BEEF PRODUCTION

Beef production is the practice of rearing cattle to produce meat for eating. There are three types of cattle:

Characteristics of good beef cattle

• It has a blocky shape with a square rump(back part)
• Must have a good growth rate, grow fast and mature early.
• High fertility rate and produces healthy calves
• The animal must have more meat and relatively less bone and fat.
• It must have short, strong, well placed legs so that they can easily carry the animals large muscular body
• It must be able to adapt easily to harsh climatic conditions
• Must have a high feed conversation ration
• Short and fleshy neck
• Udder should be small

Breeds of beef cattle

The beef breeds in Botswana can be divided into two groups; indigenous and exotic.

Indigenous breeds Exotic

-Tswana - Simmental
- Afrikaner
-Hereford
-Brahman
- Charolais
-Bonsmara
-Tuli.

The Animal Production Research Unit particularly recommends some beef breeds for rearing in Botswana. The table
below shows which breeds are recommended and why.

Characteristics and uses of beef breeds

Name of Characteristics
breed
Tswana • Indigenous breed of Botswana
• Present in all colours
• It is hardy and drought resistant
• Well adapted to the local harsh conditions
• Can walk long distances looking for pasture and water.
• Suitable for crossing with other breeds such as Simmental and Brahman

Tuli • Developed in Zimbabwe from cattle similar to Tswana.

• Adapted well to local conditions
• Performs better than the Tswana in terms of growth and mothering ability
• Tolerate high temperatures and dry conditions
• Can tolerate parasites and diseases fairly well
• Its colors varies from yellow, golden-brown to red
Africander • Originates from South Africa.
• Out performed by the Tswana in terms of growth rate and mothering ability.
• The male animal has a large hump and dewlap
• It has resistance to ticks, heat, drought and diseases
• It does not require much care or maintenance compared to other exotic breeds found in Botswana
Bonsmara • Originating from South Africa
• Developed from the Shorthorn, Hereford and afrikander.
• It has advantages of both Southern African and European breeds in its composition.
• The whole body is reddish-brown to light brown in colour
• Well adapted to heat and drought conditions
• It has a low mortality rate
•
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Brahman • Exotic breed originating from India, a country with similar climate to Botswana.
• It has a large hump behind the neck.
• Grows very fast.
• Needs special management, particularly feeding in the dry season.
• Its colours varies from grey-reddish
• Its drooping ears are large compared to those of other breeds
• It has a good growth rate, fertility and high weaning rate
Simmental • Exotic breed that originates in Switzerland
• It is large animal that needs special management
• It grows fast
• Has good mothering ability
• Calving problems may be encountered if heifers are used.
• It is dual purpose breed.
• Its colours vary from gold to red with white. It has white markings on the face and on the side of
the belly

BREEDS OF BEEF CATTLE RECOMMENDED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

-Tswana
- Simmental
- Afrikaner
-Hereford
-Brahman
- Charolais
-Bonsmara
-Tuli.

Reasons why the above breeds are recommended

• They can easily adapt to the climatic conditions of Botswana
• They are resistant to some diseases and parasites found in Botswana
• They have a good growth rate and high weaning weight
• They can easily be crossed with Tswana
• Have a high carcass quality
• They have high calving percentage
• They have good mothering ability

MANAGEMENT OF BEEF CATTLE

Systems of raising beef cattle

There are two systems of raising beef cattle in Botswana. These are
-communal
-ranching system

1. Communal System (Moraka)

This is a traditional system of raising beef cattle. The area in which the cattle graze belongs to the community (tribal
land) and is held in trust by District Land Boards. The cattle are usually allowed to graze whenever they want on
unenclosed pastures. The herders look after the cattle every day and direct the cattle to good pastures. The cattle find
water in the area from any source like dams, wells and rivers.

Advantages
• The number of animals to keep is not limited
• It is cheap
• Skilled manpower is not important
• Cows are served even when the farmer does not have a bull
• Animals move freely

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Disadvantages
• Animals can be lost
• It is not easy to control diseases and parasites
• Animals can be attacked by predators
• Not easy to control breeding
• Low production
• Overgrazing occurs leading to soil erosion
• Weaning is not easy
• Animals can eat other people’s crops as they move around

2. Ranching system
A ranch is an area of grazing land that has been fenced for purposes of raising beef cattle. It is a commercial system
whereby the farms are fenced and divided into smaller areas called paddocks. The paddocks are used to control the
grazing so that the cattle are only grazing one area at a time, and are moved from one paddock to the other. Boreholes
can be dug on the ranch to make sure there is always good supply of water for the cattle. The farms used as ranches
usually belong to the farmer and are called freehold farms.The farmer has an established home in the farm.

