Experience in establishing a herd book for the local Nguni breed in South Africa

SummaryFor many years the performance of the indigenous livestock of Africa was regarded as inferior. It was only when the results of research and performance recording were published that the value of a breed such as the Nguni was acknowledged. This resulted in an interest in the breed from commercial farmers, which lead to the establishment of a breeder's society in 1986, but with no official pedigrees it was a challenge to establish a herd book.This article describes how the principles of upgrading were initially used to develop a herd book until the Nguni was recognized as an established breed in 1996. Subsequently a system of first registration was implemented. This system caters for emerging black farmers in South Africa who want to become seed stock breeders and allows for the good quality Nguni genetic material available to the communal black farmers to enter the seed stock industry.