Feedlotting gave Mahlatse Bonoko his first real taste of cattle farming as a business. But when the numbers showed that buying, feeding and reselling calves left little room for profit, he changed course. Today, the Ga-Mashashane farmer is building his own herd, improving its genetics and working towards a commercial cattle operation.
By Maile Matsimela, digital editor at African Farming
Mahlatse Bonoko’s first cattle business was straightforward. He used to buy weaners, feed them intensively for about 90 days and sell them through livestock auctions.
It was a model that taught him plenty about feeding cattle, monitoring growth and preparing animals for market. But it also taught him to look beyond turnover and calculate what remained after production costs.
“I wasn’t losing money, but once I had added up the costs of buying calves, feed and transport, there wasn’t much profit left,” Mahlatse says.
That realisation changed the direction of his cattle enterprise, and instead of repeatedly buying calves to finish and sell, Mahlatse decided to invest in building his own herd. Today, he has more than 40 cattle and markets animals he has bred himself.
Also read: ‘Farming has been my university’: How Mahlatse Bonoko turned losses into a 40-cattle operation
Knowing what you are selling
One of the lessons from his feedlotting days was the importance of knowing the weight of an animal before taking it to market. Mahlatse benefited from Obaro’s mobile weighing programme, with livestock technical adviser Frans Dolamo bringing portable scales into the community. Farmers could weigh their calves before marketing them rather than relying on estimates.
“It helped us know exactly what we were selling. Knowing the weight of the calves helped us make better marketing decisions,” he says.
It was part of a broader change in how Mahlatse began thinking about cattle – that decisions had to be supported by information.
Building a better herd
His original herd consisted largely of Nguni and mixed-breed cattle inherited from his family.
As Mahlatse attended farmers’ days, workshops and livestock training programmes, he became increasingly interested in improving the quality of the animals he was producing.
A red Brahman-type bull became an important step in that process. “He is not a pure Brahman, but at that stage I was still learning. My goal was simply to improve my herd,” he says.
Several years later, Mahlatse believes the bull has made a noticeable contribution. He points particularly to improvements in height, body mass and the overall quality of its offspring.
The bull has also produced something Mahlatse specifically wanted: females. “I’m mostly getting female calves from him, and that’s exactly what I wanted because they will become the foundation of my future breeding herd.”
Also read: She quit her job and now owns 133 cattle and 147 goats: Meet Tlhalefo Dithebe
Training changes the plan
Mahlatse credits livestock training at Sernick in 2022 with changing the way he viewed cattle farming. He says Patrick Sekwatlakwatla helped him access the training, which exposed him to genetics, production planning and the importance of managing livestock as a business rather than simply accumulating animals.
The experience helped give greater direction to his breeding plans. His long-term ambition is to establish quality Boran and Bonsmara herds and eventually use artificial insemination to accelerate genetic improvement.
“Now I farm with knowledge,” he says. “I know exactly what I’m trying to improve.”
Also read: Nguni cattle ‘better for communal systems’
From communal herd to commercial ambition
For now, Mahlatse continues farming cattle in a communal environment, but his ambitions extend beyond his current scale. He wants access to a larger farming unit where he can expand both his livestock and grain production. Ultimately, his goal is to become a commercial livestock farmer supplying abattoirs and butcheries while producing his own feed.
A conversation with Sernick founder Nick Serfontein has stayed with him. Mahlatse asked why Serfontein remained personally involved in the business despite his age.
“He told me that’s what it takes to build something that lasts.”
Learning that Sernick had itself started with about 30 cattle encouraged Mahlatse. His own herd may still be small compared with the commercial operation he hopes to build, but he sees the cattle he has today as the foundation rather than the finished product.
For a farmer who started by buying calves to sell again a few months later, that represents a fundamental change in thinking. Mahlatse is no longer simply preparing cattle for the next auction. He is trying to breed the herd that will carry his farming business into the future.
Coming up in Part 3: We turn to Mahlatse’s sheep and Boer goats, where devastating losses to heartwater forced him to learn about animal health, breeding and managing his flocks differently.
Also read:
Why Mapitsi Mashego built her beef herd around Nguni cows
Engineer turns to farming to carry dad’s legacy
Passion and hard work lead to success for Maria Tswai
