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“For us children, the rich and new impressions of South Africa were unforgettable - wonderful sunshine, brilliant blue skies and the rich display of fruits which my father had prepared for us and which we had never seen before; Guavas, Passion Fruit, Mangoes and Litchis and he took great delight in showing us how to eat them,” said Dieter.
Dieter attended Parktown High School, identifying agriculture as the field he was most drawn to as a future vocation. His father availed his workshop and taught his son welding, a useful skill for any future farming ventures. After a year of this training, he enrolled in the Faculty of Agriculture at Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, beginning classes in 1948 with 27 classmates.
“As the first students of the new Faculty, we shared the unusual privilege of participating in the birth and growth of the faculty with a great team of Professors,” said Dieter.
Students were housed in the former prisoner-of-war bungalows at Oribi Camp. Dieter and fellow students, Tony Stubbs, Mike Seward and his future wife, Sheila, requested the opportunity to convert one of the unoccupied bungalows into a coffee room to serve refreshments to students during their late night studies, supplementing their University fees. With the support of residence Warden Dr Black, the Green Grasshopper was born. This renowned student watering hole featured a decorative 20-metre long python strung around the ceiling trusses, a prop made and decorated by students for that year’s University Rag, which won them the coveted Trophy for best float.
The Green Grasshopper opened every night at 10 pm for hot coffee, hot dogs and pies, staying open until midnight, run by students who would clear up, tally up and continue with their studies to successful completion despite the late nights. Dr Black earned the students’ sincere gratitude for his support of their efforts, and the Green Grasshopper continued to offer its services to needy students for years to come.
Leaving university with a BSc Agriculture in hand, Dieter was faced with the question of what to do next. A chance meeting with Brigadier Thorburn on Donkerhoek Farm near Machadodorp opened the door to a future that changed his life. Thorburn was the Chairman of several international companies, including a Cattle Enterprise in Southern Rhodesia of some 75 000 head of cattle on around 1.5 million acres of land.
“Early one crisp and clear morning, with the mist rising from the warm veld, while strolling on the farm track he turned to me and said: I need someone to join my staff on the ranches in Rhodesia to take an interest in the cattle business. Would that be of interest to you?” described Dieter.
Dieter was amazed and intimidated by the opportunity, but another opportunity came his way before this.
When doing his final thesis for his degree. This had been about the importance of indigenous breeds of cattle and their interaction with the environment, with invaluable assistance from Dr Rose of the Colonial Office in Swaziland, who was working with indigenous Nguni cattle at Mpisi Farm, and developing dairy units for Swazi villages in the heart of the country. Rose suggested that Dieter join his staff while Rose took a sabbatical; Dieter accepted with delight and Thorburn agreed that he should go to Swaziland before joining him in Rhodesia. This led to a wonderful six months crisscrossing Swaziland with Swazi interpreter "Sukati", who showed Dieter the way along the tracks and taught him Swazi lore and custom while they traversed the mountainous country.
At around the same time, Dieter was introduced to Professor Jan Bonsma of the University of Pretoria, known internationally for his "Livestock philosophy" publication and the development of the Bonsmara breed of cattle, who visited the University of Natal for a series of lectures. Dieter said these lectures were so full of interest and inspired by his practical experience that his visit was extended by popular demand.
These encounters and experiences encouraged Dieter to accept the cattle ranching challenge in Rhodesia, reaching Mashonaland via train from Johannesburg with little to his name. He was met by the Ranch manager of Central Estates, a ranch of about 360,000 acres with 20,000 head of cattle, where he lived in a self-contained cottage at the headquarters of the estate. He describes waking up daily at sunrise thrilled to start another day on the ranch. Dieter spent several unforgettable years here, before Dieter moved on to try new pastures, setting off for England to make contact with friends and colleagues.
His arrival in England coincided with the Coronation of Princess Elizabeth, an overwhelming experience, he said. He began working on Pewsey Manor Farm in Wiltshire that summer, the home of a well-known Pedigree Friesian Dairy herd and a large flock of sheep. The Manningford herd of cows was the very same one he had studied in Natal as an example of the successful application of genetic selection in practice.The farm was that of Lord Hudson, Minister of Agriculture in the Churchill War Cabinet and also a director of the same ranching company Dieter worked for in Rhodesia.
Dieter made many good friends in Europe, as well as his wife Natasha, who he married in October 1955. Natasha, a graduate from London University and a gifted painter, returned with Dieter to Rhodesia where he continued his work on the Ranches, reaching Cape Town on board the Arundel Castle from Southampton and Rhodesia on the Blue Train, relishing the abundant plant and animal life they saw in the Cape.
