Formerly known as the biggest mohair broker in the world, an Eastern Cape fibre broker has just concluded its second ram auction for the 2021 season – again reaching a 100% sell-through rate.
The auction, hosted by The House of Fibre, boasted excellent quality rams on offer despite attracting a much smaller audience, says general manager Pierre van der Vyver.
He says the Angora Veldram auction in Jansenville, 87 kilometres outside Graaff-Reinet, had “a clean sheet of sold rams”.
The auction’s front-runner was a lot bred by Roelfie van der Merwe, a ram breeder from Aberdeen. The final hammer brought a R25 000 auction price for a ram bought by Richard Herold from Graaff-Reinet.
Tough times for Angora industry
Van der Vyver says, “It has been very trying times for the Angora industry, especially for drought-stricken farmers. Yet, they never stopped supporting fellow breeders. I was humbled by the support of local farmers who, despite all our regulations due to Covid-19, came out in their numbers to support their neighbours.”
He says the auction also achieved significant average prices: R20 000 for stud rams, R8 500 for selected flock rams and R5 000 for flock rams.
This ram sale also had a clean sheet of sold rams, with the front-runner being a lot from Van Hasselt Farming in Prince Albert, bred by mother-and-son team Gay and Jordi Van Hasselt. The hammer fell on the last bid of R28 000 for a ram bought by Kowie Olivier from Bonnievale Farms in Fraserburg.
