Livestock
Livestock Related Articles
- All
- Animal health
- Animal management
- Animal nutrition
- Bees
- Biodiversity
- Conservation agriculture
- Dairy
- Sustainable agriculture
Regenerative agriculture: Some perspectives
Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, enhancing ...
The Big Five Risks Faced by Farmers
As you think about managing risk to stabilize farm income, there are five basic sources of agricultural risk that you should address: Production, marketing, financial, ...
Money must be spent more wisely to control invasive plants in SA
The South African government has spent R7,1 billion (adjusted to 2020 values) between 1998 and 2020 to curb the spread of invasive plants, but we ...
NAMPO Cape 2022: Times of Change
From 14-17 September 2022, all roads lead to Bredasdorp again for the annual NAMPO Cape Expo at Bredasdorp Park. Visitors to NAMPO Cape 2022 can ...
Poultry Farming for Beginners: Part 1
With many new small-scale poultry farmers looming on the horizon, as well as many existing small-scale farmers already in production, the need occurred to provide ...
Wildlife management in the Karoo
The Karoo consists of a bewildering variety of physiographic landscape types, each of which contains a great diversity of habitats. This habitat variability is the ...
Better breeding improves financial results
All dairy farmers are breeders although breeding aims may differ among herds. Some farmers breed show cows while others produce sires for the artificial insemination ...
Livestock farming in urban areas
Livestock farming within urban areas is a highly contentious topic. However, rapid urbanization has increased peri-urban and urban farming in South Africa. This is because ...
Determine your soil health using biotic and abiotic indicators in one package – YourSoilTM
Soil is a living system and the foundation of crop production. Soil health is defined as the capacity of soil to function as a vital ...
Contribution of informal farming sector should not be underestimated
South Africa’s informal farming sector is contributing far more to the economy and food security than is officially being recognised. More should be done to ...
Animal behaviour as indicators for weather forecasting and climate predictions
For decades, indigenous people have observed biophysical animate and inanimate beings for weather forecast and climate predictions about current and future weather variables that cannot ...
Climate change and milk composition in South Africa
The impact of fluctuating weather conditions has been evident throughout agricultural markets over the past decades. Dairy production in South Africa is responsive to the ...
Even your vet can make a mistake
Sadly, there are times when a vet will make a mistake. After all, vets are human beings. There may come a time when they make ...
To cull cows early or not?
There seems to be a common perception among some local dairy farmers that cows may be culled earlier than their expected production lifespan when using ...
The effect of missing artificial inseminations
The essence of dairy farming is the ongoing process of cows calving down once every year. Cows must calve down to start a new lactation ...
2020 LNR Meester Suiwelboer Toekennings
Die jaarlikse Landbou Navorsingsraad (LNR) se Nasionale Meester Suiwelboer toekenningsgeleentheid is op Woensdag 21 Oktober 2020 as ‘n virtuele geleentheid aangebied deur Agri-Expo, namens die ...
Do you know how much your cows pollute?
Few years ago, I watched a documentary called “Cowspiracy” that was a big punch on my face. “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret” is a 2014 documentary film which explores ...
To bee or not to bee
There are numerous factors that influence the recommended pollination tariff which are bound to differ in terms of importance as well as relevance depending on ...
Rift Valley fever: Signs & Symptoms
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute, fever-causing viral disease most observed in domesticated animals (such as cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels), with the ...
Housing of dairy cows
Dairy breeds in South Africa originated in the British Isles and Western Europe. These countries have a cool to cold climate. In comparison, in South ...
Cow selection affects live weight and milk yield
Genetic progress in dairy herds is affected by sire selection. However, despite careful selection procedures, female progeny of selected sires produce at higher, similar or ...
Climate outlook for 2020
The variable and changing climate Climate conditions were in general unfavourable for agricultural production in the recent past seasons. Severe drought over most of South ...
Sire selection to reduce the size of dairy cows
Recently, on social media, the size of dairy cows was discussed among dairy farmers. Most held the opinion that there are advantages to cows being ...
