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Frontier Bonsmara sale 2017

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The 12th Annual Frontier Bonsmara Auction was held at the recently revamped Hobson&Co Auction Yard in Grahamstown on 16th August.

The long awaited rain which started early on Wednesday morning added to the excitement of the occasion where over 100 buyers registered from throughout the country.

Bidding was brisk on all lots where the discerning buyers were more than happy to pay for quality.

The auction average on the 50 bulls was R45900 where the record of never having a “not sold” bull was maintained. Congratulations to the Frontier members Justin Stirk, Craig Handley, Andrew van Kerken and Brent McNamara on now topping the 500 bulls sold mark!

Most bulls sold in the range between R35000 and R60000, with 8 bulls selling for less than R30000, which shows that this is a sale to suit everybody’s pocket.

Two bulls topped the R100 000 mark, namely Lot 11 bred by Craig Handley which was bought by the Wintercastles Bonsmara stud for R105 000, and Lot 5, bred by Justin Stirk which was bought by Tinus Maritz from Vaalwater for R100 000. Gerrit Meyer from Addo purchased Lot 12 from the Giffords Bush stud for R90 000.

The female prices at last made a welcome step up and buyers from the OFS, Northern Cape and Natal pushed hard, especially on quality pregnant heifers. These heifers averaged just on R15000 each with local commercial farmers Roger and Greg Clayton achieving the joint highest price of R16200 for spring calvers, the same as Andrew van Kerken.

Justin Stirk sold a beautiful batch of 25 3months pregnant commercial heifers to Paul Marais of Viljoenskroon for an average of R15600.

Brandon Leer, the nationally renowned auctioneer who wielded the gavel on the day commented that he was delighted with the outcome of the sale. He was really pleased that the years of dedication to sound breeding and selection practices, and service to the industry was starting to pay off for the group, and that the commercial farmers who support the sale year after year had been rewarded with a good female sale.

Averages were as follows:

Type of Stock No Average Price Top Price Buyer
Bulls 50 R 45 900.00 R 105 000.00 Winter Castles Bonsmaras
Cows & Calves 7 R 15 000.00 R 15 000.00 AJ van den Heever
Pregnant Heifers 6-9 Mths 62 R 14 920.16 R 16 200.00 Tshezi Farming
Pregnant Heifers 3-6 Mths 36 R 15 011.11 R 16 200.00 Limerick Trust
Open/Weaner Heifers 59 R 8 207.63 R 10 600.00 Limerick Trust

Pictures from the Sale: