A bright future awaits SA's Boran

Hurwitz Farming has become synonymous with Boran cattle in South Africa. But it hasn't always been plain sailing. Simeon Hurwitz spoke to Janine Ryan about the increasing popularity of this breed.

Recently, the Boran has become a topic of hot debate on social media in agricultural circles thanks to the sale of the bull BH 18 749 Cyclone, which was sold to Zimbabwean farmer Collen Tafireyi of the Sinyo Boran Stud for a record-breaking price of R8 million at the Hurwitz Farming 10th Production Auction in August this year.

At the time of the sale, Tafireyi told Farmer’s Weekly: “We are excited to have acquired this top bull. Cyclone is going to play a major role in our future plans in terms of breeding quality. Our plan is to breed the best Borans in Zimbabwe. We want to put Zimbabwe on the map.”

Tafireyi’s insistence that Cyclone is the right bull for this purpose is indeed high praise for the men behind his breeding: Simeon and Jarren Hurwitz. And, while the Boran may now be growing in popularity, there was a time when it was hugely unpopular, and farmers were selling their animals for below slaughter prices to simply get rid of them.

“We were always true to the breed, even at a time when everyone told us we were wasting money by reinvesting in the Boran,” says Simeon.

With the sale of top-quality animals like Cyclone, it seems that the Hurwitz brothers are well on their way to having their names cemented in the Boran’s history in South Africa and maybe even further afield, but it hasn’t been an easy journey.

THE BEGINNING

The Sandton-based brothers took over their grandfather’s farm located in Bethal, Mpumalanga, in 2009. Dr Barney Hurwitz was a pioneer of the Boran breed in South Africa. In 1995, eight years before the establishment of the Boran Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa, he began importing Boran embryos from Zambia, while other breeders were importing the breed from Kenya.

Barney’s foray into the Boran is particularly interesting and speaks to the unique qualities of the breed.