A Brahman Story
by Val Hanssen
Back in 1954 a young German farmer, named Jurgen Cranz, made a
decision that was to change beef production in Southern Africa
forever!
He had noticed an article in the Reader’s Digest about the
amazing new Beef Breed called the Santa Gertrudis and what a blessing
it was to ranchers in the hot Southern Gulf coast region of Texas.
So, Jurgen decided to investigate at first hand and what better
excuse than that to take his young wife, Vera – along with
him and call it a honeymoon!
But alas, the Santas cost too much so he ended up bringing 10
Braham bulls and 10 females back to his ranch, ISABIS, south west
of Windhoek. It so happened that at about this time as a young
rancher working with my father a little way up the road, I too
had reached a dead end in our beef programme.
For years we had been breeding Shorthorn cattle and remember so
well those chunky young calves bouncing around in the rain all
over the lush green grass of the Khomas Hochland (central Namibia).
Unfortunately those rainy days were a rare sight in an arid land
where good years were abnormal. It had taken us many bitter seasons
to learn that Namibia (then known as South West Africa) is essentially
a dry country, occasionally blessed with adequate rains.
Consequently we were faced with the need to hybridise our European
cattle with something hardier, but on the other hand without sacrificing
too much frame and growth. The ‘Afrikaner’ breed definitely
was not the answer but we needed some type of Indicus breed and
after seeing these queer looking, flop-eared creatures of Jurgen’s,
I decided that maybe he was onto something.
To find out more about these cattle I left for America in the
Autumn of 1954 and spent a year with the Brahmans in Texas. Jack
Grarret my boss, was a tobacco chewing old Texan who gave me all
the opportunities needed to learn and love this breed of highly
intelligent and versatile cattle. For us here in Africa above all
two things weighed heavily in their favour, one – a Brahman
ate just about anything if he had to, and two – he just loved
lying out in the noon day sun.
One morning we were sitting on top of the corral fence like cowboys
tend to do, when the boss drove up in his Pickup and out stepped
a vision from my African past – a typical thickset Afrikaner
wearing – you’ve guest it – a khaki shirt and
shorts and on top of it all, he says in Afrikaans: “Val Hanssen,
jy moet nou keer laat hierdie Texans my nie verneuk nie hoor!!” (Val
Hanssen, you must make sure that these Texans do not rip me off!)
I mean to tell you that gravelly voice coming from this queer creature
dressed in the bermuda shorts just knocked us all clean off the
top of that fence, laughing fit to die!
That was my introduction to Attie Marais, one of the truly ‘Greats’ in
the Brahman business. He and Mr Gregory had bought the firsts bulls
into the RSA from Jurgen Cranz’s herd at a 1000 Pounds a
piece which was a goodly sum in those days.
And so it all started. I sailed from New Orleans just before Christmas
1955 with 37 Brahmans on the freighter Harry LYKES bound for Walvis
Bay. These 37 cattle had 5 different owners.
Introducing a new breed of cattle into a country is always risky,
but bringing the Zebu into Southern Africa was a direct threat
to the Afrikaner breeders who considered the Afrikaner the premier
breed used for beef production.
This incidentally was also the official Government attitude both
in Namibia and the RSA. What we were now trying to do was like
telling the dominie (the Minister or Priest) he had been worshipping
the wrong God all these years.
Although the breed eventually increased far faster in the Republic
initially the ‘battle’ was fought here in Namibia because
a battle it surely was. By this time it was an accepted fact that
the Bos indicus blood was indicated in beef production in most
areas of Southern Africa. Most farmers believed the ‘Afrikaner’ was
their only choice. . . We were about to tell them that we had something
far better. When we started our ‘campaign’ we did not
have much of an army – all we had were the few breeders who
had recently imported cattle, myself and Trudi Luchtenstein who’s
father had financed my first purchase of cattle.
But Trudi was a great fighter and together with this impossible
dream of thousands of great white cattle roaming the plains of
Africa and oodles of money coming our way we waded in. I don’t
remember much about the money, but I do remember all the battles.
It was called ‘selling Brahmans’. We sold our idea
in the show ring. We started fatstock halter classes and initiated
the blocktest and we talked and talked and talked. . .
We denied that Brahman meat was blue in colour and inedible. We
denied that Brahmans were wild and unmanageable – we stated
that it was rather the owners that were wild and maybe a bit too
stupid to farm with highly intelligent animals. . . – that
changed a few attitudes I tell you! We made some headway in a ding-dong
battle and then reinforcements arrived from a very unexpected quarter
that swung the tide in our favour for good.
What happened was that the ‘Speculator’ – that
gentleman and great opportunist had discovered that ‘Brahman
crosses were profitable’.
THAT WAS IT. 20 years later you could hardly pass a bunch of cattle
anywhere in Southern Africa without noticing their long ears and
good bodies.
How the Brahman came to Africa and the revolution it caused in
the cattle industry is all history now. Cattlemen are looking for
something new once again in their eternal quest for the perfect
animal – for the goose that lays the golden eggs and needs
very little to keep it happy and laying. . .
I hope they find that ‘goose’, but something tells
me it is not the goose that is going to solve their problem. You
see the farmer in Africa has for too long looked for some amazing
animal – something between a goat, a cow and a camel that
will unfailingly keep producing on land that he unquestionably
believes must stay fertile no matter what he does to it.
But when he eventually discovers what a mess he made of this land
that was merely loaned to him by his children and gets up and does
something about it and chooses his magic animal that will satisfy
him – this animal will have a distinctly familiar look about
it –
IT WILL HAVE LONG EARS.
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