Abstract:
Improving the historically low reproductive performance of beef cattle in smallholder systems is essential for its productivity
and profitability. Therefore, identifying and addressing risk factors associated with low performance in this system
present an opportunity for improvement. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of animal and management risk factors on
pregnancy rate (PR), fetal and calf loss (FC), calving interval (CI) and days open (DO) in smallholder beef cattle farms.
A multi-stage selection approach was conducted in five provinces of South Africa. Cow records (3694) collected from 40
smallholder herds over two years (2018–2019) were analysed. Data on animal and herd management factors including body
condition score (BCS), cow age class, breed type, lactation status, culling old/non-productive cows, record-keeping, and
breeding and calving seasons were recorded. The GLIMMIX procedure was computed to determine risk factors associated
with performance indicators (PR, FC, CI and DO). Risk factors highly associated with performance were breed type, BCS,
cow-age class and breeding/calving season (P ≤ 0.05). Indicators FC, DO and CI increased with decreased BCS, autumn
calving seasons, and in first calvers and aged cows. Whereas, PR increased with increasing odds of BCS and breeding seasons
between December-March, November-February and January-March. Optimizing reproductive performance in smallholder
beef cattle herds may involve managing cow body condition, breeding with adapted genotypes and synchronizing breeding
with favourable seasons. Therefore, record keeping and regular monitoring of herd nutrition, climate and breed performance
may be significant in improving reproductive performance in smallholder herds.
