It was an insurance policy, says Steve Kretzmann (56) about his decision to introduce beef cattle to the 603ha Edendale dairy farm 23 years ago. “We did not want to keep all our eggs in one basket … when the milk price was down, the weaner price was up, and so the two helped to carry one another.”
Although most of the energy and resources on Edendale are still channelled into producing feed, including 30ha of kikuyu pastures and 32ha of silage maize for almost 200 dairy cows, the remaining natural grazing is today utilised exclusively by the Panorama Brangus stud defined by 132 breeding females and 81 open heifers.
The introduction of genetics from