Cattle Baron Master Business Plan — People, Security and Stock Theft
The staffing establishment, and the security regime addressing stock theft — a material and often understated risk in South African cattle farming.
People, Security and Stock Theft
Jump to section
- Overview & contents
- i. Important Notice
- 1. Executive Summary
- 2. A Note on the Name
- 3. The Market and the FMD Crisis
- 4. Foot-and-Mouth Disease as a Business Risk
- 5. The Production System
- 6. Herd Performance
- 7. SWOT and Competitive Position
- 8. Grazing, Land and Water
- 9. Unit Economics
- 10. Route to Market
- 11. The Five-Year Build and Its Gates
- 12. Funding
- 13. People, Security and Stock Theft
- 14. Compliance and Traceability
- 15. Financial Projections
- 16. Break-Even
- 17. Sensitivity and Scenarios
- 18. Risk Management
- 19. Implementation Timeline
- 20. Returns
- 21. Key Performance Indicators
- 22. Key Assumptions
- 23. Conclusion
- A. Appendix A: Consolidated Financial Summary
- B. Appendix B: Capital Schedules
- C. Appendix C: Funding and Debt Schedules
- D. Appendix D: Risk Register
- E. Appendix E: Glossary
|
Role |
Year 1 |
Year 3 |
Year 5 |
Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Owner and manager |
1 |
1 |
1 |
Breeding decisions, marketing, funding relationships, records |
|
Herdsmen |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Daily observation, camp rotation, water checks, calving supervision |
|
Farm labour, seasonal |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Fencing, handling days, vaccination and dosing |
|
Foreman |
— |
1 |
1 |
From Year 3; the management layer that lets the owner stop being present daily |
|
Retained veterinarian |
Contracted |
Contracted |
Contracted |
Herd health programme, fertility testing, vaccination |
|
Bookkeeper |
Contracted |
Contracted |
Contracted |
Monthly records and the financial statements every funder requires |
|
R’000 |
Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Herdsmen and farm labour |
162 |
198 |
288 |
396 |
516 |
|
Owner remuneration |
216 |
264 |
318 |
372 |
432 |
|
Security |
62 |
82 |
122 |
168 |
222 |
|
Combined |
440 |
544 |
728 |
936 |
1 170 |
|
As a share of the fixed cost base |
71.9% |
69.9% |
67.9% |
66.4% |
65.0% |
Labour, owner remuneration and security together are 72 per cent of the fixed cost base throughout the plan. Owner remuneration is a real cost from Year 1 at R216 000 rising to R432 000, and it is deducted before EBITDA is struck — which matters to a lender, because the cash break-even quoted in Section 16 is calculated after the founder has drawn a living.
13.1 Stock theft
Cattle are among the most stolen assets in South African agriculture. Unlike most farm assets they are mobile, they are valuable per unit, they can be moved on foot, and they are difficult to identify once slaughtered. Security rises from R62 000 to R222 000 across the plan and is not a discretionary line.
|
Control |
Practice |
Why |
|---|---|---|
|
Registered livestock brand |
Every animal branded to the registered mark |
The statutory identification and the basis of any recovery |
|
Boundary fencing maintained |
Stock-proof and inspected on a schedule |
The first line of both theft prevention and biosecurity |
|
Night kraaling where risk warrants |
Particularly during calving and near boundaries |
Concentrates the herd where it can be watched |
|
Daily counts |
Every camp, every day, recorded |
A theft discovered on the day is recoverable; one discovered in a month is not |
|
Herding presence |
Herdsmen live on or adjacent to the property |
Presence deters, and the count happens as a by-product |
|
Community relationships |
Deliberate and maintained |
Worth more than the fence in most South African farming districts |
|
Insurance |
Covering theft and mortality on the breeding herd |
R32 000 rising to R130 000; required by livestock financiers in any event |