A Nguni bull known as Mucho (Lot 8, Q 210011 HH) topped the Western Cape Nguni Club and Regainer Nguni auction in Darling at R120,000, Farmers Weekly South Africa reports, and the sale showed buyers paying for proven genetics rather than taking chances.
"Buyers are no longer simply buying and taking a chance. That is a trend I am seeing," said Lochner Eksteen of Exsteen Ngunis, one of the main sellers and the host. "Bulls with a good story, strong maternal lines, and a proven record, including bulls already used by breeders, fetched good money."
Mucho's catalogue showed above-average estimated breeding values (EBVs): 117 for direct weaning, 113 for maternal weaning, 114 for post-weaning growth and 111 for cow fertility. His dam had produced 10 calves, nine recorded at weaning, with an average inter-calving period of 371 days.
Females with a reproductive record sold the same way. Five Regainer "3-in-1" lots (a cow with a calf at foot and in calf again) averaged R43,200 with a top of R47,000; seven cow-and-calf units averaged R35,142 and reached R57,000; nine pregnant heifers averaged R22,111. The R57,000 unit was a four-and-a-half-year-old cow with her fourth calf at foot, first calved at 16 months, with EBVs of 145 for heifer fertility, 111 for cow fertility and 114 for longevity.
In the club's stud offering, three bulls averaged R45,666 and reached R55,000, and seven 3-in-1 females averaged R40,571 with a top of R49,000. In the commercial section, 11 cow-and-calf units averaged R17,454 and 24 open heifers R9,937. Eksteen said the breed's fertility and performance on extensive grazing were becoming more relevant as farmers faced economic pressure and more variable weather. "I think demand for Ngunis is growing," he said.
At the sale, Dr Bronwen Martin of MSD Animal Health warned that liver fluke can quietly drain cattle performance. Immature flukes migrate through the liver before settling in the bile ducts, causing damage and scarring that cut growth and fertility even without obvious illness. "You're not going to see many dead animals. It's this massive production drain that we see," she said. Because freshwater snails carry the parasite through its life cycle, she advised watching wet areas, poorly drained ground and leaking water points.
Reported by Henning Naudé for Farmers Weekly South Africa.
Source: Farmers Weekly South Africa
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