CATEGORIES

Shongololo Boer Goat Stud: Only The Best Will Do

South African Boer goats have proven popular worldwide for their ability to improve indigenous goat breeds. In addition, Covid-19 restrictions necessitated the establishment of electronic auctions, making it easier for foreigners to acquire outstanding genetic material exported by agents via established channels.

Feed Additives: A Veterinary Perspective

In an already volatile environment, dairy profit margins vary as milk prices and feed costs shift annually. Feed costs represent the largest input cost (an estimated 35 to 70% of the variable cost) in the production of milk. As a group of feed ingredients, feed additives can cause a desired physiological response in a non-nutrient way, such as pH shift, growth or metabolic modifier, and will usually be cost-beneficial.

Guard Against Lumpy Skin Disease

Most parts of the country received good rains during the rain season and producers are generally very optimistic. Wet seasons unfortunately come with their own set of challenges and veterinarians have cautioned livestock producers to keep an eye out for elevated biting insect loads, which may lead to conditions such as lumpy skin disease (LSD).

Climate-Related Hazards: How Smallholders Can Mitigate Its Consequences

Rainfed crop production remains the main source of food security and livelihoods for rural communities in South Africa but presents the challenge of climate variability due to its high dependence on weather variables such as rainfall and temperature.

Tips for a successful AI programme

The success of an artificial insemination (AI) programme depends on several factors that are largely within the control of the producer. It is interesting that those producers who take a hands-on approach to their cattle and inspect them regularly are also the ones who achieve the greatest success. Before his passing, Stockfarm spoke to Koot Louw, a well-known reproduction technologist from Brandfort in the Free State, about his insights into and advice regarding the AI process.

Pay Attention To Orf In Your Flocks

Some of our readers may have treated or heard of sheep or goats that have been infected with orf (vuilbek).

Sanele Mbele: Where Passion And Skill Meet

Passion for farming runs strong in the Mbele family’s veins. Sanele Mbele, from the farm Rietspruit in the De Jagersdrift area near Dundee, has inherited this passion in huge dollops.

Land Reform: Case Studies In Kwazulu-Natal

Land reform in South Africa is complex. Land reform solutions are equally complex and within partnership and development models, this is no different – but there is hope. KwaZulu-Natal has several types of partnership models and the wide variation in farming systems, as well as their different needs, set each model up for different strengths and weaknesses.

Brahman Breeders In Limpopo Have A Winning Plan

Several breeders from the Bosveld Brahman Club in Limpopo are applying genetic excellence and genotypic correctness to stimulate the demand for their bulls. At several of the last auctions, the minimum standard of bulls was raised to achieve this goal.

A Brahman Dream Comes True

For as long as he can remember, JP Mlangeni wanted to be a farmer. It might have taken a few years, from being a teacher and later a businessman, but his dream finally took shape and today he runs a fully-fledged breeding and commercial Brahman farming enterprise in Mpumalanga.

Feedlot Versus Veld Finishing: Horses For Courses

There are different ways to get steers market-ready.

Best Shearing Practices An Facilitie

Small adjustments for greater productivity

Feed Efficiency: What To Know

Previously, genetic improvement has been aimed mainly at output traits such as fertility and live weight.

Cultivate A Future In Agriculture Through Learning

If chosen wisely, there is a long list of career opportunities in agriculture around the globe that can raise the bar in terms of job satisfaction.

Serfontein Poultry Paves The Way In The Layer Industry

The Serfontein Group is a family driven farming enterprise, founded in 1947 by Piet and Teuntje Serfontein, currently in its third generation. Their son, Jan Snr, and his two sons, Jannie and Petrus, are building on this legacy, which originated with poultry farming.

Acidosis can be managed

The saying goes that too much of a good thing is not good at all. In the case of acidosis, this is indeed true. Acidosis is a common occurrence in animals exposed to an abundance of palatable feed and that had ingested too many highly digestible carbohydrates (or sugar).

