MAN, CATTLE and VELD

by Johann Zietsman

THE book for Profitable Ranching. A Real Ranching Revolution. Cattle Breeding. Grazing Management.

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2014

Reviews

[Sheldon]

I am pretty sure the concepts in this book could have been just as effectively communicated in a long blog post. I found it very repetitive.

[Tauna]

You may not be able to implement all Mr Zietsman's ideas, but this book gives you great direction and vision. Do not be put off that many of the photos are of African cattle; his principles apply no matter where you live. But also remember, that not everyone's principles will apply to your goals.

[Adam Harper]

Great book, I thought that Johann Zietsman does a great job of explaining the pros and cons of Ultra High Density Grazing. This book is one I will be referencing constantly and looking forward to learning more about the concept behind this trope of grazing system.

[Nich Traverse]

Wow. This book was fantastic. If you are a cattleman who is set in your ways, this book may come off a bit harsh. The author's tone is not one that leaves room for argument. Having said that, he is also very intelligent and insightful about managing cattle for grassland production. I've been working with cattle for about 15 years, and I do not claim to be any bit of an expert, but I have learned quite a bit. This book blew the top right off that knowledge base. He has taken many modern cattle management techniques and distilled them down to a few, very solid principles.

Make all decisions to "maximize sustainable profit per hectare". It all boils down to this, but his system for doing this is quite simple and elegant. Breed for calving at 2+3 years of age in your heifers, and select Bulls that gain well on grass alone. He favors crossing different breeds to express their genes more positively. He believes we need to stop treating the symptoms of disease and start breeding animals that are naturally resistant to them.

Once you have your ideal cattle, he recommends "non-selective grazing". This is simply running your cattle at a density that prevents them from being able to choose only the tastiest forage. For him, this is 1000-3000 animals per hectare (that's about 400-1200 per acre!). He does this by subdividing his fields into small paddocks and running the cattle through them all bit by bit.

For anyone who has worked cattle, or even just read about it, anytime in the last few decades, these ideas may not sound too revolutionary. Maybe they aren't, but they are well laid out into a cohesive whole, and describe a system that is manageable for the average human being.

I hope you all enjoy this book as much as I did...I can't recommend it enough.