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Mentorship lessons from a pioneering Boran breeder
Johan Erasmus, who owns and runs the Jeras Boran stud on the farm Wolvengat near Derby in North West, has been farming for 37 years. A founding member of the Boran Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa (Boran SA), he helped write the society’s constitution and remains involved in the promotion...Read more -
Farmers’ Uptake of Animal Health and Welfare Technological Innovations. Implications for Animal Health Policies
Citation: The paper analyses the uptake of animal health and welfare technologies by livestock farmers focusing on the identification of different behavioral patterns occurring in subpopulations of farmers and the assessment of the effect socio-economic and attitudinal factors have on these patte...Read more -
Measuring and improving the performance of cattle in feedlots
The world’s growing human population has resulted in an increased demand for protein, and sustainable beef production is key to meeting this demand in the long term. But with natural resources under pressure, beef producers are being compelled to produce more from less. The combination of decreas...Read more -
Livestock marketing tips
In many communal settings, livestock farmers tend to sell one or two animals at a time to neighbours or acquaintances. This might bring in some money in the short term, but it won’t make you better off in the long run. There are two reasons for this: you won’t get the best price for your animals,...Read more -
Keeping livestock Can we end the cage age
Between 2018 and 2020, 1,4 million EU citizens signed the petition ‘End the Cage Age’, with the aim of ending cage housing for farm animals in Europe. In response to this citizens initiative, the European Parliament requested a study by Utrecht University researchers on the possibilit...Read more -
Keep bulls fit and fertile advice from a Bonsmara breeder
Bookholane Mokoena farms on 270ha of leased land near Nigel in Gauteng. He started farming in 2015 and has since managed to increase his herd from 36 mixed-breed cattle to a 90-head Bonsmara stud herd. Mokoena grew up in the Free State, where his father was a subsistence farmer, and he developed ...Read more -
In pig brain development, nature beats nurture
Before humans can benefit from new drug therapies and nutritional additives, scientists test their safety and efficacy in animals, typically mice and rats. But, as much as they’ve done for biomedical research, rodents aren’t always the best research model for studies on neonatal brain...Read more -
Feeding cattle seaweed reduces their greenhouse gas emissions 82 percent
A bit of seaweed in cattle feed could reduce methane emissions from beef cattle as much as 82 percent, according to new findings from researchers at the University of California, Davis. The results, published today (March 17) in the journal PLOS ONE, could pave the way for the sustainable product...Read more -
Drought, COVID-19 take heavy toll on Namibian sheep farmers
The Namibian Swakara industry has experienced major production losses for the past three consecutive years. In 2020, the industry was particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with only about 8 350 pelts to the value of R2,8 million being sold, constituting a 87,9% decline in sales compared...Read more -
Dairy cattle What are we breeding for, and who decides
Genetic selection has been an extremely efficacious tool for the long-term enhancement of livestock populations, and the implementation of genomic selection has doubled the rate of gain in dairy cattle. Data captured through the national dairy herd improvement program are used to calculate genomi...Read more -
Chickens and pigs with integrated genetic scissors
Researchers at the TUM have demonstrated a way to efficiently study molecular mechanisms of disease resistance or biomedical issues in farm animals. Researchers are now able to introduce specific gene mutations into a desired organ or even correct existing genes without creating new animal models...Read more -
Breeding wireworm-resistant Meatmasters
The most dominant roundworm in South Africa’s summer rainfall areas is Haemonchus contortus. Known as wireworm (haarwurm) in South Africa and barber’s pole worm elsewhere, it is a blood-sucking parasite that targets sheep and goats, and can cause substantial blood loss in affected animals. It is ...Read more -
Breeding seasons in summer rainfall areas
Cows usually reach their optimal breeding condition about three months after the month of the highest rainfall. The breeding season should therefore be timed to coincide with this. For a summer breeding season, you should achieve the highest re-conception rate if the cows calve about one month be...Read more -
Beef industry can cut emissions with land management, production efficiency
A comprehensive assessment of 12 different strategies for reducing beef production emissions worldwide found that industry can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by as much as 50% in certain regions, with the most potential in the United States and Brazil. The study, “Reducing Climate Im...Read more -
Are top-priced genetics really worth it
In 2014, a Dorper ram, Bolt, made history when Mickey Phillips sold it to Martin Compion, who farms at Lonziekvlei in the Northern Cape’s Bushmanland, for R600 000. The purchase, which took place at the Upington National Dorper Sale, represents the highest price ever fetched by a Dorper, and one ...Read more -
15 000 pigs to be culled after AFS outbreak in North West
The North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is expected to start culling 15 000 pigs infected with African swine fever (ASF) on a farm near Potchefstroom in North West. This follows an urgent application brought by the famer to the North West High Court to have the department c...Read more -
Wellness for dairy cows
Does butter taste better when the cows are happy? FHow much is too much for a liter of milk? What will dairy cows of the future look like? What does a glass of milk have to do with environmental protection? Will cows be pastured in future, too? These are some of the questions that the new Center ...Read more -
Vaccination Of The Beef Herd Tips to Remember
Vaccines stimulate the immune system of the animal to produce antibodies. Antibodies (or immunoglobulins) are proteins created by cells in the blood or in various lymphoid tissues that can be found in the intestine or upper respiratory tract. These specific proteins help to destroy various infect...Read more -
Tips for preventing bloat in cows
If you’ve ever heard the saying, ‘Your eyes were bigger than your stomach,’ you probably know it usually refers to an overindulgence on food, ending up with a bellyache. Like humans, cattle can unknowingly overeat such grasses as alfalfa and clover and may end up with a serious condition impactin...Read more -
The importance of cattle to climate, land use and nutrition
An article in the scientific journal “Foods” describes various Danish dietary patterns and their impact on carbon footprint, land use and nutrition, focusing on the importance of beef in various dietary patterns. The article is based on an analysis of the production of different beef ...Read more -
Targeting optimum cow size
Genetics, feed resources and calf marketing windows are just some of the influencing factors that determine the optimum size for cows to grow, according to the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute’s team of experts. Defining the optimum cow size was a discussion topic on the recent BCI C...Read more -
Study ‘Hidden’ genes could be key in development of new antibiotics
A study from the Center for Phage Technology, part of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows how the “hidden” genes in bacteriophages — types of viruses that infect and destroy bacteria — may be key to the development of a new class of ...Read more -
STRANGE DISEASE KILLING LIVESTOCK IN THARAKA NITHI
Farmers in Tharaka Nithi County, are counting losses after a mysterious disease killed at least 50 cows in Tharaka area in a span of one month. The disease is said to have started in Kiagu area and is rapidly spreading across Turima Location especially after the onset of the ongoing rains. The fa...Read more -
Spring grazing management for beef cattle
Beef cattle grazing on lush, green pastures is a common sight when driving through the Kansas Flint Hills in the late spring. Experts from Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute discussed steps for managing the spring grazing season recently on the weekly podcast Cattle Chat. K-State bee...Read more
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