The youthful fierce, female farmer

Jeanette Diergaardt Sixteen-year-old farmer Elandri Kruger shares her love and passion for farming. Farming with Kalahari Reds and Brahman cattle, she showed off her knowledge during the youth cattle judging competition held at the Windhoek Showgrounds in September.Her interest in farming started during holiday visits to her aunt and uncle’s farm. Her father being an avid farmer himself further inspired her to pursue farming.On how she won the cattle judging competition, Kruger said: “I was just myself and expressed my passion of farming”.The most memorable part of the competition was sharing it with friends, she said.Having started farming at the age of 12, Kruger identified the benefits of knowing what the judges expect from cattle farmers. “I really love the Brahman breed and it is me and my father’s dream to have a cattle herd one day.”When she is not farming, Kruger enjoys swimming and playing tennis and hockey. In addition, she enjoys reading.After the stressful judging during the competition, Kruger was surprised to have won the competition. “I started off by telling myself that I will study all the new content. Today I applied all my knowledge and by my surprise I won,” she said.Outline of the competitionThe animal of choice for this year’s competition was the Brahman. One of the technical assistants at Feedmaster, Richard Peens, provided the following pointers that participants had to look at when they judged the cattle: Cattle are brought forward for the learners to judge, a bull and a cow. Participants are required to look at the gender authenticity of the animal and the structural correctness. When judging a cow, participants have to ensure that the female has a feminine head, the breadth of the cow has to be equally distributed throughout her body, being a few points that participants have to focus on during the judging. After assessing the animal, participants were required to list the cattle accordingly from the best looking. The winner of the competition was then decided on after the participants shared their views and opinions on the cattle.BackgroundAccording to the managing director of Feedmaster, Jaco Labuschagne, the youth cattle judging competition was inspired by a similar competition in Australia. Before the competition started, the students underwent training in their respective regions, providing them with the training and information they need. During the training, participants were chosen to partake in the competitions. “Through the competition, we try and cultivate interest in the youth in the breeding of animals,” he said.

The youthful fierce, female farmer

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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The youthful fierce, female farmer

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-04

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