AGRA LAUNCHES WEANER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Published: 01 Jun 2017

Agra Auctions launched the 2017 weaner auctions and championships on 9 May 2017 at the Agra Bank Windhoek Ring in the capital. The championships aim to recognise and reward producers for good quality weaner calves.

Speaking at the event, Herman Lintvelt, Regional Manager for Agra Auctions Central, gave a brief background on the weaner competitions, describing the 2016 weaner season as one of the toughest to date. “The farmers were in the middle of a crippling drought and at the beginning of July 2016 the export regulations to South Africa were made stricter, making it almost impossible to export livestock to South Africa. A total number of 5977 heads of cattle were sold at all weaner calf auctions in 2016 compared to 14 572 sold in 2015, which is 60% less” he said.

A total of 18 weaner calf auctions will be conducted this year, from 14 July to 12 September, two more than in 2016, with the inclusion of Graal and Aranos in the South. 
Agra places great importance on fertility, growth ability, the capacity to produce meat and farming practices (branding, dehorning, and mass uniformity) as the key aspects for weaner competition judging criteria

As per the previous years, Agra will award prizes to winners in the categories of feedlot potential, veld potential and heifers with breeding potential. The national champions of 2016 were Mr Heinz and Mrs Almut Gruhn, Hereford breeders from the Windhoek district. The judging for all the competitions will be done by Mr Dawid Krause and Christo Van Zyl of Feedmaster to ensure continuity and credibility. 
Agra CEO, Arnold Klein, expressed appreciation to all the sponsors for this year’s competitions. The main sponsors are Bank Windhoek, Sanlam, Santam and Feedmaster. The co-sponsors are Marsh Namibia, Indongo Toyota, Henco Engineering, Bayer, MSD, Agribank and Powerbat Namibia. 

The total sponsorship for this year amounted to more than N$400 000, which will be used for various category winners at the auctions and the awarding of the national champion.

The broad farming community from both communal and commercial areas will participate in these auctions. In addition, competitive buyers from Namibia and its neighbouring countries are expected to attend.