The annual Janmarck Beefmaster production auction, hosted by the Du Plessis brothers of Bethlehem, may not have matched the excitement generated by the stud’s outstanding performance at the national Beefmaster auction, but it still delivered excellent prices.
By Johan Norval
Tabbie du Plessis runs the Janmarck stud with his brothers, Bismarck and Jannie. Tabbie and Bismarck manage the farm on a full-time basis, while Jannie, a medical doctor in Gauteng, visits the farm as often as possible.
At the national Beefmaster auction in Parys on 2 July 2026, their bull JAN 233125 sold for a South African record price of R1.1 million. They also achieved the highest price for a pregnant heifer when JAN 233179 sold for R220 000.
At the production auction, held on 23 July 2026 on the farm Stirling, the bull JAN 233135 realised the top price of R400 000. The buyers were Peet Steinberg and Awie van Aardt of Mooiplaas, Hendrina, Mpumalanga. Bidding was spirited for JAN 233135, a half-brother of the record-breaking JAN 233125.
Janmarck’s top-priced bulls reached R220 000 at the 2025 production auction. This year’s average bull price of R112 000 was also significantly higher than the R80 000 achieved in 2025.
The top-priced female was the pregnant heifer JAN 222094, which sold for R42 500 to Nico and Riaan Rhind of Iksord near Senekal in the Free State. The Rhind stud also purchased the top-priced pregnant cow, JAN 200127, for R50 000 at last year’s auction. The average price of the stud females was R28 000, approximately R5 000 higher than in 2025, while the commercial females averaged R22 500, about R4 500 more than the previous year’s average.
BKB Bethlehem presented the auction in collaboration with the Meerkat platform, with Jan Mostert serving as auctioneer.
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