A consortium of three buyers bought the most expensive bull at the 14th production auction of the Karooveld Bonsmara stud farm owned by Dirk Spaargaren from the farm Kingslynn, Steynsburg.
The bull KVB 200060’s price of R320 000 cost each of the shareholders R106,666.67. They are Sandré Erasmus from Swaershoek Bonsmara, Cradock; Mario Kruger from Vleissentraal, who operates his Bonsmario Farming near Aliwal North; and Casper Swart from Terugkeer farming near Postmasburg. Swart, from Cape Town, recently started establishing his herd on old family land in the Northern Cape.
In 2023, Spaargaren was surprised by the designation of KVB 130035 as Landbouweekblad and SA Stud Book’s Elite Platinum Cow for the Bonsmara breed. His cattle are renowned for their hardiness and fertility, and the entire offering was sold.
“I believe an animal in good condition that is hardier than its ‘classmates’ possesses the right characteristics in terms of fertility, growth and milk production,” he says.
“Despite the highest price and six other bulls selling for more than R100 000, there were 14 other affordable bulls from R37 000 to R50 000. A bid of R40 000 is just as important to me as an outlier price.”
Photo: Supplied
The average price of the 34 bulls was R76 647.06. The most expensive female animals were 32 pregnant cows that each fetched R20 500. Pregnant heifers achieved an average price of R14 312.50, non-pregnant heifers R11 833.33, and weaned heifers R7 500.
The auction was presented by Vleissentraal Port Elizabeth in cooperation with the Meerkat online platform. The auctioneer was André van Zyl.
