Group auctions: a great team brings great results

Group auctions are becoming increasingly common in South Africa's beef cattle industry, where they are a benefit to both stud and commercial breeders. Members of the Valsrivier Bonsmara Breeders Group spoke to Annelie Coleman about the advantages of these events, and the need for smooth teamwork and shared values.

- Annelie Coleman

The Valsrivier Bonsmara Breeders Group, which comprises two stud and three commercial breeders, was started in 2005 by Cornay Botma (Hentacor Bonsmaras) of Bothaville and WH van Zyl (Thuso Bonsmaras) of Wesselsbron. The latter has, in the meantime, been taken over by WH's son, Thabo. The three commercial breeders are . Danie Minnaar of Kroonstad, and Chris Joubert and Japie van der Berg, both of Bothaville.

Botma recalls that at the time of the launch, he and WH had been running their stud concerns for 15 and 22 years respectively.

“We were reliant mainly on club auctions and out-of-hand sales at that stage, but after careful consideration, decided in 2005 on our own production auctions. This decision was taken after in-depth research and widespread consultations.

"The objective was, and remains, to showcase the genetic integrity, quality and value-adding ability of the animals produced by the group. Economics obviously formed the bottom line of our decision."

MAKING FINANCIAL SENSE

Thabo van Zyl points out that auctions are expensive, and the group auction set-up clearly makes financial sense, as the costs are shared amongst the members. An added cost-saver is the fact that all the members' operations are relatively close to the auction venue on Botma's farm, Gladdedrift. The workload, too, is shared equally, reducing the stress on each member.

Yet another factor driving the launch of the Valsrivier group was that individual members did not have sufficient animal numbers to warrant a full-scale auction by themselves. "Over the years, we've merged into a well-oiled team, with each member knowing exactly what's expected of him," says Van Zyl. "It's our vision to offer cattle that are true to form according to Bonsmara breed standards, which will add value to both commercial and stud breeding concerns.