Brahman breeding in Namibia

Ryno van der Merwe, President of the NBBS - Namibia is a semi-arid country with climatic and topographical extremes. In the south there are the vast plains, to the west the rugged mountainous terrain that gradually changes into the Namib desert, the driest desert in the world, to the east the sandy areas of the Kgalagadi, and to the north the thorn tree and shrub savannah where serious problems are experienced with bush encroachment.
In the communal areas animals have to walk long distances to find grazing and water. Under these extensive and extremely difficult conditions cattle producers in Namibia have to eke out a living.
The Brahman and its crosses are found throughout all the regions and during the past sixty years proved to be adapted to produce and reproduce under these harsh conditions. Proof of this is that approximately 70% of the national beef cattle population are Brahman/Brahman type cattle.


Sixty years
To be financially successful in their Brahman farming operation, the breeders had to select animals that were adapted to the environment and that would be able to produce from natural grazing, producing progeny that could perform without pampering. The Namibian Brahman breeders are committed, through a strict selection process, to select cows that are adapted to the environment. Thus selection is for medium framed well muscled, masculine bulls and highly fertile cows that can wean a calf annually.
During 1954, the late Mr. Jurgen Cranz, and his wife Vera imported the first Brahman cattle into Africa, to their farm in the Windhoek district of Namibia. This was followed shortly by more imports by other breeders. The breeders decided to organise themselves into the South West Brahman club, that later affiliated with the South African Brahman Society. The breed grew and developed and in February 1992 the Namibian Brahman Breeders’ Society was founded, and functions as an autonomous organisation.
From its humble beginnings, the Namibian Brahman Breeders’ Society has grown into one of the largest breeders’ societies in Namibia, and will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary during 2014.
It has grown constantly over the years; both in terms of the number of stud breeders and animals, and also in terms of the contribution of the breed to meat production in Namibia.
During the previous year the number of registered animals increased by 2.5% and the number of births recorded by 14%.


Table 1: Statistics of the Namibian Brahman Breeders’ Society (NBBS) from 2006 till 2013.
YearNo of stud breeders No of PTS Herds Total Number of Animals
2006/783 11 361 11 361
2007/8 83 11 776 11 776
2008/9 91 12 574 12 574
2009/10 101 54 (53%) 13 301 13 301
2010/11105 60 (57.%) 14 468 14 468
2011/1211164 (57.6%) 15 754 15 754
2012/13116 81 (70%) 16 127 16 127


At the end of last year, the NBBS had 123 stud breeders with 17 331 cattle on register; 5 393 males and 11 938 females.


Society’s objectives
The aim is to produce functional, efficient, well adapted animals that can produce optimally under extensive conditions. To achieve this objective, the society has implemented certain steps.
Compulsory inspection was implemented from the beginning as a prerequisite for registration. The NBBS annually holds an Inspectors Day at the beginning of each year, where the standards are discussed among the panel of judges and inspectors. The NBBS uses a system of live animal inspection between the ages of 18 and 48 months. This is to ensure that no animal that does not conform to the minimum breed standards, are allowed for breeding purposes.
Training courses are presented annually; for aspiring senior judges and for beginners and aspiring junior judges. A Breeders’ Days (Breed Promotion Day) is also organised annually on the farm of one of the members. On this occasion one or two speakers are invited to address the stud breeders on topics of importance. A symposium on similar lectures is presented on the morning of the Brahman National Auction. These activities form part of the Five Year Strategic Plan of the NBBS.
Participation in Performance Testing is voluntary and the society aims at increasing participation by 5% per annum. This has been attained since 2009/10. Of greater importance is that the completeness of recording has improved. More breeders are now recording and submitting data for docility and sheath/navel score. As the South African breeders now use the same scoring system as the Namibian breeders, EBV’s for these two characteristics should be available in due time. The Completeness of Performance Report which was implemented during 2013, is aiding in this regard, the breeders are now able to easily identify in which areas of recording they need improving.
The NBBS was the first of the breeds registering with the Namibian Stud Breeders’ Association, to implement fertility criteria; female animals have to calve before 42 months of age and further specifications are laid down for cows in terms of the number of calves born at specific ages and maximum ICP at those ages. Cows that do not comply are automatically culled. Other breeds are following this example.


