The origin of the Bonsmara

The Breed of the Month for March is the Bonsmara. In this first article, we take a look at the man behind this popular cattle breed, as well as how it was developed.

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A PIONEER IS BORN

22 MARCH 1909

Jan Bonsma was born in Heidelberg in the then Transvaal to Klaas and Elisabeth Bonsma. He completed secondary school at Heidelberg Normaalkollege, which then became Heidelberg Teachers' College.

ARMED WITH KNOWLEDGE

1931–1932

Bonsma graduated from the University of Pretoria in 1931 with a bachelor of science degree, specialising in animal science, and received a senior teacher’s diploma from Heidelberg Teachers’ College in 1932, where his father was vice-principal.

ON THE PATH TO GREATNESS

1933–1936

While completing his postgraduate studies, Bonsma taught at a secondary school in Pretoria from 1933 until mid-1935. In 1935, he received the George Farrar fellowship and, in 1936, he received a government fellowship. That same year, he graduated with a master's degree in animal science. Thereafter, he continued his postgraduate studies on animal breeding at Iowa State University in the US under renowned animal geneticist Dr Jay Lush.