Performance testing made Bonsmara SA's most trusted beef breed

Decades of compulsory performance testing has shaped the Bonsmara into a reliable, data-driven beef breed. By prioritising measurable function over appearance, Bonsmara breeders have built a transparent genetic system that delivers proven performance, adaptability, and commercial relevance.

- Hanlie du Plessis

In an era where data-driven decision-making is increasingly promoted across agriculture, the Bonsmara breed stands as a reminder that South African beef producers have been practising disciplined measurement for decades.

Long before digital dashboards and genetic indices became commonplace, Bonsmara breeders were already required to measure, record, and submit performance data as a condition of belonging to the breed.

This culture of compulsory performance testing has not only shaped the Bonsmara’s genetic direction, but has also underpinned its reputation as one of the most reliable and commercially relevant beef breeds in the country.

PHILOSOPHY ROOTED IN FUNCTION, NOT FASHION

The foundation of mandatory performance testing in Bonsmara lies in the work of Prof Jan Bonsma, whose research challenged the dominance of visual appraisal in cattle breeding.

Bonsma argued that animals should be selected for their ability to function efficiently within a specific environment, rather than for cosmetic traits or exaggerated conformation.

This thinking was revolutionary at the time. It shifted breeding objectives away from appearance and towards fertility, adaptability, growth efficiency, and longevity - traits that directly influence profitability at farm level.

According to animal scientist Japie van der Westhuizen, this philosophy was deliberately embedded into the Bonsmara breed structure.

"From the start, Bonsmara breeders accepted that if you want reliable genetic progress, measurement has to be compulsory," explains Van der Westhuizen.

"Optional recording does not create accountability.

Compulsory recording does."

As a result, the Bonsmara developed not just as a breed, but a system: one in which individual herds contribute data to a collective genetic resource.

WHY COMPULSORY TESTING MATTERS AT BREED LEVEL