Top young farmer says his investment in Ankole cattle is ‘next level’

Never one to sit on his laurels, Dwayne Kaschula, South Africa’s Young Farmer of the Year for 2024, recently added Africa’s iconic Ankole cattle to his already highly diversified farming operation. Genetics in his small nucleus herd include a bull sired from semen of the legendary Dyambo (now deceased) of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s renowned Ntaba Nyoni stud herd of Ankole.

By Lloyd Phillips, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad

A “majestic” bull, two cows with calves, and two heifers, are the first stud Ankole cattle to be integrated into the at least seven other commercial enterprises that Kaschula already operates in his Masizakhe Farming agribusiness in the Maclear district of the Eastern Cape.

Kaschula is not one to make rash decisions for his self-made and hard-earned farming empire. He admits, however, to having a profound appreciation for uniquely African animals, as evidenced by his herds of plains game, including impressive African buffalo, and now a few of his very own Ankole cattle.

“Ankole are an icon of Africa. I don’t think there’s anybody that can disagree that the sight of a herd of Ankole together is just next level.

“They’ve got such a great genetic diversity within one breed. I just felt with what we’re currently doing on the farm, they could fill in a few diversification avenues.”

Also read: SA’s top young farmer creates his own opportunities

Advanced Breeding Technologies for Rapid Expansion

For the immediate future, Kaschula will take advantage of ovum pick up, in-vitro fertilisation with semen from top bulls, and embryo transfer and implants into recipient cows either in his own Brangus and Angus herds or in Embryo Plus’s recipient cows. This advanced breeding strategy will help Kaschula rapidly expand his Ankole stud to a target of 100 to 130 registered Ankole breeding females.

As previously reported by African Farming, even though Kaschula has a soft spot for his game and now his Ankole cattle, they all are still expected to earn their keep for Masizakhe Farming.

Also watch: From 16-year-old farmworker to SA’s top young farmer

Apart from owning iconic Ankole cattle for his own pleasure, Dwayne Kaschula intends using these cattle to generate further income for his diversified Masizakhe Farming business via agritourism, beef production, trophy hunting, skulls and hides, and production sales. Photo: Masizakhe Farming

“Ankole are very hardy and adaptable, so I’m going to run them just like I already do with my plains game. I have an existing trophy hunting enterprise, but I also want to expand into agritourism. The Ankole will be another attraction for guests.

“Then, of course, I can breed and eventually market my own Ankole stud animals, and I can slaughter some of them and market their healthy beef. There is also a market for hunting Ankole cattle. Their horns and skulls make magnificent trophies and ornaments. Their hides of different patterns and colours also have good market value.”

Kaschula values the fact that the Ankole’s indigenous genetics and adaption in and for Africa make it well-suited for evading or fighting off predators, and for being wary of and, therefore, defensive against strange people like stock thieves. If they are still somehow stolen, the Ankole’s distinctive horns are easily identifiable from a proverbial mile away by recovery teams.

“With any plains game animal, the length and/or volume of horns attract any person. In the case of the Ankole, the more volume, the more attraction.”

In South Africa, an Ankole animal with a minimum 20-inch (50.8cm) circumference around the base of its horns falls into the elite category.

Also read: Sisters building premium Ankole bloodlines for tomorrow

Giving It Horns, Boet

“My seven-year-old bull, Sikhulu, has a horn base of 26¹/₈ inches (66.36cm), which is really big in the industry. I don’t think there are many bulls in South Africa right now that are bigger than that. So, I think he’s maybe within the top five in terms of his base measurement.”

Sikhulu’s sire, Dyambo, was legendary for having a horn length measuring a staggering 49⁴/₈inches (125.73cm).

Dwayne Kaschula’s nucleus herd of registered animals for his newly established Confluence Ankole Stud enterprise comprises a bull, two cows with calves, and two heifers. Kaschula is running this hardy breed extensively just as he does with his African plains game. Photo: Masizakhe Farming

According to the South African Ankole Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa (Ankole SA), Ramaphosa and Dr Morné de la Rey, the chief executive officer of Embryo Plus, imported the first embryos of Ankole cattle into South Africa in 2003. These embryos originated from bloodlines in Uganda.

After first undergoing extensive performance testing conducted by South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in line with the Animal Improvement Act (Act 62 of 1998), the Ankole was ultimately registered as an approved breed in South Africa in May 2019.

The Ankole breed is still currently highly niche in South Africa. Although figures will likely have changed somewhat since then, in April 2025 Ankole SA reported a total of 1 792 registered Ankole stud cattle, of which 1 198 were classified as Fullblood.

Also read: The Ankole: South Africa’s Louis Vuitton of cattle

Record prices paid for Ankole genetics in South Africa (up to 2 April 2026)

Category	Record Price	Animal Name	Seller	Buyer	Date
Bull	R3 million	Sebastiaan	Twin City Game Breeders	Pieter Ernst Sr (Bona Bona)	May 2021
Heifer	R2.1 million	NANK 18-032	Ntaba Nyoni	Dr Gabriel Ngomani	Oct 2025
Cow	R2.1 million	Fafa	Ntaba Nyoni	Patrice Motsepe	June 2021
3-in-1 Cow	R1.8 million	Khethiwe	Ntaba Nyoni	Collen Tafireyi (Sinyo Boran)	March 2024
Pregnant Embryo Recipient	R1 million		Ntaba Nyoni / Embryo Plus	Sterkfontein Farms	March 2024
Bull Calf	R750 000	Alexander 1st	Kilima Horned Heritage	The Cattle Group	Feb 2026
Semen (per straw)	R30 800	Various Sires	Various	Various	March 2024