprouted.
Rustin applies pressure grazing with herds of 150 to 300 cattle per camp in relatively small areas. This method has increased the carrying capacity and allows for greater production of weaned calves on the same amount of land.
The veld is now stocked at 2 hectares per large stock unit (LSU), down from 3 hectares per LSU previously.
“Thanks to this rotational resting system, we have very good veld and can maintain a high stocking rate, even on sour veld. We provide regular summer and winter lick because the grass is less nutritionally valuable than sweet veld. In September, the cattle receive a production lick, ensuring that the cows do not lose condition before the breeding season begins.”
The health management is enhanced by the single calving season, as the vaccination program can be more effectively implemented with all the calves in their age groups. Throughout the year, the cattle are vaccinated and treated at scheduled times against various diseases, including lumpy skin disease, three-day stiffness, and Rift Valley fever, to ensure a healthier cow herd and reduce mortality rates.
“We, therefore, follow an extensive farming system to convert grass into protein; however, we also have a brief period during the calving season when farming is intensive in nature.”
Cropping for silage and hay
As part of his good feed flow program, Rustin plants 150 hectares of maize, with 60 to 70 hectares used for silage and the remainder harvested for grain sales. The maize fields are on dryland, 5 km west of the other farms.
Some cattle receive silage from early August to the end of September when they also begin feeding hay. Rustin prepares enough silage to provide 5-10 kg per animal daily for approximately 900 of the 1 600 heifers and cows that calve each year. Before calving, they receive 5 kg of silage daily, increasing to 10 kg per day after calving. These animals require less lick due to the high nutritional value of the silage.
The heifers graze on the crop residues before they go to the bull for the first time on October 1. The crop residues last for about two months. After that, the heifers receive hay, and 1.5 kg of production lick daily to stimulate them to take the bull.
Utilising new technology
New technology can only add value to a farm if the farmer uses it. That’s why Rustin conducts tests for paternity and double muscling. All the bulls are tested for double muscling by the ZooOmics laboratory in Pretoria. He sometimes buys new breeding material to broaden the genetic base but mainly uses his own animals he knows can deliver.
Rustin mentions that they have an embryo program featuring cows that breed exceptionally well on the farm. To this end, bulls with proven records are used. The embryo program also seeks to accelerate genetic progress by employing the best animals in the herd.
Monick manages all the farm’s administration, including tax matters, wages, and accounts. Additionally, she assists with the stud and submits birth notices to the association, sends DNA samples to Unistel’s laboratory in Stellenbosch for parentage confirmation, and handles all the necessary paperwork for registration.
African Farming asked
What technology is indispensable in your farming? DNA analysis for all breeding animals to determine paternity and maternity, tests for three types of double muscling in the Grassfields bulls, and an embryo program featuring proven animals that breed effectively.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? My father, Hubert, taught me not to complicate breeding. The main goal is fertility. After that, the environment will determine the type of functional animal you want to breed for your setting.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve made? Making impulsive decisions without sufficient research.
Who was your mentor? Mine was my father. We farmed together for 18 years, and I learned much from him since childhood. His most important lesson was maintaining a strong work ethic and integrity.
What are your biggest challenges in farming? The weather, diseases- especially the threat of foot-and-mouth disease- and the current pressure on cattle prices.
Are you involved in organised agriculture? Yes, I serve on the Droughtmaster and Kwanalu boards and am the chairman of Groenvlei’s farmers’ association.
Inquiries: Rustin Shawe, email: shawe01@gmail.com, 083 235 3998.
