An average bull price of more than R100 000 is the reward for decades of selection at the Tempevale Bonsmara stud of David Cock and Ingemar Heurlin. The stud’s 21st production auction was held on 3 September this year at Tempe farm in the Lady Grey district.
By Gavin Isted
The entire offering of 30 bulls was sold for an average price of R100 167, more than R4 000 higher than at the 2025 auction.
David says 21 production auctions may not sound like much, but they represent countless days of sunrise, thousands of breeding decisions and hundreds of bulls with Taurus breeding material spread across Africa. “There is something special about a good Bonsmara that is hard to explain, especially to someone who has never farmed with the breed.”
He says it is not just about the phenotype of the cow, but also about the silent trust of a cow with her calf. It is also about the bull doing its job during the breeding season. “That kind of trust cannot be bought, but it is about selection from generation to generation. After 21 auctions, we have not only bred beef cattle, but built a herd with a story,” he says.
Ingemar started the Stitchel herd with the herd prefix TOR in 1978 in the Queenstown (Komani) district. David took over the Tempevale herd and Tempe farm from Dick Isted in 2005, after which the two herds were merged under the Tempevale name and TOR prefix. The cattle are now kept in the districts of Maletswai (Aliwal North), Lady Grey and Komani.
The most expensive Tempevale bull was lot 5, which was sold for R250 000 to Drie Anker Bonsmaras in Bloemfontein. Other expensive bulls were lot 12, which was sold for R200 000 to Ou Tal, Dealesville; lot 8, which was sold for R170 000 to A.D. Schutte of Zastron; lot 9, which was sold for R135 000 to Aanmekaar Boerdery, Swartkop, Maletswai; and lot 1, which was sold for R130 000 to H.L. Fourie, Wolwekloof, Dordrecht.
The 30 pregnant heifers averaged R20 000, with a top price of R22 000, while the 20 pregnant cows averaged R19 088, with a top price of R19 250.
BKB Cradock hosted the auction, with Brandon Leer as the auctioneer.
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