Thank you to everyone who supported the 2017 Vastrap Auction on Friday, 18 August. In many ways it was an emotional day for us as we bid farewell to the last remaining Mollshoop Boran cows that were the founding matriarchs of the Vastrap herd. Our Boran journey started with these cows and we have them to thank … Continue reading 2017 Vastrap Auction: Farewell Mollshoop
In this blog I would like to focus on Estimated Breeding Values (EBV's) and why are they so important. In particular, how can EBVs be used to help pick which animals to buy in order to build or improve one's herd. The main point I would like to make is that EBVs supply crucial decision-making information … Continue reading The importance of accurate EBVs in animal selection
Hi everyone, it's Quentin here. We are starting to gear up for the 2017 Vastrap Auction, which will be held on Friday, 18 August. This weekend, while taking photos of the new crop of 3 year old bulls that we'll be offering, I noticed something which highlights the great value for money that can be … Continue reading Vastrap Auction Bulls
Thank you to everyone who supported the 2016 Vastrap Auction on Friday, 19 August. We had a lovely dinner at Vastrap the night before the auction catching up with people who had travelled from far to be there. The next morning, quite unusually for the Free State at this time of year, we woke up … Continue reading Gumboots and raincoats at the 2016 Vastrap Auction!
At Vastrap Boran, we verify the parentage of every stud animal through DNA testing at Unistel laboratories. This is not only because we use more than one bull in each breeding herd (multi-siring), but also because we believe that it is crucial to establish the parentage of our animals with 100% certainty. The confirmation of … Continue reading The importance of parentage verification through DNA testing
Every year as part of our efforts to ensure that only the best 3-year old bulls are offered at the annual Vastrap Boran Auction, some independent fellow Boran breeders help us to do a visual evaluation of our bulls. It was one of the coldest mornings of the year, but seeing how far the bulls have come … Continue reading Final bull selection for the 2016 Vastrap Auction
Vastrap Boran is excited to introduce one of our new stud sires, Samurai SS 11-31 (Dianna SS 06-03 x Kobra SS 08-61). His mother, Dianna SS 06-03 (HVT 97-15 x HVT 95-03) caught Quentin's eye very early in his stud breeding career when he visited Corn van der Watt in January 2012. She is an extraordinary cow – beautiful … Continue reading Introducing our new stud sire, Samurai SS 11-31!
Based on records going back 119 years, 2015 was the driest year ever recorded in our district. At Vastrap we recorded 386mm in 2015 compared with a long term average of 620mm. Our rainfall for the 2015/16 summer has only been 300mm. Two dry summers in a row have really taken their toll causing a succession … Continue reading Boran resilient through extreme drought
Vastrap Boran participated in a feedlot trial of Boran crossbred weaners with Sparta Beef organised by the Free State Boran Club. The initiative was planned and implemented by Rikus Stander of Mount Kenya Boran. The results are great news for the Boran breed. In particular, the feed conversion rates (FCR), both during backgrounding and the feedlot … Continue reading Crossbred Boran Feedlot Trial with Sparta
Vastrap Boran 