From Farmer's Wife To Boer Goat Breeder And Mentor

The value of Boer goats as animals that can utilise the same grazing as cattle is often overlooked. Yet on a relatively small farm near Vryburg, this advantageous practice is being applied very effectively. This is according to Desré Ferreira, a farmer’s wife and stud breeder from Vryburg. She started her own stud upon realising that if she continued to try and ‘organise’ her husband’s Bonsmara stud, it might just lead to trouble. Today the Boer goats perfectly complement the cattle farming enterprise.

- Andries Gouws

She says they initially farmed part-time on a piece of land they rented outside of Vryburg, which was not ideal for her Boer goat stud as the infrastructure wasn’t suitable – if you want to simplify the task of keeping Boer goats, then your kraals, handling facilities and the boundary fences around the farm must be top notch. No one wants to spend money fixing rented land.

A new challenge

During the nineties a few things happened. They purchased their own farm, the children left the house and, with more time on her hands, Desré wanted to set up her own farming enterprise. She already had a number of Boer goats and it was obvious that she had to use them to her advantage.

Initially she supplied wethers for the slaughter market, but this industry did not really appeal to her. So, she followed a different route and started a stud to produce breeding animals. She invested in top quality rams from the outset.

In 1998 her business received a big boost when she bought several ewes at the sale auction of the well-known Boer goat breeder, Dr HP Maree – included in the purchase were ewes from some of the country’s leading breeders. From these ewes she bred maternal lines she still uses in her flock today.

In 2002 she acquired a son of the world champion ram, Dr Pepper, and used him on select ewes. In 2005 she bought a ram from the well-known breeder Stefaans Malan. This ram carried a lot of meat and this trait is still clearly visible in his progeny.