Efficient cattle a must for Nigel stud breeder

The 2020 Unistel/SA Stud Book Developing Breeder of the Year, Bookholane Mokoena of Boggie Bonsmaras in Nigel, Gauteng, says that one of his most important breeding aims is to maintain optimal body condition, with the goal of producing cattle that are fit and efficient. Siyanda Sishuba reports.

- Siyanda Sishuba

FAST FACTS

Beginning with 36 mixed-breed cattle just five years ago, Bookholane Mokoena is today the owner of a 90-head Bonsmara stud.

Mokoena farms on 270ha of leased land, but hopes to get access to more land soon so that he can increase his herd and plant maize for feed.

He selects for medium-framed bulls that produce calves weighing between 27kg and 32kg at birth to ensure ease of calving.

Bookholane Mokoena farms on 270ha of leased land near Nigel in Gauteng. He started farming in 2015 and has since managed to increase his herd from 36 mixed-breed cattle to a 90-head Bonsmara stud herd.

Mokoena grew up in the Free State, where his father was a subsistence farmer, and he developed a passion for agriculture from a young age. After matriculating, however, he did not have enough money to go into farming, so he took a job with Sasol. He saved for years to accumulate start-up capital, and finally resigned in 2015 to begin his career as a farmer.