Mashona Bull Weaver #588                                   Mashona Bull Weaver #610

Several years ago Jim Weaver, an American biologist and rancher, was in Zimbabwe Africa on a bird survey.  On his treks throughout the country he couldn't help but notice the indigenous Mashona cattle that were tended by the tribal people.  Much of Zimbabwe has a short monsoon season where there's plenty of grass and browse followed by a long dry season during which there is very little for an animal to survive on.  What fascinated Jim about the Mashona was their ability to survive and raise a calf every year even with the tribal people using them to pull carts and plows and keeping them corralled most of the day and night.  With them being tended by the tribal people for centuries they had become relatively trouble free - having virtually none of the problems associated with the "improved breeds" Jim had experience with back in the States.

Jim owns a 20,000 acre ranch in New Mexico and he knew the Mashona was the hardy and trouble free breed of cattle he'd been searching for ever since he began ranching and he went through great expense to import embryos into the United States in order to start his own herd of Mashonas.  They thrived on his ranch and he grew his numbers up to several hundred head.  All was fine until several successive years of drought forced him to liquidate his herd.  He did keep two of his top bulls back to rebuild a herd with when the rains came but unfortunately the drought lasted much longer than he anticipated.

When we became interested in creating a Veldmaster Composite in cooperation with Johann Zietsman we were very fortunate have the opportunity to purchase with Johann's encouragement the two bulls Jim had kept back - Weaver #588 and Weaver #610.

Weaver #588 is black and Weaver #610 is brownish red in color and both bulls have scurr horns (some Mashonas are polled and some have scurrs).  They are heat tolerant and nutritionally adapted,  very moderate framed, well muscled and both have a very high meat to bone ratio and extremely good hindquarters - a trait that is lacking in some of the Mashona cattle.  They are the picture of "Adapted and Easy Care".

"Corsicana" is an exceptional Tuli bull we purchased with the encouragement of Johann Zietsman to use along with our Mashona bulls on Foundation bred Beefmaster females in the formation of a Veldmaster composite here in the United States.  He is a natural polled, moderate framed bull with excellent muscling and a high meat to bone ratio and bred-in inherent good body condition.


The Tuli like the Mashona is indigenous to Southern Africa with hardiness and nutritional adaptation bred into the breed through a process of natural selection over a period of at least two thousand years.  Tuli cattle are extremely docile and vary from light yellow to dark red in color and most are naturally polled with a small percentage being scurred or horned.  They are very heat tolerant and are naturally resistant to internal and external parasites.  They also have excellent meat qualities. Tuli females are excellent mothers and are known for their fertility and calf raising ability.


"There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that all cattle herds in the major ranching areas of the United States will benefit by the infusion of some degree (1/4 to 3/4) of African Blood."  ~~  Johann Zietsman