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Andrew and Colette Masterson are Angus and Simmental breeders, with herds of 150 females for each breed. They also have Holstein and Jersey herds, with 250 in-milk animals per breed.
Owners: Andrew and Colette Masterson.
Country: South Africa.
Type of land and weather: We have a moderate climate with an average rainfall of about 35in per year. We are in a frost-free area, with sandy soils where we cultivate ryegrass and oats. We also use natural grazing.
Show accomplishments/ herd success: We qualified for the champion of the world competition for the first time in 2013, with an Aberdeen Angus female, Black Pride 7471. She ended up third in the Africa/Asia division.
In 2017, we qualified again with an Aberdeen Angus female, Milagro Power 1324 and she ended up winning the Africa/Asia division and was third in the Angus Miss World finals. In 2019, we qualified with three animals, two Simmentals and one red Angus.
Our Simmental bull, Milagro Premier 1644E, won the Africa/Asia division and then ended up winning the champion of the world title. Milagro Amy 1471, our Simmental cow, won the Africa/Asia Miss World division and was placed third overall in the final judging.
We competed at seven different shows in 2019 across South Africa, showing Angus, Simmental, Holstein and Jersey animals. During the year, we travelled a total distance of 10,140km to shows.
Standout sires: Leeupoort Brits, Taaibosspruit Elon and Milagro Kallis – these are all South African-bred bulls.
Standout female lines: The Milagro Mandy, Amy, Melodie and Sandra.
What genetics is currently being used (AI bulls) and what country do you source it from? Mostly home-bred bulls with outcross genetics being imported from Canada. Unfortunately, we cannot import semen from Germany and Austria due to health protocols.
Tell us about your embryo programme if you have one: We flush selected cows out of prominent families mainly to enhance the quality of the females in our herd.
What characteristics do you look for when selecting stock? Bulls must be masculine, long, deep and wide and able to move easily. Females must be feminine, wedge-shaped with a functional udder and enough capacity.
Why did you choose the breed? We chose Simmental because of their heavy weaning weights and rapid growth. Simmentals also have very good temperaments.
Top sales: Our top Simmental bull sold for R155,000 (€9,600) at out annual production sale back in 2017.
Where do you sell your bulls and heifers? We have a production sale on the farm every year where we sell most bulls over the age of 24 months and some top females.
Future plans: increase our beef numbers without sacrificing quality.
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