FEATURE ARTICLE
A SOLID BREEDING PROGRAM STARTS WITH A FIRM
FOUNDATION
by Deanna Nelson-Licking
From growing up in a small farming community in South Africa and raising a few Brahmans, to breeding some of the very best Red Brangus cattle in the nation, Nick and Marieaan Kahts are now making waves in the Brangus industry show ring. The couple married in the mid-1980s and welcomed two children, Lizl and Rudi. Nick worked in the oil and gas industry where there were limited opportunities, so he was eager to get out and experience more than what was available in his native country. In 2005, the family moved to Alberta, Canada, seeking new opportunities. “A better life for me, my wife, and my kids,” Nick said.
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May 2021
The Canadian climate proved difficult for the Kahts family to adjust to and by the second winter they decided to move south. Texas, with its warm weather and ample employment opportunities in the oil and gas sector, became their new home in 2007. Lizl and Rudi adjusted well and continued their education, eventually graduating with associate degrees. They still live and work in the Houston suburbs and visit when they can. “We both worked in the oil and gas industry and were living in Cypress at the time. But we were looking for an opportunity to move out to the country. It wasn’t until my
