Ramaphosa’s Ankole heifer sells for record-breaking R6.4m - TimesLIVE
An Ankole heifer from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Ntaba Nyoni cattle farm has sold for R6.4m, setting a new South African record for a female animal across all cattle breeds.
The in-calf heifer, Queen Arusha (NANK23 001), was sold at the Ntaba Nyoni & Friends auction at Phala Phala, near Bela-Bela, in Limpopo on October 3.
According to Farmer’s Weekly, Veilingswinkel COO JP Smith confirmed the sale.
The record sale comes from a cattle operation that describes itself as having 20 years of experience in the cattle-farming industry and says it was the first cattle farm to introduce Ankole longhorns into South Africa. “This achievement was thanks to the vision of proud owner and president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa,” the farm says on its website.
Ntaba Nyoni says its cattle operation has evolved significantly over the past two decades.
The farm initially focused on buying and raising weaner cattle from breeders in areas including the Eastern Cape, Vryburg and Namibia. At its peak, the cattle herd reached about 6,000.
“When weaner backgrounding seemed less profitable, we started on our journey to becoming a true cattle-breeding operation with an initial focus on mixed breeds,” the farm says.
It later expanded into feedlot operations with numbers reaching as many as 8,000 cattle at any given time.
The farm says it eventually moved away from feedlotting towards its “ultimate passion of breeding cattle studs”.
Its stud-farming journey began after Ramaphosa developed an interest in Ankole cattle during a visit to Uganda in 2004.
“Following his irresistible attraction to the Ankole, we then bought 40 cows and three bulls from President Museveni,” says Ntaba Nyoni.
The embryos from these cattle were subsequently brought to South Africa and formed the foundation of the Ankole stud cattle now found in South Africa.
Ntaba Nyoni says it farms with Ankole, Bonsmara, Boran, Nguni and Wagyu cattle.
The farm says its breeding philosophy centres on acquiring high-quality genetics, maintaining detailed records, and good management. “We boast some of the finest cattle in South Africa, with a focus on excellence and conserving our natural surroundings.”
Its stated vision is “to breed top genetics and to be the proud leader in the South African cattle industry”.
The operation currently lists three registered stud breeds, 750 cows and 300 bulls.
Farmers Weekly said the record-breaking sale formed part of an auction that generated R22.5m in total turnover, with approximately R490,000 paid per lot on average.
The auction attracted 120 registrations while about 100 people attended the event in person.
Queen Arusha was not the only Ankole animal to command a premium.
Two straws of sexed semen from Optimus Prime sold for R250,000 each, setting a new South African record for sexed semen across cattle breeds. The two straws were bought by Ntaba Nyoni for a combined R500,000.
In total, 37 straws of semen were sold for R1.235m, averaging R33,378 per straw. Nineteen embryos were also sold for a combined R1.445m, with the highest-priced embryo fetching R100,000.
The auction also saw 10 bulls sell for a combined R2.75m, with the highest-priced bull fetching R650,000. Eight heifers sold for an average of R482,500, while the highest-priced heifer in that category sold for R900,000.
