justintime
Well-known member
In the thread " Is milk a maternal trait?" sjcattleco stated that bigger framed = more milk . When I asked him what studies showed this to be true, he said that the research had been done by Dr. Jan Bonsma , a world reknown beef scientist from South Africa.
Jan Bonsma was an amazing man, who made 39 speaking trips to North America . I was fortunate to hear him speak on two occasions. Bonsma also developed a breed of cattle in South Africa called the Bonsmara breed. sjcattleco's comments made me dig out some Bonsma literature I had received years ago, and I started to read it again, as I could not remember him ever saying that bigger framed cows milk more than smaller framed cows. I am still in the process of reading through this stuff but here are some Bonsma comments that I have found quite strange( to say the least). I also found a study where embryos from some of the Bonsmara breed's best bloodlines were imported to North America for a comparative trail against some breeds presently used here.
Here are a few of Bonsma's comments :
1)" Soil pH and soil fertility affects desirable size. The higher the soil fertility, the bigger the animal that is needed. If the soil is acid, smaller framed animals work best. On neutral pH soils, larger framed animals work best."
Another comment from the same speech ---
" It is very important that all commercial cattle in the US have some Texas Longhorn blood in their make-up" Both of these comments were made by Dr Jan Bonsma in a lecture in Witcha Falls, TX in 1964.
2) " It is my considered opinion that the Salorn breed will, in the long run, will be the far superior breed, to any of the other breeds in America. At least 80 % of the commercial herds in America should be of this combination of genetics" Dr. Jan Bonsma.
note: the Salorn breed is a combination of Salers and Longhorn breeds. I may be wrong, but I don't think their popularity has overtaken the Angus breed yet !
3) In a study designed in the mid 90s, Bonsmara embryos were imported from S Africa from some of the leading sires and dams of this breed.( The Bonsmara breed is made up of 5/8 Africkaner, 3/16 Hereford, and 3/16 Shorthorn blood) These embryos were shipped to Canada where they were implanted into Angus X Hereford recips . The pregnant recips were then trucked to Texas to calve and to complete the remainder of the study. ( I imagine there was some health reason that made it easier to ship the embryos to Canada and then ship the recips to Texas. Since this breed has been designed for hot climates, they were sent to Texas so they could be compared on an equal basis for their entire life, from birth to slaughter.) Over the three year study, Bonsmara calves averaged 134 lbs less than the control group of Texas born animals. The heaviest Bonsamara bull was 971 at 12 months, however, the yearling weights ranged from 645 to 971 lbs with an average yearling weight on the group of 807 lbs.
The cattle in this test were taken through to slaughter, and the Bonsmara cattle did exceed in tenderness and had considerable less fat than the traditional American cattle they were compared to.
As a side note, there is a sizable group of Bonsamara cattle maintained at the ET center I do almost all my ET work at. They have been there for many years. They are owned by an American who must be very wealthy as he has paid them to maintain this herd for many years. There are now several generations there that have spent their entire lives there. He flushes the females on a consistent basis and sends embryos mostly to South America, Australia and some to the US. They are quite unique in their appearance and many people think they are water buffalo when they first see them. I think they do work in extremely hot dry climates.
Dr. Bonsma, was a leader in researching cattle efficiency, however, I do think some of his concepts did not stand the test of time. Some certainly did stand up. however, his comments such as those I have stated above, makes me wonder about some of the others as well. As far as I know, I don't think the Texas Longhorn and Salorn breeds are soon to take over as the major influences of the commercial beef industry in N America.
As I mentioned, I have seen no comments in what I have seen so far, that indicates that Bonsma ever said that bigger framed cows = more milk. I will keep looking though. I know it certainly does not work like that in the cattle I have raised.
Jan Bonsma was an amazing man, who made 39 speaking trips to North America . I was fortunate to hear him speak on two occasions. Bonsma also developed a breed of cattle in South Africa called the Bonsmara breed. sjcattleco's comments made me dig out some Bonsma literature I had received years ago, and I started to read it again, as I could not remember him ever saying that bigger framed cows milk more than smaller framed cows. I am still in the process of reading through this stuff but here are some Bonsma comments that I have found quite strange( to say the least). I also found a study where embryos from some of the Bonsmara breed's best bloodlines were imported to North America for a comparative trail against some breeds presently used here.
Here are a few of Bonsma's comments :
1)" Soil pH and soil fertility affects desirable size. The higher the soil fertility, the bigger the animal that is needed. If the soil is acid, smaller framed animals work best. On neutral pH soils, larger framed animals work best."
Another comment from the same speech ---
" It is very important that all commercial cattle in the US have some Texas Longhorn blood in their make-up" Both of these comments were made by Dr Jan Bonsma in a lecture in Witcha Falls, TX in 1964.
2) " It is my considered opinion that the Salorn breed will, in the long run, will be the far superior breed, to any of the other breeds in America. At least 80 % of the commercial herds in America should be of this combination of genetics" Dr. Jan Bonsma.
note: the Salorn breed is a combination of Salers and Longhorn breeds. I may be wrong, but I don't think their popularity has overtaken the Angus breed yet !
3) In a study designed in the mid 90s, Bonsmara embryos were imported from S Africa from some of the leading sires and dams of this breed.( The Bonsmara breed is made up of 5/8 Africkaner, 3/16 Hereford, and 3/16 Shorthorn blood) These embryos were shipped to Canada where they were implanted into Angus X Hereford recips . The pregnant recips were then trucked to Texas to calve and to complete the remainder of the study. ( I imagine there was some health reason that made it easier to ship the embryos to Canada and then ship the recips to Texas. Since this breed has been designed for hot climates, they were sent to Texas so they could be compared on an equal basis for their entire life, from birth to slaughter.) Over the three year study, Bonsmara calves averaged 134 lbs less than the control group of Texas born animals. The heaviest Bonsamara bull was 971 at 12 months, however, the yearling weights ranged from 645 to 971 lbs with an average yearling weight on the group of 807 lbs.
The cattle in this test were taken through to slaughter, and the Bonsmara cattle did exceed in tenderness and had considerable less fat than the traditional American cattle they were compared to.
As a side note, there is a sizable group of Bonsamara cattle maintained at the ET center I do almost all my ET work at. They have been there for many years. They are owned by an American who must be very wealthy as he has paid them to maintain this herd for many years. There are now several generations there that have spent their entire lives there. He flushes the females on a consistent basis and sends embryos mostly to South America, Australia and some to the US. They are quite unique in their appearance and many people think they are water buffalo when they first see them. I think they do work in extremely hot dry climates.
Dr. Bonsma, was a leader in researching cattle efficiency, however, I do think some of his concepts did not stand the test of time. Some certainly did stand up. however, his comments such as those I have stated above, makes me wonder about some of the others as well. As far as I know, I don't think the Texas Longhorn and Salorn breeds are soon to take over as the major influences of the commercial beef industry in N America.
As I mentioned, I have seen no comments in what I have seen so far, that indicates that Bonsma ever said that bigger framed cows = more milk. I will keep looking though. I know it certainly does not work like that in the cattle I have raised.
