Why Breed Santa Gertrudis Cattle
Santa Gertrudis is one of the leading cattle breeds in Australia, excelling in the areas of crossbreeding, weight for age, food conversion efficiency, and daily weight gain.
The nine main reasons why you should choose to breed Santa Gertrudis cattle in Australia are:
1. A large beef breed
- Mature bulls weigh from 900 kg. Mature cows weigh 630-725 kg.
2. Adaptability
- Santa Gertrudis cattle adapt easily and quickly to a wide range of climatic conditions and can now be seen flourishing in all States of Australia from the harsh cold climates of Victoria and Tasmania to the sun baked plains of the Northern Territory and tropical Queensland.
3. Combining hardiness with beef
- Exceptionally good foragers; due to their excellent walking ability they can travel long distances for food and water.
- Consistently larger calf drops in competitive tests with other major breeds.
- Exceptional longevity, bulls have been known to work until 14-15 years of age and regularly females of 13 - 15 years and more have been recorded as producers of top calves.
4. Fewer production problems
- Easy Calving - Santa Gertrudis cows are renowned for producing calves with small birth weight and rapid weight gains to weaning.
- The good dark coloured, well hooded eyes are known to be resistant to cancer and have also proven resistant to pink eye problems.
- High resistance to bloat under a variety of conditions.
- Strong healthy calves mean a higher percentage from birth to weaning and more profit in your pocket.
- Tick resistance - Santa Gertrudis cattle have maintained a high inbuilt and heritable resistance to ticks.
5. Mothering Ability
- Cows have above-average production of quality milk with high butterfat content.
- Cows are renowned for their natural nursing ability; one cow will often stand guard over numerous calves while the other cows graze.
- Excellent maternal instinct.
6. Marketability from grain or pasture
- They consistently excel with carcass weight per day of age. Weight gains of 1 to 1.5 kg per day is easily attainable.
- Ability to be turned off at a young age; popular in Western Australia`s baby beef market, in southern states as vealers and yearlings, excellent pasture fed for popular restaurant trade and ideal for the bullock and feedlot export markets.
- Natural ability for efficient feed conversion and quick weight gains either on pasture or feedlot.
- They continue to gain efficiently without increasing excess fat deposits.
7. High Carcass Cutability and Salvage Value
- Santa Gertrudis cattle maintain high buyer demand because of their reputation for high yielding carcass with the ability to produce ideal fat coverage for the market.
- Large mature size ensures high salvage values on culled stock.
8. Poll Cattle
- Santa Gertrudis cattle are acceptable under the Standard of Excellence either horned or polled. Poll cattle are shown in the Stud Book and Stud Book Certificates with the addition of [P] for poll or [PS] for poll with scurs.
- No penalty attaches to dehorning, either before or after classification.
9. Babysitting
- Santa Gertrudis cows calve easily and their highly developed protective mothering instinct is regularly illustrated with a few mother cows tending 10 to 20 calves while the others are grazing.
The Breed
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