The People
Louis van der Watt - BonHaven Beef Cattle CEO
Louis is the CEO of the Atterbury Group, one of the largest property development companies in South Africa.
Although he is a businessman, his first love is in farming. He founded the Braford Division in 2002 after purchasing the Red Brahman herd from his father-in-law, the late Paul Ferreira. He also breeds buffalo in the Waterberg.
Louis is married to Celeste and they have two children, Petronel and Philip.
PJ Budler - BonHaven Beef Cattle MD
PJ Budler was raised on a cattle and sheep farm in the Tarkastad district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He founded BonHaven Beef Cattle in 1996, aged 15 with the Hereford Division. After High School he spent 1999 working on Hereford and Angus cattle farms in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. He studied Journalism at Rhodes University before moving back to the farm. After establishing the Angus division and traveling extensively through the USA he partnered with Louis van der Watt to add Braford and Red Brahman Divisions to BonHaven Beef Cattle. He is married to Koula and they live in North Riding, Gauteng.
Herman Vigne - Farm Manager, Tarkastad, Eastern Cape
Herman runs the Hereford and Angus divisions in Tarkastad. He was raised on a farm in the Komga district of the Eastern Cape. After matriculating at Commercial High in East London he worked on beef cattle, sheep and irrigation farms all over South Africa. Amongst these were the Hereford and Limousin herds of DJ Louw and John Davenport. Herman fell in love with Herefords when he saw the late Billy Kingwill's Frans Josef Lieutenant 2 win the Rand Easter Show in 1981. He is married to Lize.
Keith Hutton - Herdsman, L'Escalier, Mauritius
Keith Hutton was raised on sugar cane farms in KwaZulu Natal. He matriculated at Weston Agricultural College and then did a diploma at Cedara Agricultural College. He started off in poultry farming but soon moved on to dairy farming and has run many large herds around South Africa including Spillybrook Jerseys and Lancewood Dairy. He came to Mauritius in 2008 where he built a dairy farm from the ground up. Keith joined the SB Cattle Co. team in 2011. He is married to Karen and they have two children, Jessica and Cody.
Piet Niemand - Farm Manager, Cullinan, Gauteng
Piet Niemand runs the Braford and Red Brahman Divisions at Ferpa Boerdery in Cullinan, Gauteng.
He was raised on a farm near Polokwane, Limpopo. From Childhood he worked with cattle and had an early love for them. He matriculated at Pietersburg High School and then did a Diploma in Agriculture at Potchefstroom Agricultural College. He worked on a mixed vegetable and cattle farm outside Krugersdorp for 17 months as the production manager before joining the BonHaven Beef Cattle team.
Harro Kebbel - OB Cattle Co.
Harro Kebbel grew up on the farm Ombika near Otjiwarongo, Namibia. He went to school in Otjiwarongo and matriculated in Swakopmund. Harro studied Civil Engineering in Cape Town and worked for ten years for a Construction Company in Windhoek. He is married to Helga Kebbel and they have two children, Enya and Björn. He started farming full time in 2002 on the farm Ombika, as the third generation Kebbel to raise cattle on Ombika. They have been in the registered cattle business since 1982. The Hereford herd was founded that same year and the Braford herd in 1998. They also run a commercial Hereford-Brahman cross herd of about 250 cows. OB Cattle Co. was founded in 2011 as a registered Red Brahman herd. The Joint venture is between Ombika and BonHaven Beef Cattle.
