A stud bull from André and Annemarie Reitsma of the JC Braunvieh stud at Paarl fetched the highest price at the national Braunvieh auction for the second year in a row.
By Vida Booysen
The national Braunvieh auction was held on 17 July at the Afridome in Parys.
Abie Rademeyer of Shalom Braunvieh at Petrusville purchased this prized bull, JJH 22011 (lot 9), known as “Willie”, for R85 000.
According to Reitsma, Willie was successfully used in his own herd, breeding heavy weaners. He had previously purchased him from Hampie van Zyl, who named the bull after his father, Willie van Zyl, who greatly loved the Braunvieh and especially admired Willie the bull’s bloodline.
According to Rademeyer, Willie’s rare bloodline immediately caught his eye, but the quality of the bull also caught his attention. “It is a short and thick bull with good masculinity and nice darkening of colour, signifying a good constitution. It’s a requirement in the area where I farm, otherwise the bull falls apart.”
Rademeyer added that Braunvieh stud breeders would have to wait a long time before another bull of such high quality became available for sale.
A total of 15 stud bulls were sold at the auction at an average price of R49 333.
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Good demand for female animals
A remarkable achievement was also attained by the young Braunvieh breeder, Marelize Bezuidenhout, of the Lizie-Dolla Braunvieh stud at Brandfort. She sold not only the most expensive pregnant stud cow, but also the most expensive pregnant heifer.
The cow, MB 2304 (lot 34), was sold for R36 000, whilst the heifer, MB 2304 (lot 25), was sold for R30 000.
The average price for the seven pregnant stud cows was R24 857.
Braunvieh breeders with whom African Farming spoke about the auction cannot get over the breed’s outstanding achievements and the heavy weaning calves it produces.
“Braunvieh has an excellent ability to cross with other breeds.
The breed weans heavier calves by at least 20 kg, or you wean the calves at five months (at 240 kg) and give your cows an extra two months to build condition for her next calf,” says Reitsma.
According to Bezuidenhout, as a Braunvieh breeder she is pleased that the genomic tests conducted so far have not identified any double-muscling genes in the breed. “They did however find a gene in the breed that contributes to meat tenderness.”
Found throughout the world in more than 60 countries, the Braunvieh is celebrating its 100th anniversary in South Africa next year and, according to local breeders, plans to celebrate it properly.
Vleissentraal Bloemfontein hosted the auction, while SwifVee handled online sales. The auctioneer was Allan Sinclair, and the marketers were Janus Oberholzer and Coenie Boshoff.
