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LRF Stockman School, Aldam Resort, Free State: While there isn’t just one winning formula for cattle ranching, things such as freer farming systems and little bureaucratic interference will allow farms and countries to flourish, said renowned cattle judge PJ Budler. Budler was speaking during the first session of the 2024 LRF Stockman School at Aldam in the Free State. He has judged 93 different cattle breeds in 43 countries.
“The more I travel, the more I fall in love with the human race. We are not as bad a species as we are often made out to be. If we can get humans flourishing it will make things better for everybody,” Budler said.
Over time Budler learned that there are two different types of countries: People flee from some, while others flourish. The big difference is that some countries are centralised, while others are decentralised. The decentralised countries, he told Stockman School delegates, are countries where small towns thrive due to a vibrant agricultural community. The centralised countries are countries where most people move to the cities, because the small town structures have broken down. Therefore, it is critical to ensure profitable farms.
Eight critical gatekeepers
He believes that fertile animals are the gateway to profitability. During his Stockman School presentation he identified eight critical divisions that every cattle operation must protect. These are: Genetics, herd management, nutrition, animal health, marketing, record-keeping, forage management, and human research. “These are all equally important. However, if you ignore any of them that is the one that will make your profits run out,” he said.
Budler referred to the Forbes Happiness Index and said the world’s top ten happiest countries had three things in common:
- Free market economies
- Maximised energy
- Liberated women
In respect of free market economies, Budler said South African producers need to understand that not having livestock subsidised is a blessing, not a curse. “In Europe the government is so involved in farming that the farmers are buried in paperwork. This prevents them from getting to the point of actual farming.” They are also capped on the number of livestock they are allowed to own. This leads to cattle that struggle with production inefficiencies, such as birthing issues due to double muscling.
“In the end, this type of government interference creates a false market.” However, he is not opposed to the idea of traceability, provided producers aren’t forced into it. “Traceability can work if a carrot (incentivisation) is used, rather than a stick approach.”
An opportunity for red meat
“There is a growing demand for food – specifically red meat – while we have limited resources,” Budler said, adding that humans could scale back on many things, but struggled to scale back on their diet. “Once we get used to eating better food, we can’t really go back. This is good news for beef producers.”
Budler also believes that red meat has a very special story to tell. While raising wild animals in their natural environment is a humane way of production, the world’s protein demands would never be met by venison production. And while intensive poultry or pork production is very sustainable, the problem is that in the consumer’s mind, it isn’t a very humane way of farming.
However, livestock ranching is both humane and sustainable, and therefore offers the best of both worlds. – Susan Marais, Plaas Media
