Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
If you are a serious commercial or stud farmer who bases your farming enterprise on scientific principles and the latest technology, then be sure to be at Aldam in the Free State from 9 to 11 October when the Livestock Registering Federation will be hosting its 16th annual LRF Stockman School!
The theme of the three-day event is ‘Being a resilient stockman’ and attendees can look forward to a jampacked programme with topics covering everything from weather patterns, animal health, soil health and strategic feeding to breeding objectives. Keep an eye on the press and social media for more information regarding the speakers and programme.
PJ Budler
PJ Budler grew up on a fifth-generation cattle farm in South Africa. At just 15, he founded BonHaven Beef Cattle. From 1996 to 2012, he expanded BonHaven to five locations across three countries. The Hereford, Angus, red Angus, Braford, and Brahman herds under his care achieved significant success, winning numerous national cattle shows and setting auction records on the African continent.
In 2012, Budler moved to Texas in the United States (US), where he became the international business manager for Trans Ova Genetics. This role, along with organising the annual Champion of the World competition, judging shows, speaking at events, and consulting on cattle, has taken him to 48 US states and 106 countries. Budler has judged 93 different cattle breeds in 43 countries. In 2017, he became the first cattle judge to have judged a national show on all six continents.
Catriona Millen
Catriona Millen is an Extension & Technical Consultant based at the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI) in Armidale, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Science from Monash University and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Honours) from the University of Melbourne.
Catriona has been with ABRI since January 2015, and works as part of a team responsible for delivering a range of innovative extension initiatives and resources to improve the use and understanding of the BREEPDLAN genetic evaluation. She is passionate about working with beef producers to help them drive genetic improvement in their businesses.
Bles de Klerk
Bles de Klerk, a Simbra stud producer from Daniëlskuil in the Northern Cape, matriculated from Hoërskool Daniëlskuil in 1991. He began studying towards a BSc degree in Quantity Surveying at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 1992, where he also played rugby. Unfortunately, a neck injury during a rugby match in 1992 led to a six-month hospital stay. From 1994 to 1999, De Klerk pursued theology at UFS. He served as a pastor at the Dutch Reformed Church in Ventersburg from 1999 to 2006, earning his master’s degree in pastoral therapy with honours in 2004. Since 2006, he has been a Simbra stud producer and part-time pastor. In 2010, he was honoured as the Simbra Stud Farmer of the Year.
Dr Gary Evans
Dr Gary Evans is the senior director of global genomics business development for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region at Neogen. With 20 years of experience in genomics, he specialises in both human and animal genomics and genetics.
Throughout his career, Dr Evans has focussed on various aspects of genomics, particularly in technical services development and laboratory research across agriculture, human health, and animal science.
Erin Graham
Erin Graham has been the technical manager at Molatek Animal Feeds for the past three years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Animal Science from the University of Pretoria and is currently completing her master’s degree in animal nutrition. Graham’s research focusses on the comparison between semi-intensive and intensive lambing systems and their effects on economic and production efficiency. In her role at Molatek, she is responsible for, among other things, product and on-farm formulations, quality control, customer care, and providing technical field support. She is dedicated to ensuring feed quality and continually improving systems to deliver top-quality feed to customers. Graham’s passion for animal nutrition and commitment to excellence make her a valuable asset to the industry and a trusted partner to her clients.
Prof Arno Hugo
Prof Arno Hugo is a professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of the Free State, specialising in meat science. Prof Hugo’s research focusses on meat quality and processing, with a particular interest in the lipid components of meat and meat products.
Prof Hugo is currently investigating ways to improve the health properties of animal fat tissue by manipulating the lipid content in the diets of meat-producing animals. In addition to animal fat tissue research, Prof Hugo is also conducting studies on the meat quality of various animals, including beef, lamb, pork, crocodile, and chicken. His research on meat processing also aims to reduce the salt content in processed meat products.
Simon Hodgson
Simon Hodgson, the general manager of the cover crop division at AGT Foods, was born and raised in Zimbabwe. He now resides in KwaZulu-Natal. Hodgson holds a degree in Agricultural Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. After completing his studies, he returned to Zimbabwe to start a commercial farming career as a crop and livestock producer. He also managed a plains game ecotourism section on the farm.
In 2000, due to the land redistribution programme in Zimbabwe, Hodgson and his family relocated to Tala Valley in KwaZulu-Natal, where he purchased a small farm approximately 40km from Pietermaritzburg. Currently, they are involved in sugar, poultry and sheep production.
In 2003, Hodgson founded SA Cover Crop Solutions, a seed company specialising in tailored cover cropping solutions for all sectors of agriculture in South Africa and neighbouring countries. In 2016, AGT, a Canadian-based multinational company, acquired SA Cover Crop Solutions, and Hodgson has been leading the cover crop division as general manager ever since.
Throughout his career, Hodgson has collaborated with various research bodies and also worked closely with several universities. He has also liaised with various departments of agriculture in local government structures and engaged with producers across different disciplines such as broadacre farming, livestock, and permanent plantings of nuts, fruits, grapes and avocados.
Hodgson is passionate about the promotion of regenerative agricultural practices and conservation, and teaching people about self-sufficiency farming practices.
