Farm History
Ja-Niel farms has a short history, it is still really in its infancy, it started in 1992 with the acquisition of Prinshof a 22 ha farm near the well known town of Stellenbosch and was followed five years later with the purchase of La Fleur in the beautiful Riebeek Valley renowned for its olive festivals. In 2007 another farm Malrug in the Riebeek Valley about 14 km outside of Riebeek Kasteel and about 95 km from Cape Town International Airport was acquired to improve economies of scale. With 1300 ha land available we could now seriously concentrate on wine grapes, livestock and wheat. The Stellenbosch farm is home for the owner Danie van Breda and his family and serves as administrative centre for the farming activities.
The wine grapes comprise 65 ha spread over the three properties. A program of replanting the vines on Malrug is currently underway which will give a ratio of 55:45 red and white. The livestock division consists of commercial SA Mutton Merinos (800 Females) and Hereford cattle (190 Females) both stud and commercial. The plan is to increase the stud at the expense of the commercial section. The wheat farming (320 ha) only started in 2007 and from the outset this was done on a partnership basis with Philip de Waal. This enables us to attend to other priorities such as crop rotation with medics and renew the infrastructure and vineyards.
Stud History
The Ja-Niel Hereford Stud started in 1992 as a hobby with the purchase of three females from Roulou Herefords. With the purchase of La Fleur in 1997 the herd was expanded with animals purchased from fellow breeders throughout South Africa.
The stud, definitely no longer a hobby, comprises 100 females which will be expanded through the reduction of the commercial section. The stud actively participates in agricultural shows to measure the quality of its animals and to promote the stud. During the last few years a number of champions have been delivered as well as animals that have come either first or second in their respective class.
The Stockman bloodline which has done extremely well and delivered a number of champions in this country features very prominently as well as the Happy Days bloodline renowned for producing excellent females. The more promising bull calves undergo Phase C testing at Elsenburg and in 2006 the SA Hereford Society awarded three of our Bulls with the best feed conversion ratio of 4.82 which has not been bettered to date. We will commence with a production sale from 2011. Visitors are always welcome and prospective buyers will not be disappointed.
