This year (2021) marks the 10th year that the Agra weaner champion series took place in such a format. This year, there were 15 weaner auctions held between 14 July and 7 September, across most of the cattle producing areas of Namibia.
The annual Weaner Championship Series does not only allows AGRA to reward individuals for their weaner production excellence, but these auctions also serve to stimulate cashflow in the cattle industry, as many of their producers rely on this series to finance their business. Furthermore, the Series provides an opportunity for producers to measure how they compare to their peers, as well as areas where they can improve on in terms of farming practices.
Fairly good rains over large parts of Namibia over the last two years mean that many farmers are now in a position where they can rebuild their herds. As a result, weaner calf numbers were low, but the season did deliver very good prices at auction. This year, there were 9 027 weaner calves sold on auction, compared to 8 422 in 2020. When comparing average prices, producers earned N$ 7 567.02 per head during the 2021 Series, while 2020’s average price was N$ 6 655.86.
On average, a farmer selling a lot of 12 tollie calves at this year’s Weaner Championship Series would have earned N$ 10 420 more than the previous year. When comparing tollies and heifers, the average tollie price during this season was N$ 7 752.08, compared to the N$ 7 134.72 average for heifers.
The annual gala event was held in Windhoek by end of October. Mr Andre Compion was crowned as the 2021 Agra Weaner Championship Series National Champion. This marked the very first time that a National Champion was crowned for heifer production.
Agra acknowledged and thanked its official event partners for another fantastic event. The event sponsors are: Bank Windhoek, Feedmaster, Sanlam and Santam, AgriBank, Hino Indongo and Indongo Toyota, Total Namibia, Africa Commercial Vehicles, Vivo Shell and MSD.