24 April 2024
One of the top rams at Lukas Burger Boer Goats, Formula One (762-21-467), was sold for a new South African record price.
The ram Formula One (762-21-467), a proven stud sire in the Lukas Burger Boer Goat Stud, was sold to VEA Breeders from Bonnievale for R1 050 000. This stud is owned by VEA Agri and is part of a new venture for the group.
The Burgers – father Lukas and his son and daughter, Abraham and Hermien – from the farm Rietfontein near Griekwastad in the Northern Cape, have achieved one record price after another in recent months with their top genetics after Lukas’s wife, Riekie, sold the ram Poker (762-22-248) for R1 million.
According to Abraham, the emphasis in their stud is not on chasing record prices. “Our goal is to produce goats of the highest possible quality, that’s our interest and passion. It’s actually just a blessing from God that the high prices come naturally.”
The top half-percent of the best genetics rarely come onto the market and you can never have enough offspring of rams of Formula One’s quality, says Abraham.
“It’s difficult for them to change ownership because we all pursue generations and genetic advancement. Therefore, animals of that calibre will seldom come on the market. We actually feel there are only a handful of these top animals that deserve to stay on the farm until they are old. But it’s still a business.”
However, the Burgers believe there comes a time to share their genetics. “Many people ask if selling your best genetics makes your competition stronger,” says Abraham.
“It’s still one person’s ability against another, as my father taught us from an early age. But we believe it’s very good for the industry as a whole not to keep these genetics to ourselves. It’s good for the gene pool of the breed and good for your reputation as a breeder.”
Formula One is a sire with a string of awards. He acquired the title of reserve champion ram lamb over 85kg at the Northern Cape championships in 2022, and this year he was the Northern Cape senior reserve champion and reserve grand champion. He could not take part in the World Show in 2023 because Abraham was one of the three Boer goat judges.
According to Abraham, Formula One’s offspring also excel, and his son (762-23-133) was the junior champion ram lamb at this year’s Northern Cape championships. Formula One is also the sire of the junior champion ewe lamb (762-17-284) at the Central Inland Regional Show in Vryburg. At the end of the autumn lambing season, there will be 300 of Formula One’s lambs at Lukas Burger Boer Goats.
This record-setter’s sire was the stud ram Maserati, which was the world grand champion in 2021 and was also sold for a record price in his time. Formula One’s dam, Demi Lee (762-17-284), was the senior reserve and senior grand champion ewe at the Northern Cape championships in 2019 and third in the six-tooth class at the World Show in the same year.
One of the Burgers’ other stud sires, Volvo, that is also Demi Lee’s son, has 567 lambs in the stud. “It’s a testament to the impact an outstanding ewe can have in a stud,” says Abraham.
Formula One is at GeneCo to freeze semen for his new owner before moving to his new home in Bonnievale.