Angora Goat Health Guide: Keeping Biological Integrity Intact

Every farm differs slightly in its management plan, with variations relating to land use (pastures and veld), mating/ kidding and husbandry procedures. Even extensive producers will experience periods during the year when they need to farm their Angora goats under intensive management conditions.

The Boran: Uniquely Suited To The South African Environment

The Boran developed after the introduction of Bos indicus cattle to Africa, following the Arab invasion of East Africa in around 700 AD. The breed gets its name from the Borana plateau in Southern Ethiopia, a high-altitude region with harsh climate conditions and frequent droughts.

Broiler Production: Choosing The Right Breed For The Job

Many producers nowadays consider adding a broiler branch to their farming enterprise, as it is an easy way to earn extra money. Entrepreneurs who would like to venture into farming, but who can only afford a small parcel of land, also give serious consideration to broiler farming. Yet broiler production requires a relatively large capital outlay and producers and aspiring producers therefore need to make the right choices from the onset. One such choice is the chicken breed to be used.

Creep Feed For Small Stock: Distinguish Between Lambs And Kids

The difference between creep feed for lambs and kids is substantial, says Dewald Vosloo, nutrition consultant and managing director of Saamstaan Voere in Vrede.

Building Strength Through Co-Operation

Farmer co-operatives in South Africa and Peru are set to improve their profitability, productivity, resilience and competitiveness in the marketplace as a result of a five-year, US$7,7 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mineral Supplementation For Ruminants

This article provides a brief overview of a very important but complex subject. The aim is to give the ruminant producer a broad framework for decision-making to optimise management.

Land Reform For Sustainability

The government’s Land Reform Programme aims to achieve four main outcomes, namely increased black land ownership, increased employment, improved farm productivity and improved livelihoods. Livelihoods are most often measured through dietary diversity, food security and improved household income.

New Blood And Positive Developments At Cape Wools

Cape Wools South Africa (Cape Wools) is a dynamic organisation in the South African wool industry, with a clear focus on progress and bringing about positive change in the entire wool value chain. This focus rests on three pillars, namely sustainability, biosecurity and transformation.

Rodents In Poultry Housing: A Multi-Faceted Plan Of Attack

Three different rodent species are usually encountered on a poultry farm. They are Rattus rattus or the roof or black rat, Rattus norvegicus or the brown or sewer rat, and Mus musculus or the house mouse.

Poultry Production Made Easy: Construct Your Own Broiler House

Profit margins in the agricultural industry are not always what they should be. Producers therefore need to focus on improved methods, equipment and structures to generate bigger profits while keeping capital input to a minimum.

Seven Key Aspects Of Overwintering In Summer Rainfall Regions

Overwintering tends to be a general topic of discussion when, in fact, it is spring that poses the greatest challenge to producers. In the summer rainfall regions, September is known as the lean month and October (sometimes even November) as the killer month. Bridging these months successfully is therefore crucial to the livestock producer’s enterprise.

Crop Residues: Popular Crops And Managing Them

Once harvesting in the summer planting areas has been completed, it is a good time to move your animals onto the crop residues remaining in the fields. During the winter months, crop residues are very effective in bridging the autumn/winter gap in the fodder flow programme, as it is a very economical way of feeding animals.

The Goose That Lays Agriculture's Golden Eggs

Chickens can play a major role in developing the agricultural sector at various levels, according to Izaak Breitenbach, general manager: broiler organisation at the South African Poultry Association (Sapa). Sapa is instrumental in developing this potential, but there are a few stumbling blocks standing in the way of the industry reaching its full economic potential and which have hindered growth during the last decade or so.

Regenerative Farming: When Agriculture And Technology Connect

Crowned as the Eastern Cape’s Agri SA Toyota Young Farmer of the Year in 2015, Paul Collett of Speelmanskop Farming in Cradock aspires to progressively build an environment with biologically balanced soil, radiant crops, productive livestock and fulfilled people.