A couple of things, one is I have helped other people work “beefalo” once, by my choice. They are ok in a pasture, you put them in a pin and you better watch out. When a cow charges at you the idea is to just jump up on a fence real quick, again talking about in a catch pin. The beefalo are much faster, I was told “just drop and tuck they’ll push you with their nose and leave you alone”. Lol
No Thank You
a wild cow will hurt you, bad. A beefalo is even worse, a cape beefalo would require insanity.
Also, if the benefit was enough some insane farmer would do it but another problem is the farmer likely want make much, if any extra money off of them. I know a group of farmers that looked in buying a half wagyu, half angus bull. After much research they decided the processors wouldn’t give them enough extra cash per pound to really justify the expense of the bull, even though the meat would be better and the processor would get more premium grade meat as well, they just weren’t willing (or able for some unknown to me reason) to pass the extra profit down to the actual farmers.
Another couple more problems that seem to jump out are you will either have import issues or inbreading problems, the Cape buffalo population in the US isn’t high (praise the Lord) Remember Bulls don’t last forever, if your keeping some heifers to replace older cows they can’t bread with their daddy, we change bulls every 3-5 years depending, we also share bulls with some other farmers in the area.
Another thing to consider, is the weight. I hate get to graphic but if a bull is to big, in physical size & weight. He can quiet literally break a cow down in breading act, she has to be able to hold them both up for at least a short period of time. I’d think this is a solvable problem with larger breads of cows, but I’m not sure as Cape buffalo size isn’t something I know about.
You mentioned artificial insemination, that would also solve this, and other problems. It’s certainly possible but not many people do it, it really doesn’t save you any money, at least in my experience, and it is also quiet a hassle.. you inseminate with something that has to removed a couple weeks later, then normally you still have a “clean up” bull to get the ones that didn’t take, which nearly doubles calving season. I haven’t been involved with it much, but I have figured out it’s a pain.
Another potential problem is vet care and bills, probably not a lot of vets that have much experience Cape buffalo, and the ones that do, well I doubt they come cheap.
You should know for many people their is a LOT considered when buying a bull. For instance, I Remember seeing my dad turn down a good price on a very nice looking bull once because his calves birth weight was “to high” He had a full time job and wanted smaller calves to cut down with problems in delivery, as he wasn’t able to be there most of the time.
Oh and the fences, let’s face it, they are all for looks. A cow will get out if she wants to, keep their bellies full and they’ll stay in.
I would also point out that we haven’t even talked about the meat, is it any good? Is it tough?
I’ll bring up again, farming is already one of the top 10 most dangerous jobs in the US, year after year. I personally don’t understand why people fool with beefalo, the one guy I knew that did it has quite. Cape Buffalo would just be nuts to me, but I want even keep a crazy cow. Just not worth it.
