The debate over which breed of cattle is best has been settled as far as Paul Overwater is concerned.
Overwater, of Daysland, Alta., is building a herd of Tuli cattle. He brought two to Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition breeder display last week.
The Tuli breed originated in the harsh climate of southwestern Africa several thousand years ago, is heat and drought tolerant and can withstand ticks, Overwater said.
That makes it perfect for the southern Prairies, he said.
“Where we farm at, it’s dry,” said Overwater. “We wanted something that would do better on the poorer forage.”
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He also wanted cattle that require little assistance.
“I work at an off-farm job and I didn’t want to babysit,” he said. “I don’t want to be pulling a 150-pound calf at two in the morning.”
Tulis are moderately framed, docile cattle. The calves weigh between 60 and 70 lb., on average, and are up in five minutes after birth, he said. Mature males weigh about 2,000 lb., and the females weigh approximately 1,100 lb.
Overwater said this positions the breed to meet the increasing demand for smaller beef cuts.
In trials conducted over five years in the United States, only Angus outperformed Tuli for marbling, and Tuli had the juiciest meat, Overwater said.
He added that Tulis carry 75 percent of their body fat internally. That means in drought conditions they don’t lose weight as fast as other breeds and therefore retain marbling.
Overwater said there was a lot of interest in the unusual breed at Agribition. There are fewer than 1,000 animals in North America, and probably about 50 in Canada, he said.
He is in a partnership at Northern Vision Cattle Co. involving three herds and about 20 head. But he sees a bigger, profitable future ahead as the company markets embryos, semen and live animals.
“We sold the first full-blood female three years ago for $19,500 into the United States,” he noted.