Die heuningmakers se toekoms is op die spel
Daardie bottel op die rak met die goue, stroperige vloeistof is uiters gesog by alle mense alhoewel dit ‘n plaas se prys is. Sedert oertye ...
Om koeie te koop
Om die regte koeie te koop is moeiliker as wat baie mense dink. Die aankoopplek, finansiële vermoë van die koper en redes waarom koeie verkoop ...
Adding value to a dairy herd
Dairy farmers are always looking at ways to increase the value of their herds. The management style has a major effect on the value of ...
Principles regarding replacement heifers
Dairy farmers always aim to reduce the production cost of milk to increase profit margins. Heifer rearing is a direct cost and produces no immediate ...
Including live weight in cow selection
The genetic merit of a dairy herd depends on the average breeding value of the group of bulls selected annually to service cows and heifers. ...
Good news for dairy industry
Good news for dairy industry: SA Dairy Championships attracts 882 entries The biggest dairy competition in Africa, the judging of the South African Diary Championships, ...
Consider live weight when selecting dairy bulls
Consider the live weight when selecting dairy bulls. The genetic improvement of a dairy herd depends on the group of bulls selected every year to ...
Workshop paves way to appoint manager for predation
The Predation Management Forum (PMF) held a workshop on 21 February at NMU to develop a framework that will give direction to research and training ...
400,000 African pangolins are hunted for meat every year
Why it’s time to act Pangolins, a group of unique African and Asian scaly mammals, are one of the most heavily trafficked wild mammals in ...
Keeping heifer rearing costs down
A dairy herd consist of cows and heifers. Cows are either in milk (lactating) or dry (not producing milk). As cows are the production units ...
Managed bees versus wild bees?
It’s not that simple in South Africa There’s widespread concern about the global decline of honey bees and the associated loss of pollination services. Should ...
‘Bloublommetjies’ – a blessing or a curse?
Figure 1. Flower of Echium plantagineum. Source: www.internatura.org One of the most prominent sights in the landscape over the spring and summer season, and ...
The effect of concentrate feeding levels on milk yield
The milk yield of dairy cows varies because of individual genetic merit, age, lactation stage (days in milk), daily feed intake, feed quality and body ...
Guidelines to follow when rearing bulls
Due management and nutrition of bulls are essential to the cow-calf producer to ensure maximum reproduction and genetic efficacy of his herd. Various factors affect ...
Signs and symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease
In the light of the resent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Africa, we look at the signs and symptoms. Foot-and-mouth disease or ...
Foot and mouth disease outbreak
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries provides update on Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in Limpopo. Subsequent to Minister Zokwana’ s meeting with industry, ...
Illegal use of pesticides
Emphasis on the word illegal The illegal use of pesticides killing of bees in the Constantia area of the Western Cape has received widespread media ...
Conservation Agriculture and soil fertility management Part 2
Case study on a degraded soil in the North West Province Following an introduction to some theoretical principles and practices of Conservation Agriculture and integrated ...
Key performance indicators for dairy farmers
Milk prices for dairy farmers are affected by supply and demand. Farmers have, for except, the volume and quality of milk being produced, generally little ...
A better future for honey bees
Farmers, beekeepers, Croplife South Africa and researchers take hands The Western Cape Bee Industry Association (WCBA) organised a workshop at the Buitenverwachting wine estate in ...
Sustainable livestock production is possible
“New research advocates use of pastures with shrubs and trees as it is more sustainable, improving animal welfare and increasing biodiversity.” Consumers are increasingly demanding ...
Milk income is reduced by poor reproduction
Milk production systems in the Western Cape Province vary from fully or partially pasture-based to zero-grazing total mixed ration (TMR) systems. The rainfall in many ...
Conservation Agriculture and soil fertility management Part 1
Theoretical principles and practices In South Africa, crop production systems based on intensive and continuous soil tillage have led to excessively high soil degradation rates ...
Ensuring the future milk yields of dairy cows
When starting a new dairy farm, some management actions must be undertaken correctly from the start ensuring the future milk yields of dairy cows. Although ...