Dr Jan Myburgh
Dr Jan Myburgh is a qualified veterinarian. As a clinician and bovine specialist, he focussed mostly on production animal diseases and related problems (environmental, toxicological, reproductive and other health issues) in the past. Currently, he is a toxicology lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Science and the University of Pretoria. He likes to approach clinical problems in a holistic way and to find sustainable solutions.
Dr Myburgh is currently investigating the use of new technology, such as drones, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), to support on-farm diagnostic investigations and routine monitoring of soil, veld, animals and water. He has a special interest in the mineral nutrition of livestock and soil-grass-animal interactions. He is a collaborator in a project aimed at developing a risk management app for communal and commercial producers. Regenerative agriculture and sustainable solutions for livestock farming in Southern Africa are essential priorities for a successful future.
Lisa Rumsfeld
Lisa Rumsfeld is the vice-president of business development and strategy at Vytelle. Rumsfeld has lived and worked in the United States (US), Europe, and Asia for the past 27 years and gained experience in a variety of industries such as data management, industrial products, animal health, and precision agriculture technology. Rumsfeld has held a range of roles in leading global sales and marketing teams. For the past 15 years, she has been working with beef, dairy, and swine producers to deploy precision livestock technology and most recently also assisted beef and dairy producers to use technology to accelerate genetic progress to increase efficiency, sustainability and profitability.
Rumsfeld is an economics graduate of Villanova University, Pennsylvania, United States. She later received her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University in the United States. She speaks French, German, and Spanish, and resides with her family in Germany.
Prof Tony Shakespeare
Prof Tony Shakespeare was born and educated in Zimbabwe. After earning his qualification as an electrical engineer from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he worked in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Later, he shifted his career path and studied veterinary science at the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science. Prof Shakespeare then served as a state veterinarian in Zimbabwe before moving into private practice in Ficksburg in the Free State. He eventually returned to his alma mater to lecture as a bovine clinician, with some experience in equine care. Additionally, he handles small animal cases after hours.
Robert Treadwell
Robert Treadwell graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Pretoria in 1998. He immediately joined Embryo Plus as an assistant, aiming to specialise in bovine reproduction and embryo transfer. By 2002, he became a partner and director of the company, and later served two terms as chairperson of the South African Semen and Embryo Group.
Treadwell has worked on numerous projects across the African continent and in South America. He has also been involved in the large-scale export of genetics to these regions, as well as to Canada and Australia. He was part of the team that produced Futhi, the first cloned mammal in Africa. Since March 2023, Treadwell has been actively involved in transitioning Embryo Plus from primarily conventional flushes to predominantly in-vitro fertilisation production, as a proud partner lab powered by Vytelle.
Dr Brad Walmsley
Brad Walmsley is a research scientist at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) at the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries joint venture with the University of New England (UNE) in Australia.
Walmsley originates from Glen Innes in the northern tablelands of New South Wales and is a fourth-generation grazier involved in a family operation primarily focussed on beef production. He originally joined the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in 2008 as part of the Co-operative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies. He has had a strong involvement in the development of phenotypic prediction tools, such as BeefSpecs, and research examining maternal productivity and the consequences of selection for visual muscle score. Currently, Walmsley is responsible for research and development in breeding objectives and selection indexes for beef cattle. He continues to support the industry application of the BreedObject technology as part of the BREEDPLAN genetic evaluation system.
Walmsley is also the principal investigator in the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries flagship Southern Multi-breed project, which is currently conducted across New South Wales research stations. The project aims to record expensive/hard-to-measure and novel traits that will drive future profitability and sustainability.
Sharon Watkinson
Sharon Watkinson is the business development and beef sales executive for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Neogen.
With two decades of experience in genomics, Watkinson presents a wealth of knowledge in human and animal genetics. Having worked in large multinational agri-economic and life science organisation, Watkinson is passionate about merging genomics with agriculture to create a sustainable future for producers.
Johan van den Berg
Johan van der Berg holds a master’s degree in Agricultural Meteorology from the University of the Free State. He specialises in long-term climate outlooks and climate risk management, with a particular focus on the impact of El Niño and La Niña on agricultural decision-making in South Africa.
Van der Berg began his career in 1985 at the Department of Agriculture’s Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, which later became part of the Agricultural Research Council. He retired in March 2020 as a manager specialising in crop insurance at Santam Agriculture. Currently, he works as an independent agricultural meteorologist, focussing on climate and climate risk management. Van den Berg has delivered more than 500 presentations to international, national, and local audiences over the last 40 years.
Gerrit van Zyl
Gerrit van Zyl, a renowned Bonsmara cattle breeder in South Africa, grew up in the Kalahari. After spending 20 years in the corporate world and 18 years in business, he became a full-time farmer. For the past ten years, he has implemented regenerative farming practices in his operations.
Van Zyl has been breeding Bonsmara cattle for 30 years in the Dewetsdorp district. Currently, he is associated with Hanzyl Bonsmaras, a stud farm that has been producing top-quality Bonsmara cattle for over 25 years. The farm is located in the Southern Free State, about 100km southeast of Bloemfontein.
Register now to ensure your seat. For more information, visit www.stockmanschool.co.za or contact Charmaine Alberts at 082 922 3747.
