Assessing Reproductive Performance to Establish Benchmarks for Small-Holder Beef Cattle Herds in South Africa

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In South African beef cattle smallholder farms, there has been no recommended target benchmark that provide a baseline for improving the reported low herd reproductive performances. A multi-stage sampling approach was performed to examine reproductive performance as defined by pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, calving interval and days open to benchmark smallholder herd reproduction. It was found that smallholder farms recorded on average, 50% pregnancy rate and 12% fetal and calf losses, with days open and calving interval achieved at 334 and 608 days, respectively. Targeted benchmarks for performance derived from this study were 54%, 1.4%, 152 and 425 days, respectively for pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, days open and calving interval for smallholder farms in South Africa. The study showed that herd management practices including non-culling of old and non-productive cows, no knowledge of body condition score prior to breeding, no record keeping, continuous breeding season and low bull to cow ratio are associated with recorded reproductive performance norms in smallholder farms. The study found that smallholders have the potential to improve their performance levels if management knowledge is provided through advisory and extension services. ABSTRACT: Smallholder beef cattle farms in South Africa have had low reproductive performance, which has been associated with management practices. Considering current farm management practices, a multi-stage selection study was conducted to assess reproductive performance as defined by pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, calving interval and days open to benchmark reproductive performance. Data were collected twice, in autumn (March–May) for pregnancy diagnosis and in spring (September–November) for monitoring of confirmed pregnancies. Overall, 3694 cow records from 40 smallholder herds were collected during 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons from five provinces. The preferred 25th quartile described target performance and GLIMMIX procedure determined associations between management practices and performance. Smallholder farms on average recorded 50% pregnancy rate and 12% fetal and calf losses with 304 and 608 days open and calving interval, respectively. The derived target benchmarks for pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, days open and calving intervals in smallholder farms were 54%, 1.4%, 152 and 425 days, respectively. Reproductive performance was associated with no knowledge of body condition scoring before breeding, culling of old and non-productive cows, record keeping and low bull to cow ratio (p < 0.05). The performance benchmarks implied that industry averages may be improved if sustainable management services are provided through extension and advisory services.