40 years of Bonsmara

It is forty years since University of Pretoria researcher, Dr Jan Bonsma started experimenting with Brahman and Afrikaner stock at the agricultural farm Mara, in the then Northern Transvaal province of South Africa. After sixteen generations of careful selection, Dr Bonsma was convinced he had the right mix for his hybrid stock which formed the basis of the later famous Bonsmara cattle breed. In Namibia, Bonsmara cattle have been an important contributor to the improvement of the national herd. The breed’s 40-year milestone is celebrated by the Bonsmara Cattle Breeders Society of Namibia, with ample assistance from a financial institutions that takes a keen interest in agriculture as a commercial concern. In the picture, Dries Venter, the President of the society, receives the goodwill and donation from Christo Viljoen, FNB Namibia’s Head of the Agri division. At the celebrations, Viljoen advised the cattle breeders that a shift in mindset leads to innovation and improvement, just as Dr Bonsma did all those many years ago. He spoke about mind-shift farming where a farmer asks himself what he can do with what is in his control, what is his vision and dream for the business. “We believe there is nothing more powerful as a changed mindset’’ said Viljoen.