A Herd Owner's Manual

by Andrew Ardington

This "owner's manual" is inspired by six years in bakkies and around kitchen tables with farmers.  It is a short (100 pages), easy-to-read, thought-provoking book about owning a cow-calf herd; about how that does not come with a manual, about doing the basics, and about how so much of what industrial farming has positioned as ‛best practice' is not best for the economics of the average herd owner. It serves as a guide for some of the basic decisions to be made when transitioning to a profitable, regenerative, low-input cow-calf herd.

The book will be available for order on Takealot in late May 2026.

"I wish I had had a book like this when I was starting out on my farming career."  James Brodie.