Wayne Porter is the President of the Brahman Breeders Society of SA and he farms in the Tarkastad District of the Eastern Cape. “I farm with Brahman Stud cattle, Angora goats and Merino sheep.”

He is married to Tracey and they have three wonderful girls, Danielle, Kirsten, and Jamie.

“My dad, Ewan, and I started the stud in 1981. The Stud name is TARKA BRAHMANS, and we breed South African Grey Brahmans (MANSO type). My dad bought his first two Brahman bulls in 1974 to cross with commercial Hereford/Afrikaner cows. We fell in love with the Brahman due to its unique character. The Brahman crosses also performed well, with more beef, capacity and hardiness. This led to us starting a stud in 1981 which has proven highly successful,” says Wayne.

The Brahman was developed in the 1800’s by the USA. Four Zebu breeds; the Nellore, Gir, Guzerat and Krishna Valley were crossed with the local cattle in Texas, namely the Texan Longhorn, Shorthorn, Charolais and Hereford.  The Brahman was developed because as a Zebu, it could tolerate the heat, ticks and flies and harsh climate of the Southern States of USA.  It was registered as a pure breed in 1924.

Key features of the Brahman Cattle:

  • The Brahman is known for its hardiness to tolerate hot, dry, and extreme climates.
  • The Brahman is adaptable to various environment conditions and has outstanding mothering abilities.
  • It has an inherent ability of the dam to limit pre-natal growth which leads to low birth weight.  
  • The sloping of the rump facilitates further ease for the birth process.
  • Because of its smooth coat, loose moving skin, black pigmentation, and oil gland discharge (sebum) the breed can effectively control parasites and is tick resistant.
  • It has longevity and can effectively breed until 15-18 years of age.
  • It has excellent heteroses (Hybrid vigor) which is the genetic ability of the breed to compliment and add value to other breeds by means of cross- breeding due to its biological and genetic uniqueness.
  • Scientific findings prove that pure bred and cross bred Brahman steers reach earlier market readiness in comparison with other breeds on natural grazing.  
  • The longer marketing of A Grade and AB carcasses since Brahmans only shed teeth after 24 months (about 2 years) and till as late as 32 months (about 2 and a half years) is another positive characteristic of the Brahman.

“The vision of myself and the Society is to move the breed into more participation of breeders in Performance testing and do genomics in the breed. We have successfully received 3 more EBV’s for difficult measure traits that are NFI. (Nett Feed Intake) DTC (Days to calving) and docility.  We are well on our way to building a reference population of the breed with genotypes and hope to have the GEBV’S (Genetically Enhanced Estimated Breeding Values) by the end of the year, 2022,” says Wayne.

The Breed is also doing meat quality tests to be able to select for more tender beef.

Through compulsory inspection of bulls and numerous training courses for breeders, they are now able to provide a superior quality Brahman for the market that is also backed by reliable performance data.

They continue to do promotion and marketing in the traditional print media and at their countrywide shows.

They also use digital marketing on Facebook, (SA Brahman Breeders / Brahman SA), Instagram (brahman_sa) and on our Society web page (www.brahman.co.za) to effectively market Brahmans on all platforms available.

“The Society has also been encouraging breeders to hold sales under the auspices of the Society (total dispersal sales are compulsory). In this way we are guaranteeing a better product of Brahman that has been visually inspected by our inspectors and all fertility, performance and pedigree information has been checked and verified by the office.”

To be part of Brahman SA, all interested parties can contact the Brahman Society at their offices in Bloemfontein, 6 CP Hoogenhout Street, 7 Genius Loci Office Park, Langenhovenpark.  Contact them at 051-446-4619, send an e-mail to: info@brahman.co.za.

New breeders are welcome to contact Mr. Sietze Smit, the Brahman Breed Director at 083-712- 9965 and their technical officer, Jan Louw 076-221-9715 or personnel at the office 051- 446-4619.