Ox producers rewarded

Namibian ox producers were acknowledged and rewarded for producing top quality oxen when Agra awarded the winners of their third slaughter ox competition at a ceremony in Windhoek. Agra Auctions' central regional manager Herman Lintvelt said that 2018 was a tough year to get oxen for the competition. According to him many producers turned to weaner calf production because of the good weaner prices, and as a result of the drought over the past number of years. “We however managed to get a total number of 155 oxen entered for the competition.”The Agra slaughter-ox competition was launched in 2016 with the purpose to give ox producers the opportunity to participate in an organised competition, providing a platform where producers can measure the quality of their livestock. It was hosted at four of Agra's auction points in the central region. Each producer had the opportunity to enter two oxen per Meat Board producer number, which were then judged together as a pair. Animals were judged on the hoof and after being slaughtered, the carcass judging was done. The total score consisted of 40% on-the-hoof judging points and 60% carcass judging points. The live animals were judged on the criteria: age, fatness, mass variation, good farming practises such as dehorning, branding etc., and temperament. All animals were slaughtered at the Beefcor abattoir in Okahandja and the carcass judging was done by Petrus Maritz, the chief carcass classifier of the Meat Board. On-the-hoof judging was done by the same panel of judges who travelled to all the auction points, ensuring that the judging was consistent and fair.According to Agra, the competition has already shown positive growth over the period. In 2017 it was presented at three auction points, a total of 142 oxen were slaughtered and producers received an average price of N$9 168 per head. This year it was presented at four auction points with a total of 155 oxen slaughtered and an average price of N$10 200 per head. “Our vision is to expand the competition to other areas of Namibia and, as we have already done with our weaner auction competitions, to develop it into a national competition,” said Lintvelt. The winners at the various auction points were Phoenix farming of Len de Jager, Nico Weck and Johnnie Hamman at Nina. In Windhoek Maike and Henner Wilckens took first place, while at Aub, Theuns Johnston won and in Gobabis Bertus Calitz walked away with first place. STAFF REPORTER

Ox producers rewarded

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

Please login to leave a comment

Ox producers rewarded

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-05-05

Please login to leave a comment

Login