Bovelder: the all-terrain beef cattle breed

The Bovelder is a South African beef cattle breed developed by local commercial producers for optimal fertility and meat production. A hardy, ‘no-nonsense’ breed, it was created specifically for the region’s demanding conditions, say Carel and Willem Cilliers, who run one of the oldest Bovelder herds in South Africa. Annelie Coleman visited the father-and-son team in the Free State to find out more about their breeding goals.

- Annelie Coleman

The Cilliers family has farmed on Swartfontein, near Vrede in the Free State, since 1880. Carel, the third generation on the property, today farms with his son, Willem.

In 1978, Carel joined forces with 10 other commercial beef producers in the Vrede, Memel and Warden areas to develop a highly commercial cattle breed that would excel under South Africa’s taxing farming conditions. The new breed was called the Bovelder, and as part of the initiative, Carel launched his Wicar Bovelder herd a couple of years later. “We opted not to follow the stud breeding route. We were committed to a truly South African commercial breed developed for optimal profitability,” he says.

TAURUS-INDICUS COMBINATION

The Bovelder was developed as a composite breed: it has both a Bos taurus component and B. indicus component with Bonsmara and Afrikaner, Simmentaler and Sussex genetics. Carel and his fellow breeders aimed for the efficient use of differences between breeds, without losing heterosis in the next generation and without the need for further crossbreeding.

The breeders opted for the taurus-indicus composite because the combination ensures excellent production with the added benefit of adaptability to local circumstances. The ideal animal for the South African Highveld consists of 60% to 70% B. taurus genetics and 30% to 40% B. indicus genetics.