The Diamond Fire Sale made its comeback this March and truly brought the heat, as six local smallstock breeders delivered nothing short of sublime breeding excellence. 68 lots on auction, comprising the finest Kalahari Reds, Boer Goats, Dorpers and Saanens from Bushra Stud, Hennie Schutte Dorpers, Johannes Mokoka Boer Goats, OGS Stud, Lebonesang Stud and RedBoer Stud went under the hammer to stun the record number of attendees who filled up the Stockman’s Choice auction pens in Tlokweng (the largest turnout for a smallstock sale to date). The night saw a record number of bidders registered, including a record 43 online buyers via CDP Auctioneers ranging from Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Egypt and South Africa.
he night saw a record P1.4 million in sales made, including 2 new Botswana records by Bushra Stud and Hennie Schutte respectively. Bushra Stud broke the record for the highest priced Kalahari Red buck sold within Botswana (Lot 35) for P70,000.000, sold to Joseph Khumo of Khumo Boer Goats; the sale also marked the third highest priced Kalahari Red buck sold out of Botswana. Hennie Schutte broke the Botswana record for the highest priced dorper ewe (Lot 4) which sold for P31,000.00 to Gold Star Goat Stud. The first smallstock animal ever exported from Botswana to Zambia will be Lot 7, sold by Bushra Stud for P40,000.00 to Mutanda Farms via an online bid.
“There were a great many learnings from the inaugural Diamond Fire Sale in 2021, and we have all been working since then to prepare foe even bigger and better; this is precisely what we all delivered this year! The Diamond Fire sale is proof in the proverbial pudding that local breeders have what it takes to truly make their mark and that, when we work together, we are stronger together. Championed by Bushra Stud, whom we have all been breeding out of, we have excellence in bloodlines and in practice, and have been supporting each other ever since. This is the true meaning of community, and a true demonstration of what good, honest values and business can result in. We can all only go higher from here!” said one of the breeders.
The Diamond Fire Sale was established by Bushra Stud as a platform for young Batswana smallstock breeders who are peers and customers of Bushra Stud and breeding out of Bushra genetics. The intention was to empower all to mutually benefit from greater exposure, platform to market, and a healthy sense of competition that only propels each to do grow and thrive, together. This in turn helps ensure greater investment and diversification in the incredible genetics across Botswana to grow the industry and its ability to compete across the region.
“We came together as customers and partners and have stood together as peers over the years. From this, we have mutual benefit in shared knowledge and learnings, mutual understanding, and support. Support comes in many forms, from lending each other advice to buying from each other at this very auction. When ethics, good intention, honest ambition and camaraderie come together, there’s nothing we cannot do as a community of breeders. Of course, we thank all buyers, bidders, supporters, the auctioneers being Stockman’s Choice and CDP Auctioneers and each and every one of our incredible sponsors. They have supported us to no end, and we are tremendously grateful as we work to grow this platform and grow this community,” said lead organiser, Faheem Kala of Bushra Stud,
The event was sponsored by leaders in the agriculture space also passionate about driving Botswana’s smallstock industry forward. This included Integrated Veterinary Services (IVS), Agrifeed, Supa Feeds, Desh Feed Corner, Solahart Botswana, and Majestic Court Hotel.
