The SA Hereford Breeders Society and CMW have great pleasure in introducing to you our valued client, the “Whiteface Weaner Program”. In short this program has come about for a number of reasons all related to the demand for Hereford weaners because of their world renowned ability to convert both grass and grain into high quality beef. The catalyst for this program was the announcement by Woolworths that Hereford beef was ideal for their “Select Beef” program. After thorough investigation of the matter the SA Hereford Council decided that the Society could best serve the interests of commercial Hereford weaner producer by creating a mechanism to bring buyers and sellers of Hereford weaners together.
Introducing the scheme Download the pdf. document
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Preliminary results in feedlot performance from a comparison study between Hereford type commercial cattle and other mixed beef breeds
Growth performance in beef cattle is surely one of the most important traits to both the cattle breeder and feedlot producer as growth performance, and specifically growth rate, will significantly influence the profitability of the enterprise. The price received for a carcass is dependent on the amount of muscle growth on the carcass, as well as factors such as potential bruising or a disease the animal may have been exposed to prior to slaughter. Different breeds have different growth rates and are classified as late, medium or early maturing type animals and therefore breed of cattle has an effect on the growth and carcass composition of the animal. The maturity type also influences the amount of adipose tissue being deposited on the carcass at different ages.
The “Whiteface Weaner Program” is a project recently initiated by the SA Hereford Council. It came about for a number of reasons related to the demand for Hereford weaner calves as the breed is well known, world wide for its ability to efficiently convert both grass and grain into high quality beef. The Hereford breed further has the advantage of an easy identifiable brand of quality, the “white face”, at no extra cost. The catalyst for this program was the announcement by Woolworths that Hereford beef was ideal for their “Select Beef” program and the need to add value to Hereford breeders’ and their customer’s end products. The “Whiteface Weaner Program” has therefore been launched to assist Hereford weaner producers to get a fairer (and hopefully premium) price for their exceptional quality product. In order to qualify for the “Whiteface Weaner Program” a calf must have at least a white face and be of a Hereford type and preferably one should be able to trace the animal back to Hereford sires raised within officially performance tested herds. Specific management, health and quality control programs are also prerequisite to qualify. The premium that such superior calves (marketed under the “Whiteface Weaner Program”) can achieve in future may result in a more profitable enterprise to commercial breeders using Hereford bulls and Hereford bull breeders selling bulls to commercial producers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether typical South African commercially bred Hereford calves (at least 50% Hereford) and raised under specified management conditions have higher growth rates, as well as superior carcasses compared to the average of other mixed breeds of cattle in typical feedlot conditions.
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