Nguni Cattle in the Limpopo Province

The Nguni

The Nguni is a calm, but alert breed of cattle with excellent mothering qualities. It is able to survive in harsh feld. It has excellent resistance to ticks and tick-borne diseases. It requires the minimum of handling. It copes well in sourveld regions, and also grazes in mountainous areas. I often notice my Ngunis foraging from Acacias and Combretum species of trees, in the presence of ample grass. This hardy animal makes for an excellent choice in an arduous environment, but will excel even more in more favourable conditions.

The Nguni: A Case Study Jenny Bester, L.E. Matjuda, J.M. Rust and H.J. Fourie
Animal Improvement Institute

Well worth the while to read this excellent article by Jenny Bester and co authors. It covers the genetics of the Nguni, as well as very interesting historical aspects of the influx of European breeds of cattle into the rural areas, as these cattle were percieved to be superior. The Nguni appeared to perform poorly (as a result of overstocking) and appeared less uniform, having a wide range of colours and colour patterns that gave the breed the appearance of an indiscriminate mixture of breeds.

Many of these misconceptions are addressed, and fortunately the work they are doing at the ARC, is resulting in the restocking of the rural areas with genetically pure Nguni's again.

The Nguni is by no means just a cattle breed for the non-commercial sector, and its excellent ability to thrive, good mothering abilities, excellent inherent resistance make it an economically viable choice for all sectors of the market, not to be overlooked.

The article was published with a grant as part of the following workshop:
Proceedings of International Symposium "Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems",
8-10 November, 2001, Montreal, Canada.
The United Nations University Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan.

Amatava Amatava is the home to Wreyford Nguni and is located in the Sourveld region just north of Potgietersrus in the Limpopo province.	Age-Of-Dam Adjustment Factors This excellent article reviews the Age Of Dam Adjustment factor. Currently these values are not directly available to the Nguni breeder, but we hope that this situation will change, and that the Nguni Society will make these data available. Permission was granted by the Author, and GMR journal.
SupaStudNew Cattle Management Software Launched. Follow the link below for more exciting information http://www.supastud.org	Nguni Hides For Sale These exceptional Nguni hides, are available directly from Dr OT Jannasch. Follow the link for images of the hides, all professionally tanned and of exceptional quality.

AMATAVA