Buffalo breeders urged to reduce disease risk
Buffalo are known to carry several harmful diseases that can also be fatal in cattle. To address this subject, the Free State Buffalo Breeders’ Association recently organised a workshop in...
Dairy consultant transforming the dairy industry
Jeff Every is shifting mind sets and boosting profitability in the Eastern Cape’s dairy sector.
Oxen off grass – working the numbers
The Daybreaker Beef Off Grass brand, a partnership between farmers Llewellyn Maclean and father-and-son team Pieter and Koot Prinsloo, aims to create a market for selling oxen as grass-fed beef.
Wesselsbron virus – Mosquito-borne disease
Wesselsbron virus is transmitted mostly by Aedes mosquitoes found in wetlands and floodwater areas.
Improved soil health through high-density grazing – Part 1
The rising cost of fertiliser and other soil amelioration products has made it crucial for farmers to improve soil health with natural, affordable methods. USA-based soil scientist Doug Peterson visited...
Heartwater – Tick-borne disease
Heartwater is transmitted to cattle, goats and sheep by infected bont ticks.
West Nile virus – Mosquito-borne diseases
WNV is an important, under-detected cause of neurological disease in humans and animals, according to Prof Marietjie Venter.
Successful meat production on Réunion Island
Space is limited on the island of Réunion. Farms are small, and farming is intensive and diversified. Yet, assisted by subsidies from France, farmers supply nearly half the island’s meat...
Arthropod-borne summer livestock diseases
As the weather grows hotter and wetter across the country, the incidence of livestock diseases transmitted by arthropods increases.
Success with Holsteins – 2
At the Wait-and-See Holstein Stud, between Cradock and Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape, John Sieberhagen milks 420 cows in a 15-a-side Herringbone parlour. The milking herd calves year-round, with about...
Success with Braunvieh cattle – a top breeder shares his secrets
In 1989, Willie du Plessis (68) established the Vaaldu Braunvieh Stud herd on the farm Honesty between Warrenton and Christiana, in the North West. He’s now regarded as one of...
Success with Holsteins – 1
Some 46 Holstein cows from the Wait-and-See Holstein Stud, between Cradock and Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape, have reached lifetime production figures of over 100 000kg of milk. By any...
Building the Bonga farming legacy
For generations, the Bongas have been proudly rooted in the Xhosa cattle herding tradition. While herding cattle elsewhere, Freddie Bonga used his hard-earned cash to build his own herd. Today,...
The Beef Shorthorn: a breed to be reckoned with
“The US Department of Agriculture’s Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) ranks the Beef Shorthorn as one of the best performers in the world in terms of calving ease, average daily...
Balancing act: running an eight-stud business
Award-winning Namibian farmer Piet Coetzee has been highly successful in the country’s smallstock breeders industry. Acknowledging the role played by his wife, sons and workforce in his achievements, he explained...
Livestock Disease Trends – October 2014
Internal parasites - There was an increase in the number of reports regarding internal parasite infestations. Plettenberg Bay reported a severe outbreak of a cattle bankrupt worm infestation in calves....
3 diseases spread by wildlife
Contact with wildlife can endanger your livestock, because wild animals are a source of diseases that seriously affect the productivity of livestock and even lead to death.
Always buy the best bulls
If you want to make money breeding cattle, you have to buy the best bulls available. The Glen Heath Tuli Stud is proof that this strategy works.
