Delmas, Mpumalanga
Morgan Beef feeds cattle at its own feedlot at Delmas, on rations milled on the farm from crops grown on the farm.
01The feedlot
The feedlot
The feedlot stands on Morgan Beef Farm at Delmas, Mpumalanga, with a capacity of 45,000 head.
Cattle are fed twice daily with a ration formulated by nutritionists and milled on site; a bunk reader adjusts each pen's feed daily.
The farm grows the main ingredients of the ration. Crops: Maize for silage, maize for grain and soya beans. Manure from the pens goes back to the lands as compost.
02By the numbers
By the numbers
03Daily routine
Daily routine
A bunk reader scores every pen's bunk before the morning feed and sets that day's quantity. The ration is milled on site and delivered to the bunks twice a day.
Pen riders inspect every pen every day. An animal that shows signs of illness is moved to the hospital pen, treated under the feedlot's veterinary protocol and recorded with its treatment and its withdrawal period.
Intake, treatments, feed delivered, mortalities and dispatches are recorded per pen and per animal, and the records follow the animal to the abattoir.
04Cattle supply
Cattle supply
The feedlot buys weaners and feeder cattle from farmers and auctions, feeds them to slaughter weight and supplies the Springs abattoir.
Morgan Beef also feeds cattle for clients under a custom-feeding agreement, and sells cattle and feed to the trade.
