By Wyatt Bechtel, Farm Journal Media
The rise of humanity can be traced back millions of years the Cradle of Human Kind, near South Africa’s administrative capitol of Pretoria. The country also has cattle raising roots dating back thousands of years with many tribes like the Khoikhoi, Zulu, Xhosa and Swazi having cultures revolved around cattle.
When tribal people were settling what is now modern day South Africa, they had to compete with a number of grazing species of antelopes, along with elephants, rhinos and zebras. Daily protection by herders from predators such as lions, leopards and hyenas was necessary.
Now the majority of wildlife can be found at national parks, game preserves and game farms, leaving millions of acres to be grazed. The World Wildlife Fund reports only 12% of the land is considered fertile enough for farming, while 69% is best suited for grazing.
According to data from South Africa Statistic’s Community Survey 2016 of Agricultural Households the total herd count is 13.9 million head, almost 2 million cattle more than Texas or Canada had on-hand to start 2017. However, only about 3 million head of cattle are processed each year.
More than 580,000 people own cattle in South Africa, but only 17,822 farms have 100 head-plus operations.
Meat is a staple at meals in South Africa with biltong (a version of beef jerky) being found in stores across the country and more than 40 lb. of beef being consumed annually per person in 2014, according to USDA Foreign Agriculture Research. Last year the U.S. exported 201,000 lb. of beef to South Africa.
Africa’s southernmost country may not be a major player on the international beef market, but it has been making trade moves with China prior to the U.S. On February 24, a memorandum of understanding was signed by China and South Africa to start beef trade up again. South Africa ranked 15th last year in total beef exports shipping 60,000 metric tons, according to USDA.
For more on feeding cattle in South Africa, go to the following link:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/industry/behind-scenes-feedlot-south-africa
For more on dairying in South Africa, go to the following link:
http://www.dairyherd.com/news/industry/doing-right-thing-south-africa
For more on a diversified agriculture operation that got its start with cattle, go to the following link:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/news/industry/z-south-africa%E2%80%99s-zz2-farms