Strong demand for female Brahman cattle from across southern Africa was one of the notable trends at Kroon Vee’s winter auction held on 23 May 2026. Buyers from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Eswatini made several purchases.
By Johan Norval
Strong demand for female Brahman cattle from across southern Africa was one of the notable trends at Kroon Vee’s winter auction held on 23 May 2026. Buyers from Zimbabwe, Uganda and Eswatini made several purchases.
Jan van Zyl junior described the auction as successful, with bull buyers represented from across South Africa. He remains uncertain about the impact of buyer resistance related to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), although all auction animals were vaccinated against FMD as a precautionary measure.
His father, Jan van Zyl, says the family is privileged to still be able to continue full steam ahead after 54 years of Brahman breeding.
“It was a buyer’s market this year, which I do not mind, as the beef cattle industry is characterised by the principle of give and take. Sometimes exceptionally high outlier prices are paid.”
Van Zyl says he was pleasantly surprised by the average prices achieved by the commercial females.
The most expensive Brahman at the auction was the Manso bull Nkosi JVZ 220565, which was sold for R140 000 to CLM Farm, owned by Charles le Maitre of Pretoria. The Manso bulls achieved an average price of R78 000.
The most expensive red bull was JVZ 230016, which was purchased for R90 000 by Hennie and Hein Booysen of Kuruman. The Booysens are also leading Boer goat breeders. The red bulls achieved an average price of R71 666.
The most expensive Manso stud heifer was sold for R50 000 to Justin Mawoyo of Zimbabwe. Manso stud heifers achieved an average price of R37 800.
The most expensive red stud heifer was sold for R48 000 to the Chihoro Stud of Zimbabwe. Red stud heifers achieved an average price of R37 222.
The average prices achieved by the commercial females were as follows: Manso females averaged R24 900, with the highest price being R28 000, while red females averaged R22 700, with the highest price being R29 000.
The auction was hosted by the Van Zyl family on their farm, Buckshee, near Vryburg, in collaboration with the Meerkat platform. Steven Matthews served as auctioneer.
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