Advantages
• Animals cannot be easily lost
• Its easy to control parasites and diseases
• Animals cannot be easily attacked by predators
• Its easy to control breeding
• Farmer’s profits are usually high because of better management.
• There is no risk of soil erosion
• Some paddocks can be reserved for use in the dry season.
• Weaning can be done easily by putting cows and calves in separate paddocks.
• Overgrazing does not occur because animals are moved regularly between the different paddocks.

Disadvantages
• The initial costs of setting up a ranch are very high.
• The animals’ number is limited by the size of the ranch
• Skilled people are needed to manage the ranch profitably.
• The fences and equipment need to be repaired and maintained regularly.

COMPARISON OF THE SYSTEMS

COMMUNAL SYSTEM RANCHING SYSTEM
Land belongs to the community Land is owned by the farmer
Animals mixed with animals of neighboring farmers Farm animals can not mix with animals of neighboring farmers
Stocking rate is not controlled Stocking rate is controlled
Uses less capital Uses a lot of capital
Less skill is required More skill is required

Significance of providing housing to beef cattle

Cattle are housed for the following reasons:
-To protect animals from bad weather conditions such as heat, cold wind and rain.
- To protect animals against thieves and predators such as lions and hyenas.
-For easy management practices or activities such as branding, vaccinating, dehorning etc.
-Prevents animals from going astray
-It helps in controlling mating and separating calves from their mothers if the mothers are to be milked

TYPES OF HOUSING SUITABLE FOR BEEF CATTLE

Kraals
The form of housing provided for beef cattle is usually a kraal. Kraals are usually made of thorns tree branches and
poles. The kraal has a tree which provides shade. Sometimes there is a shelter to provide shade. The kraal may be

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divided into sections so that animals can also be divided. The kraal protects animals from predators and also makes it
easy for management activities to be carried out

Cattle crush.
It is used when animals are being vaccinated or inspected for parasites and diseases

Calf pens
Pens house the calves at night so that they do not drink from their mothers

TYPES OF FEEDS SUITABLE FOR BEEF CATTLE

Feeding
In Botswana, beef cattle usually depend on natural pasture. Natural pasture includes grass and other forage plants.
During dry seasons, farmers should buy supplementary feeds like hay and lucerne for their animals. Farmers can make
silage from grass or sorghum to use as supplementary feed. Cattle should also be given bonemeal and salt in the form of
a mineral lick. Winter lick adds phosphorus to the diet of the cattle, which makes their bones and teeth strong and helps
to prevent the disease Aphosphorosis.

Watering
Water is provided daily. Water is needed for many activities in the body of the animal e.g.
• Cooling the body/regulate body temperature
• Excretion of waste products
• Helps in digestion
• Water forms part of milk and blood
• Water forms part of the cells and tissues that make up animals body
• For all chemical reactions that takes place in their bodies

SOURCES OF WATER FOR BEEF CATTLE

The water used mainly is from-
-Rivers,
-Dams,
-Boreholes
-Wells.

WATER CLEANING PROCESSES FOR ANIMAL CONSUMPTION

Filtration
Water is filtered to remove the debris (dirt)

Sedimentation
Water is allowed to stand for a long time so that solids settle at the bottom

Chlorination
Addition of chlorine to water to kill the germs

Disbudding and dehorning

-Disbudding is the removal of developing horn buds from a calf.
-Calves are disbudded at about 2-4 months of age

-Dehorning is the removal of horns from an older animal.

Most breeds of beef cattle produce both animals with horns and animals without horns. Animals without horns are
known as polled animals.

Importance/significance of dehorning and disbudding

• To avoid damaging each other’s hides when they fight lowering the quality of meat and hides.
• Dehorned animals occupy small space in feeding and watering troughs
• It is safer for the cattle if they have to be transported anywhere and allows maximum use of space when loading
• Dehorned animals fetch high price at B.M.C.
• It is much safer to handle cattle without horns than those with horns because horned animals cattle are usually
more aggressive.

