Farmer's Weekly

Zimbabwe's Tuli cattle make financial sense and are easy to farm

Dynamic, robust and unfaltering, is how Kerry Stewart describes the Tuli breed. It was developed in Zimbabwe to thrive under often challenging climatic conditions. Stewart runs the LZ Stud near Gwanda in southern Zimbabwe.

The medium-framed Tuli comes in four basic coat colours: red, gold, ivory and dun. These colours and their sleek, shiny coats have enabled them to adapt well to the intense sunlight typical of Zimbabwe.

As the Tuli breed developed in relative isolation, it has a unique genetic make-up, being neither Bos taurus nor B. indicus, rendering it especially successful in cross-breeding programmes. A high degree of hybrid vigour is achieved, plus the added advantage of polled calves.

TAXING AFRICAN CONDITIONS

Just like the Tuli breed, Stewart was also born and bred in Zimbabwe, and she grew up with the breed. She took over her family’s Tuli stud in 2014.

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