Genetic improvement
To improve meat quality the breeders participate in the ultra-sonic scanning of animals between the ages of 300 – 700 days. The Namibian Brahman Breeders’ Society contributes the most towards scanning data that is currently captured on the BreedPlan© database in Namibia and South Africa. Table 2 provides an insight into the increase in data captured since the inception in 2006.
Both male and female animals are scanned in Namibia. Scanning is done annually between March and May, when the animals are normally in a better condition.


Table 2: Scanning data of Brahman cattle in Namibia (Animals scanned/year)


BreedBreed2006200620072007200820082009200920102010201120112012201220132013

BrahmanBrahman7027026446448088089839831 0781 0781 0511 0511 4141 4141 3611 361

Due to the current drought, and the influence it had on the breeders’ management, many breeders had to look for grazing elsewhere and fewer animals were scanned in 2013 than originally indicated during the planning phase.
The NBBS played an important role in the development of the Extensive Rangeland Grazing Index that was implemented during 2010 and provided valuable inputs towards the development of the Southern African Weaner and Feedlot Indexes that were implemented during 2013. These three indexes form part of the annual Breedplan Herd Analysis.
To improve the accuracy of pedigree information, and thus the accuracy of EBV’s, the NBBS during 2005 implemented a rule whereby all breeding bulls and bulls sold at the Brahman National Auction had to be DNA-ed. During 2013 this was further intensified with the implementing of the rule that all breeding bulls, and bulls sold at the Brahman National Auction, had to be DNA-ed and the sire confirmed through DNA Parentage Testing.
During 2012 the NBBS extended a helping hand to the Brahman Breeders in Botswana, Zambia and Angola, where registration authorities do not exist. Eight Brahman breeders from the Ghanzi area in Botswana and two studs in Angola are now registered with the NBBS and the Namibian Stud Breeders’ Association.
The NBBS annually rewards the herds with the best ICPs in the different herd size categories. At the same occasion the participants in performance recording who qualify for silver, gold, platinum and diamond awards are rewarded, as well as the owners of cows that have on the grounds of their reproduction and production records, qualified for merit and elite cow awards.
The new challenge for Brahman breeders is to become part of the process of estimating Genomic EBVs for the Brahman in Southern Africa. This will enable them to obtain EBVs for characteristics with low heritabilities, characteristics that are difficult to measure/record and to be able to identify high potential animals early in life, so that they can be used to maximum efficiency.
The Southern Africa Brahman Breed Improvement Forum, a joint venture between the NBBS and SABBS, was founded on the 5 April 2013. The activities of this forum will provide momentum to the genetic improvement of the Brahman breed. The NBBS, with the assistance of the Namibian Stud Breeders’ Association, has completed a first round of identification of animals that could be used as part of a reference population. DNA samples of these animals are collected and stored at the Namibian Stud Breeders’ Association. Proof of DNA profiles have to be provided.
The NBBS has decided that it will partake in the Southern Africa Breed Improvement Nucleus Program (BIN), and 11 breeders have indicated their willingness to participate. Between them they own approximately 800 breeding cows which they would make available. The total herds will be used for data collection.
The NBBS will form part of the first ever International Brahman Evaluation which will combine the data of Namibia, South Africa, Australia and North America. The Brahman Breed Societies in all these countries have committed themselves to funding the research on a mutually agreed key.
The long term objective is to make the Brahman the breed of choice in Southern Africa. To achieve this the breeders will have to remain at the head of genetic development, take cognisance of market trends and needs, will have to breed animals with lower maintenance requirements that can produce and reproduce and ensure profitability to the commercial producer.
It is a great privilege for the Namibian Brahman breeders to be part of the World Conference and we accept the challenges in the years ahead.
Congratulations to Wessel Hattingh and his team, as well as the President, Mr. Lewellyn Labuschagne, for organising this event.