Our herd was registered in 1972 with the selection of 50 basic cows. These were Simmental cross Bonsmara cows. The herd is run on farms in the Bathurst district between Grahamstown and Port Alfred.
The veld type is rugged valley bushveld. Open veld is in the form of old pineapple lands which have been established to Rhodes grass. Rainfall is very irregular and varies between 450-600mm falling at any time of the year. Heart water, red water and Gallsickness are the most prevalent diseases occurring throughout the year. Cattle are given phosphate licks during the summer and protein licks in the winter. Licks are not given in the bushveld.
Our herd has been upgraded from the original basic herd and now stands at 220 SP cows with a total herd of +- 360 cattle. Bulls that have had a big impact on the herd over the years are as follows: ESB W29 (Ted Birch), SHU B9 (Mike Shuman), GCD C1 (Glynn Handley) and JVD E75 (Hannes van den Berg). The bull with most significant impact is EI94-339. This bull has left his trademark stamp on our herd with a large female component of our herd being from this bloodline. This bull is a registered AI bull and has been used by 21 South African breeders as well as in embryo programs in South America and Australia.
Current herd sires include GCD05-148(a son of EI94-339), NPT 06-038 and CEF99-287.
Herd sires which we have used over the last couple of years are: GCD09/112 (son of DAJ 05/055), NPT07/170 LAR07/090 (A.I)
Normal herd health practices are followed with annual vaccinations for botulism, black quarter and anthrax.
Contact Craig Handley on 082 808 6132 or 046 625 0943 for more information.
Email: chandley@intekom.co.za