3 November 2023
By: Amelia Genis
In a historic sale, Kabelo Rametse of Pretoria bought a Boer goat ram named Komatsu from the Lukas Burger Boer Goat Stud for a record price of R500 000.
Abraham Burger, the breeder of the ram, described Komatsu (762-21-0143) as a proven, young, full-blooded ram, the son of the ram Volvo and the ewe 762-18-657.
“She’s a very special ewe too. She has bred two working rams for me from two different rams, which says something about the dam’s genetic traits as well.”
Abraham is the third-generation Boer goat farmer at Rietfontein farm near Griekwastad in the Northern Cape. His grandfather started with Boer goats in 1953.
When his father, Lukas, took over the farm in 1978, he elevated its operations by implementing precision accounting, selection and participation in shows.
The family believe their ability to trace any animal’s pedigree back to 1978 is a “great privilege and tool, and actually a testament to how long we’ve been selecting for certain values and traits”.
All their selective breeding for the right traits has led to improved goat meat. “Many people’s fathers and grandfathers say they won’t eat goat, its fibre (grain of the meat) is too coarse, but today you won’t be able to tell the difference between a goat chop and a lamb chop. That grain has been bred out,” says Burger.
Komatsu was sold at the stud’s 25th production auction at Little Farm Lodge, Kimberley. The offering of 42 rams was sold out, with an average price of R34 761. A total of 78 ewes were sold for an average of R19 664, while 120 animals were sold for an average of R25 983.
