At the recent Wagyu Conference in Frankfurt, two speakers shared beef farming principles that extend far beyond niche production. Their insights offer practical guidance for any livestock farmer, whether working with Wagyu, Angus or commercial crossbreeds.
By Vida Booysen, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
1. Plan for Success
“The golden thread that runs through all successful farms is planning,” says Jan-Hendrik Zietsman of AntroVet Animal Health.
He illustrates this statement with the story of a sheep farmer who reported dramatically improved conception rates after using laparoscopy. Zietsman asked whether the vet had put the farmer through a thorough preparation programme beforehand. The farmer confirmed this and added that he had followed the programme to the letter.
According to Zietsman, the real advantage lay not only in the technology itself – though laparoscopy is undeniably valuable, especially for multiplying breeding material – but also in the farmer’s meticulous preparation. “It’s not the laparoscopy that boosted his herd’s fertility so much; it’s the fact that he planned for everything and stuck to the plan. Nothing was left to chance or guesswork. I would even argue that if he had followed the same preparation and simply used his rams, he might have achieved even better results.”
Practical application: Write down your annual plan. When will you test bulls? When will you start pre-feeding? When will you vaccinate? Don’t leave these decisions for Monday morning; map them out in advance.
2. Understand Your Market Before You Breed
“Theoretical knowledge and practical application are very different things,” says Waldo Scheepers, director of Breed Improvement & Genomics at the Wagyu Society of South Africa. “You need animals that can perform in your specific environment and meet the expectations of your target market.”
Practical application: Before you buy a bull, ask yourself the following questions: Who would buy these calves? What type of animals would they want – light weaners or slaughter-ready cattle, pasture-raised or feedlot-finished? Breed with your market in mind.
Also read: The farming lessons Voermol’s 2024 Beef Farmer of the Year learnt
3. Balance Beats Performance
“In the early days of the Wagyu community, we focused too much on a handful of traits. We soon realised that balance was the key,” Scheepers says.
This principle applies to all breeds. A bull with excellent growth but poor fertility or a cow with high milk yield but poor adaptability can compromise your operation.
Practical application: Evaluate your herd across multiple traits. Growth, fertility, calving ease, milk production and adaptability all need to be kept in balance.
4. Colostrum is King
A major part of Zietsman’s presentation focused on immune management, an area where planning is crucial. He says calves are born “immune-naïve” and rely entirely on colostrum for their first antibodies. Without sufficient high-quality colostrum within six to eight hours of birth, a calf’s immune system will be compromised for life. “I would even go so far as to say that if a calf hasn’t suckled from its mother within the first eight hours, you must step in and provide colostrum. That’s really the crux of the matter.”
His recommendation is to build up a colostrum bank by harvesting surplus colostrum from older cows right after their own calves have fed for the first time. Because these cows have been in the area longer, they are more likely to have developed antibodies against local diseases.
Practical application: Store colostrum from older cows in the freezer for emergencies. “If you see a young cow struggling with birth, you can give her calf colostrum from those older cows. The correct amount is 10-12% of the calf’s body weight, which usually works out to 300–350 millilitres.”
5. Know Your Costs – Every Rand Counts
Scheepers’ cost analysis highlights how easily production costs can outstrip returns: “Poor management decisions can result in costs of R42 000 per animal while only R39 000 in returns are achieved.”
Practical application: Calculate your costs per calf up to weaning weight, or per kilogram produced. Know exactly what it costs to keep an animal for an extra month. This knowledge enables better decision-making.
6. Vaccines: Live for Viruses, Non-Live for Bacteria
Zietsman offers a practical rule of thumb: “When vaccinating against viruses such as bluetongue or lumpy skin disease, use live vaccines. These usually come in powder form and must first be mixed. For bacterial diseases, use non-live vaccines, which are pre-prepared and simply sprayed.”
The reason is straightforward: Viruses operate inside cells, requiring cellular immunity, which only live vaccines can stimulate. Bacteria, by contrast, act between cells, where humoral immunity is sufficient.
Zietsman stresses that tailored protocols for your farm’s specific circumstances demand careful planning. It is ineffective to follow a one-size-fits-all schedule, especially for parasite control, since each farm faces different infections. “Do your research and work with your veterinarian to plan how you will fight the parasites on your farm in the year ahead, and how you’ll structure your vaccination programme. Don’t make these decisions on the spur of the moment.”
Practical application: Consult your veterinarian to design a vaccination programme suited to your farm. Identify the diseases most prevalent in your area, and plan your programme accordingly – in advance, not once an outbreak occurs.
Also read: Foot-and-mouth disease and desperate farmers: Vaccination holds the key
7. Learn from Mentors
Scheepers, who says he made “a lot of mistakes” when he began farming Wagyus in 2016, stresses the importance of mentorship: “The guidance I received from experienced breeders like Dr Michael Bradfield and Johan de Vos was invaluable.”
With their help, he refined his goals, accessed better genetics, and developed more effective strategies.
Practical application: Find a mentor in your area or industry. Be humble enough to listen and ask questions. Most successful farmers are willing to share their knowledge.
8. Understand Nutritional Priorities
Zietsman explains the natural hierarchy of how a cow’s nutrition is used: “First comes basal metabolism, the minimum energy needed to survive. Then comes lactation, followed by growth, fattening and finally reproduction. If nutrition is limited, reproduction will always be the last priority. That’s why undernutrition is the leading cause of poor fertility.”
For successful livestock farming, he says, planning must place the greatest focus on nutrition. “Plan for each production stage the cow is in. Don’t invest in cattle and then provide the wrong nutrition at a certain stage – you’ll just be wasting money.”
Practical application: Never cut corners on nutrition during critical phases such as late pregnancy or early lactation. Undernutrition during these times will severely affect reproduction.
WATCH: Animal nutrition: Supplementary feeding principles
The Underlying Message
The two speakers have the same core message: Success in livestock farming doesn’t depend on expensive technology or complex genetics, but on sound planning, consistent execution and a solid grasp of the basics.
As Zietsman puts it, “It’s not about how much you spend, but about how well you plan.”
And as Scheepers says, “Every decision has long-term consequences, which is why it’s so important to have clear goals and follow them consistently.”
Also read: Wagyu meat increasingly in high demand