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Tools usedfor;
disbudding Dehorning

-Scoop dehorner -dehorning iron

-Scissors -Guillotine
-Hot iron -Saw
-Caustic soda/potash -Anaesthetic
-Knife
-Dehorning wire

Weaning
It means stopping the calf from suckling or feeding on its mother.
The first milk a cow produces is called colostrum and it contains proteins, vitamins and minerals that the new-born calf
needs.
Colostrums also contain antibodies that protect the calf against diseases.
The calves of beef cattle are weaned when they are between 6 and 9 months old.

REASONS FOR WEANING

-To allow the mother to build up her body in preparation for the next pregnancy
-Saves milk to increase sales
-Allows the calf to handle dry food

METHODS OF WEANING
-Use of a calf weaner plate
This is a specially designed plastic plate that will clip onto calves nostrils. When the calf tries to suckle, the plate hurts
the cow, so she does not allow the calf to suckle

-Separate the calf from its mother

This is done by placing the cow in separate paddock where she cannot see or hear her calf. If she does not have contact
with her calf for atleast one week, she will stop producing milk

-Applying cow dung to cow teats

The calf will not suckle because of the dung on the teats.

METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION OF CATTLE

There are different methods used to identify cattle. They include the following;
-branding (hot or freeze),
-ear-tattooing,
-ear-notching,
-ear-tagging,
-LITS (Livestock Identification and Trace-back System) –“omang”
-paint.

1. Branding
 branding
It is a method where a red hot iron is used to make a mark on the hide of an animal on the left side of the animal covering
the rump area or the hindquarter for 3 to 5 seconds.

 Freeze branding
This is a method where a branding iron is frozen and used to make a mark the animal. It uses very low temperature to kill
the cells in the animal’s skin that produce color. If correctly done, the animal will grow white hair on the branded site.
The branding iron is made up of a material which can retain cold and is frozen in liquid nitrogen or in dry ice and alcohol

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 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BRANDING

Hot branding Freeze/cold branding

Advantages Advantages
• Takes a short time to brand (3 – 5 seconds) • Take short time for the frozen part to be healed
• Brand is permanent and cannot changed • The brand is much more visible (clear) especially in
• Suitable for all cattle irrespective of colour dark coated animals
• The results of branding are seen immediately • Less damage cost to the hides than using hot iron
Disadvantages • Is almost painless to animals compared to hot branding
• Painful to animals Disadvantages
• Wound is produced, which may be infected and • Takes time to shave hair off the area to be freeze
lead to health problems branded
• Damage animals’ hides, therefore, lowers the • Not clear on white or gray coloured coats
value • Liquid nitrogen is not easy to get and also expensive
• The hot iron can burn the person handling it • It takes 3 months before the brand can be identifiable

2. Ear tattooing
This is a permanent mark made on the ear of an animal by puncturing letters or numbers or a design on the inside skin of
the ear and then rubbing indelible ink on the marks. The colours used are black, green, red and white.
Advantages Disadvantages
• It improves the permanent mark or record of the • Not easy to read a tattoo without holding/handling or
animal bringing the animal closer for inspection
• It can be used to identify the individual animal, the • The person doing the tattooing must be well trained
year it was born and where it comes from. and competent
• Takes a long time to be done
• Some of the letters may be difficult to read due to their
small size
• Not suitable for dark-eared animal breed

1. Ear- notching
It is a hollow cut or slit at the edge of the ear surface of an animal. There are different types of shapes made by different
farmers.
Advantages Disadvantages
• The cut or slit made forms a permanent mark • It causes pain and bleeding
• The slit or cut made is visible even at a certain • Some notches take time to make, therefore, more pain
distance • If a mistake is made (incorrect cutting) there is no
• Some cuts are easier and quick to make reverse
• Disinfected equipment can pass diseases among the
animals

2. Ear-tagging
This is a method of attaching a numbered or printed plastic or metal tag to an animal’s ear.
Advantages Disadvantages
• Cheap form of identification • Tags can fall out off the animal’s ear
• Easy and quick to attach the tag • Injuries may result if the tag is caught by a fence
• Ear tags provide an easy way of identifying • The letters or numbers tend to fade away after many
individual animals years
• Clamping the tag to the animal’s ear does not • Ear tags are small, therefore , one has be closer to read
cause a lot of pain • A thief can easily replace with his/her own tags and
claim ownership of an animal

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 3. LITS
It is inserting a bolus with unique information and number into the rumen of an animal. A bolus is about a finger long.
Advantages Disadvantages
• Easy to identify the individual animal and its • Needs skilled and trained personnel to insert the bolus
owner and take readings
• Easy to trace back the animal to their owners • Expensive equipment is used
• Helped Botswana to have access to the EU • There are frequent breakdown o the equipment and
market lack of expertise to repair it
• Easy to read the bolus as it stays in the same • Equipment used is not readily available locally
place
• Remain in the animal until death
• Information can be used to help establish an
animal’s family tree

4. Paint
This is the use of non-toxic paint to mark the animal but it is a temporary method.

PARASITES OF BEEF CATTLE

A parasite is any organism which depends on another organism for food and shelter. A parasite cannot live on its own
but needs to live on or in a host animal. There are two types of parasites; internal and external parasites.

