It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I report that Jackie MHB 05-08 was stuck and killed by lightening last night. Jackie has had such a huge impact at Vastrap and her story reflects the journey that I have walked with the Boran. It’s probably hard for new Boran breeders to really … Continue reading Jackie MHB 05-08 – Tribute to a Herd Matriarch
At Vastrap we believe a motivated and happy workforce is essential to the success of our business. We currently employ about 22 people who live on the farm with their families. Every couple of years we like to take the team on an outing to get them off the farm and share new experiences (see … Continue reading Vastrap team visit to Sparta
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!
Vastrap Boran 