Breeds of Mara and the Afrikaner country
A government research station in Limpopo where the Bonsmara breed was built on the Afrikaner, the trek ox of South Africa.
Breeds of this place
Best time: May to September, the dry winter.
The Afrikaner is South Africa's oldest settler breed, descended from the long-horned cattle of the Khoikhoi herders at the Cape. Red, lean and lyre-horned, it pulled the wagons of the trek north in the nineteenth century. At the Mara Research Station in Limpopo, from 1937, the animal scientist Jan Bonsma crossed Afrikaner cows with Hereford and Shorthorn bulls to breed a beef animal for the hot bushveld.
The Afrikaner
Afrikaner cattle are deep red with long, spreading horns and a small cervico-thoracic hump. They were the draught animals of the Cape and the interior, and are hardy in heat and resistant to ticks. When tractors and trucks came, the breed turned to beef. It has been used to build several other breeds, in South Africa and abroad.
The Bonsmara
The Bonsmara, named after Bonsma and Mara, is roughly five eighths Afrikaner and three eighths Hereford and Shorthorn. It was selected for fertility, growth and adaptation to heat, using performance recording that was new for its time. It became one of the most numerous beef breeds in southern Africa. The research station still runs trials on veld and cattle management.
A trail idea for Mara and the Afrikaner country
- Mara Research Station The provincial research farm where the Bonsmara was bred.
- Makhado The nearby town at the foot of the Soutpansberg.
- Soutpansberg The mountain range across the north of Limpopo.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Bonsmara" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
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