Internal parasites
Internal parasites are found inside the body of an animal, especially in the intestines. Common examples are
• tape worm
• round worm
• liver fluke

The life cycle of a beef tape worm

The adult tapeworm lives in humans. It is made up of a head (scolex) and a chain of segments. Each segment breaks off
as a sac full of eggs. The adult tapeworm lives in the intestines of humans where it is attached by means of suckers on its
head to the walls of the intestines.

Stages of the life cycle

1. The tapeworm attaches itself to the wall of the intestines of the primary host ie humans
2. Segments of the tapeworm, containing thousands of eggs, break away from the tapeworm.
3. The segments pass out of the human body in the faeces.
4. The secondary host ie cattle, eat grass that has tapeworm eggs on it.
5. The tapeworm eggs hatch in the intestines of cow.
6. The larvae of the tapeworm burrow into the walls of the cattle’s intestine and get into the bloodstream.
7. The larvae move into the muscle tissue, where they form cyst (capsules) around themselves. At this stage, the
organism is called a bladder worm.
8. The cow is slaughtered for meat.
9. Humans buy the meat to eat, but do not cook it properly. This means that the bladder worms are not killed.
10. The bladder worms develop into tapeworms in the intestine of the human
11. The bladder worms then grow into adult tapeworms

External parasites
External parasites live on the body of the animal, especially on the soft and hidden areas e.g. under the tail, between the
hooves and legs. Common external parasites of beef cattle are:
• Ticks
• Tsetse flies
• mosquitoes

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 The life cycle of a one-host tick
• A femaletick sucks blood from a cow and becomes full of blood.
• The tick drops to the ground and lays thousands on the grass.
• After a few weeks, the eggs develop and hatch into six –legged larvae, which climb up grass leaves and wait for
a cow to walk past.
• The larvae attach themselves to the cow and suck its blood.
• The larvae develop into eight legged nymphs
• The nymphs feed on the cow’s blood and develop into adult ticks, which feed on the cow’s blood and mate.

Harm or damage caused to beef cattle by ticks and tapeworm

Ticks Tapeworms
• Cause tick poisoning • Absorb food from the cow’s body, so the cow may not
• Suck blood from the cow, causing diseases such get enough nutrients.
as anaemia • Can damage the wall of the intestines
• Can damage the ear, which then gets infected • Suck blood from the cow, causing diseases such as
and may become deformed. anaemia.
• Can cause skin irritationor itching and • Can cause diarrhea.
discomfort to cattle. • Cattle become thin or grow poorly
• Cause wound and pain
• Can spread diseases for example Heartwater.

The control of ticks and tapeworms

Ticks Tapeworms
• Remove by hand • Ensure proper sanitation by getting rid of human faeces
• Dipping with acaricidessuch as deadline carefully and safely by burying them.
• Use special medicated grease on the cow to stop • Deworming of animals and workers
ticks attaching themselves to the cow’s skin. • Inspecting meat thoroughly to if it has any measles or
• Practice rotational grazing cyst
• Controlled burning of vegetation in selected • Fully cook the meat.
grazing areas can help kill many ticks and their
eggs

Diseases of beef cattle

A disease is the condition where by the system(s) is not functioning properly. A disease can be caused by pathogens
(organisms), injury and insufficiency of nutrients etc.
Diseases of cattle common in Botswana
Foot and mouth Blackleg
Botulism Brucellosis
CBPP (Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia) Bloat
Heartwater Anthrax
Contagious abortion Milk fever
Aphosphorosis

