How the Bonsmara changed red meat production in SA

The Bonsmara is a beef cattle breed that thrives under taxing conditions and has the meat and carcass quality required for profitable production. Sandile Nzuza, breed director at Bonsmara SA, spoke to Annelie Coleman about the contribution this breed has made to the local red meat industry since its development in the 1930s.

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The Bonsmara was developed in the 1930s with the objective of creating a beef cattle breed that would not only survive but actually thrive under Southern Africa’s tough climatic conditions. It was bred at the Mara and Messina Research Stations under the guidance of Prof Jan Bonsma.

Through selective breeding involving Afrikaner, Hereford, and Shorthorn cattle, the Bonsmara was born, characterised by its heat tolerance, adaptability, and superior meat quality.

The breed’s success is underpinned by the fact that it is now widespread across Africa and even North and South America.

According to Bonsmara SA, the breed’s most famous foundation sire is ‘Mara Edelheer’ (T342), whose dam, L305, was a highly fertile cow – by the time she was 19 years old, she had produced 17 calves.

T342’s sire, N406, was an astounding individual: he had good size, exceptional length and capacity, and was extremely well fleshed. He also had very sound legs, a beautiful hide and hair, and was highly fertile (he was still extensively used at the age of 14 years).

Thanks to Bonsma’s unique method of scale photography, the Bonsmara is the only breed in the world that can boast a pictorial genealogy from the very beginning of the breeding work until the breed was officially established.

PRODUCTION POTENTIAL

“The production potential of the Bonsmara continues to outweigh the challenges faced in severe and extensive production conditions, with Bonsmara mothers producing heavy weaners that continue to excel on the farm and in feedlots.

“Ongoing performance testing and careful selection have resulted in dams that birth relatively small calves that grow rapidly. This allows for the optimal growth of the calves, resulting in heavy weaners at seven months,” explains Nzuza.

KING OF CROSSBREEDING