Angus: renowned for its marbling and maternal abilities

Basie Bezuidenhout is the president of the Angus Society of South Africa and owner of the Vredenheim Angus stud. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the advantages of this extraordinary cattle breed and its progress in South Africa.

-  Glenneis Kriel

Tell us more about the origin of the Angus breed.

The Angus cattle breed developed more than 200 years ago out of two black polled strains known as ‘humlies’ and ‘doddies’ in the neighbouring counties of Aberdeenshire and Angusshire in North-East Scotland.

Following the union of England and Scotland in 1707, many northern farmers exported surplus cattle to England graziers, which led to the demand of what has become known as Prime Scots beef in London.

In 1795, the price of grain soared because of the French Revolution and further drove up the demand for beef in England. This made Scottish farmers realise they could increase their earnings by finishing their own cattle, which led to the specialised production of their native polled stock as meat animals, rendering the Angus breed, the only one in the world to have been bred exclusively for beef since its inception.

How did the breed end up in South Africa?

The Angus is the biggest British beef breed in the world. The first Angus cattle were imported to South Africa in 1895, with the primary objective of improving meat yield and the quality of local breeds, which is something the breed has achieved with enormous success!

The Angus Society of South Africa was founded in 1917, making it one of the oldest breeders’ societies in South Africa. It was affiliated to the South African Stud Book Association in 1918 and received its certificate of incorporation on 23 March 1921.

Today, the society boasts 140 registered stud breeding members and 50 registered commercial members. On our database, there are 2 300 beef farmers in South Africa who use Angus in their commercial farming operations.