Working from Harare (formerly Salisbury), Dieter was based at head office and working with all the ranches in Mashonaland and Matabeleland. The couple enjoyed their travel around the country, and welcomed their first son, first daughter and second son while living in what is now Zimbabwe.
While in the former Rhodesia, Dieter introduced Professor Jan Bonsma to the ranching directors and he agreed to work with them to guide breeding plans based on his work at Mara research farm in the Northern Transvaal.
The years that followed involved a challenging project to cross the European, Hereford and Sussex type cows with Afrikaner type Bulls and the Zebu type cows with European type bulls, involving a huge operation requiring careful planning moving large numbers of cattle over great distances for the next breeding season. When the first calves were born to this programme, they were encouraged by the marked improvement in the quality of the calves.
Dieter and Natasha returned to England with their three young children to care for their aging parents, embracing the challenge of starting a new life in such different conditions.
In the context of a beef shortage in England due to supplies from the Argentine ceasing under threat from submarines and shipping on the high seas, the country’s dairy and beef industry was born. Dairy cows were bred to semen from beef breeds such as Hereford, Angus and Shorthorn through the National Artificial Insemination Service run by the Milk Marketing Board. The resultant dairy cross beef calves successfully supplemented beef supplies and are now a permanent part of farming.
Dieter became involved in the project to import the French Charolais breed bulls from France in an environment; debate about the effort led to the government establishing the Terrington Commission to hear all voices, and a National Breed comparison Trial was necessary in order to establish whether a Charolais importation was justified.
Dieter was appointed by Dr Edwards, Head of the National Artificial Insemination Service, to plan the National Breed comparison Trials, an exciting opportunity that enabled Dieter to travel to farmers throughout England, Wales and Scotland. The results of what was the most comprehensive breed comparison trial ever completed were published in the "Charolais Report" in 1966, which declared in favour of a Charolais importation. The first importation was followed by many others and the breed is now firmly established in England. The importation of other breeds followed and further breed comparison trials were planned for the Limousin and the Simmental breeds with which I was also involved. Many importations of Limousin followed the first importation and the breed has now taken a firm place in the Industry. This surge of interest in new breeds gave Dieter the opportunity to travel widely to study farming systems in their countries of origin.
As the use of semen from beef breeds became more important, the genetic variation of sires within breeds pointed to the importance of progeny testing Sires to ensure that only the best performing bulls are used in the A.I. stud. The 1100 acre Warren Farm on the Wiltshire Downs was bought to establish just that; here Dieter and colleagues researched how best to house some 1500 head of progeny to evaluate teams of for the A.I. stud. Dieter was Head of Beef Improvement and worked with architects, geneticists and those with large scale beef cattle farming experience in Europe and abroad.
In 1971, Dieter left the Milk marketing Board as Head of Beef Improvement to start an independent Beef Consultancy Business and to established the Hampton Limousin herd and a team of selected sires from to build up a semen bank for international export.
The Centenary year of the French Limousin Herd Book was celebrated in Limoges in 1975 and the President, Count Louis de Neuville, arranged to have three books published for the occasion: One book would describe the story of the breed in France from the beginning to the present day, a second one was to describe the progress of the breed in the U.S., and the third one, written by Dieter, was to follow the successful growth of the breeding the United Kingdom. That October, Dieter and Natasha drove to Limoges to deliver the first copies of the book, entitled "The Limousin Cattle in the United Kingdom".
Dieter’s consultancy business gradually grew, giving him the opportunity to travel extensively and connect with many colleagues and friends.
Dieter’s work resulted in the arrival in 1974 of an exciting letter from Buckingham Palace in an unassuming brown envelope containing a message on behalf of The Queen, granting him unrestricted permission to wear the Insignia of Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole, conferred upon him by the President of the French Republic in recognition of his services. Dieter expressed joy and gratitude to all those who played a part in his career to lead to that moment.
Dieter reflected on the great progress made in the field of frozen semen and embryos that began to dictate the international marketing of cattle genetics over his career, affecting the thinking and involvement of breeders world-wide, as well as the involvement of large companies who later began to influence the direction of cattle breeding.
“By the time I reached my 80th year I felt that Science was moving faster than Man could follow, and that my time to bow out with my supportive wife had come,” said Dieter.
“I feel great gratitude for a very rich and eventful life,” he concluded.
Dieter is survived by his wife, three wonderful children and 9 grandchildren.
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