Namibia's cattle sector based on Brahmans

摘要

When it comes to genetic herd improvement, two words describe the Namibian Brahman industry's approach - discipline and dedication. Strict breeding principles are enforced across the Brahman seedstock industry in Namibia in a bid to maintain a highquality genetic base fully adapted to the country's breeding conditions. Namibia, an independent nation formerly known as South West Africa and bordering South Africa, Botswana and Angola, is home to a thriving Brahman industry established in 1954. The country is now home to around 12,000 registered Brahman cattle and two million head of cattle, 70 percent of which are Brahman or Brahman-infused. The Namibian Brahman Breeders Association was founded in 1992 and undertakes a rigorous annual program of strategic goal-setting for genetic improvement, training and information courses for stud and commercial breeders, and cattle inspections. The goals of the Association are simple - to produce high quality Brahman cattle that are suited to the variable climatic conditions of southern Africa. Association president Ryno van der Merwe was part of a Namibian delegation recently in Australia for the 11th World Brahman Congress and spent a week visiting Brahman operations between Rockhampton and Cairns on a post-congress tour arranged by AgTour Australia.