The percentage crude protein of saved winter veld varies between 3,5 and 5,3%, while that of maize residues ranges from 6 to 8,6%.
Digestible organic matter (DOM) of saved winter veld ranges between 50 and 53% and total digestible nutrients (TDN) of maize residues amount to between 60 and 84%.
According to Dr Josef van Wyngaard, technical manager at Voermol, the stocking rate on crop residues will depend on several factors, including plant density and yield, cultivar type, harvesting method and climate factors such as drought.
Adaptation on crop residues
Although crop residues are undoubtedly a valuable and inexpensive winter feed source for livestock, he warns that some potential problems may arise when animals are moved onto fields without having been properly adapted beforehand. This includes:
• Acidosis on grain crop residues due to excess starch.
• Bladder stones on maize crop residues due to excess phosphorus.
• Bloat on legume crop residues due to high levels of soluble protein.
• Prussic acid poisoning when late rains and warm temperatures lead to the regrowth of young shoots.
• Iodine deficiencies on Brassica crop residues (such as cabbage and cauliflower) due to anti-nutritional factors that can impair iodine uptake over a long grazing period.
• A trace mineral as well as vitamin A deficiency.
• Although not common, choking on maize cobs, whole vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, and tubers.
Proper management and lick supplementation can solve all these nutritional problems and deficiencies, and allows for proper utilisation of crop residues as winter grazing.
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Denne historien er fra July 2020-utgaven av Stockfarm.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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.