Name of Cause Common symptoms Treatment Method of control

disease
* Blisters in the mouth, tongue * Regular annual vaccination.
Foot and Virus and between hooves. No treatment * Strict control of animal
Mouth * Blisters on teats and udder. movement and products from
(FMD) *Only affect cloven * A drop in milk production. areas where the disease is
hoofed animals * Difficulty in walking. known to occur(cordon fences)
*Contact with diseased *Saliva streams from the *Use of quarantine method.
animals. mouth * It is notifiable disease and its
* Contaminated milk, *Develops high fever(high outbreak must be reported to
saliva, urine etc. temperature) veterinary personnel, police or
* Wild relatives of cattle *Loss of appetite leading to kgotla.
like buffaloes and loss of weight * Killing and burning affected
antelopes are carriers. animals

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Heart water Rickettsia . * High fever Use of antibiotics
* Twitching of legs, head, at an early stage * Control bont ticks by
ears, tongue and jaws. such as dipping,spraying
* The bont tick which is * Animal moves in circles. tetracycline,sulphur *Practice rotational grazing
the intermediate host *When the animal falls down dimidine and * Vaccinate against Heartwater.
it kicks its legs in the air and liquamycin
experience difficulty in getting
up
* Loss of appetite
*Post mortem analysis show
excessive fluid in the body
cavity around the heart, and
congested lungs.

Methods of marketing beef cattle

• Selling straight to the BMC in Lobatse, Francistown and Maun where BMC is seen as the chief buyer of beef
cattle. To sell to BMC, farmers apply for the quota. The quota helps the BMC to arrange for the arrival and
slaughter of cattle. Once the BMC has processed and approved the applications, it then tells the farmer when
they must send the animals to the abattoir. Farmers transport their cattle to the abattoirs in trucks or on foot.
• Selling through the cooperative societies
Farmers sell cattle to BMC through cooperatives. The cooperative will obtain a quota from the BMC and
transport and trekking cattle to the BMC abattoirs and receive payments on behalf of the farmer. Cooperatives
charges about 3-5% of the price obtain from the sale for the service they provide.
• Selling to butcheries or local people:
Cattle farmers can sell their animals to butcheries that are located near their cattle post or ranches
• Selling through the livestock agencies
Cattle agents assist farmers to get quotas for their cattle at BMC, transport the cattle to abattoirs and collect
payments on behalf of the farmer. Agents charge a fee of about 2.5% of price obtained from sales.
• Sell through cattle auction
• Sell through speculators
NB:A QUOTA is the number of cattle a farmer or agents is allowed to deliver to BMC abattoir at any time.

Recommended weight and age of selling beef cattle

Fast growing beef breeds reach their market weight of 450 kg at the age of 2-3 years, while slow growers may take
about four years. The growth rate depends on the breed of cattle.

Common grades used by the BMC

Grade Comments on quality Market price Use

Prime Excellent Highest Fresh meat
Super Fresh meat
Grade 1 Fresh meat
Grade 2 Fresh meat
Grade 3 Fresh meat
Grade 4 Fresh meat
Canning/grade M Canned beef
Condemned Unfit to use for meat Lowest Rejected

Prime
This is the highest grade that an animal can get. There are two prime grades;
- Prime Zero tooth refers to cattle aged up to 20 months (1year 8months)
- Prime Two tooth refers to cattle aged between 21 and 25 months (1yr 9months and 2yrs 1mnth)
It has zero to two permanent incisor teeth
Good conformation with very tender and well-muscled carcass
Light fat content.

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Super
This is the second highest grade that an animal can get.
- It has 3-4 permanent incisor teeth with 3 years old or less
- Meat is tender and well muscled with enough fat

Grade 1
- It has 5-6 permanent incisor teeth with 4 years old or less
- Well muscled and tendered meat

Grade 2
- It has 8 permanent incisors with four years and above
- Meat is quite tendered with reasonable fat content
-
Grade 3
- It has aged teeth (they have eight permanent incisors which are now worn out) with more than 5 years
- Beef is of fair quality but it is not very tendered fair amount of fat

Grade 4
- This beef is of poor quality
- Poorly muscled and has less fat than beef of the other grades.
- It is a little tougher than grade 3 beef.

Canning
- Older cattle with thin muscles normally produce manufacturing or canning grade beef
- This meat is quite tough
- M grade beef fetches the lowest price of all grades

Condemned
- Carcass is highly infected with measles or other diseases.
- The carcass cannot be treated for these problems and is not suitable for human consumption
- Farmers only receive small fee for condemned carcass

Beef cattle by-products

By-product Uses
Skin Bags, shoes, mats, belts, jackets
Horns Buttons for shirts and blouses
Dung Fertilizers for improving the soil
Bones Bonemeal for feeding livestock
Blood Used for blood meal
Tallow (animal fat) Used for making soap and candles

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