Cattle

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 is transmitted mostly by Aedes mosquitoes found in wetlands and floodwater areas.

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 SA and explained why high-density grazing is one such method.

Heartwater is transmitted to cattle, goats and sheep by infected bont ticks.

WNV is an important, under-detected cause of neurological disease in humans and animals, according to Prof Marietjie Venter.

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 needs, and Boer Goats are included in the offering. Lloyd Phillips was there.

As the weather grows hotter and wetter across the country, the incidence of livestock diseases transmitted by arthropods increases.

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 50 cows dry at any one time. The herd ICP is 412 days.

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 South Africa’s foremost Braunvieh stud breeders.

Monthly report on livestock disease trends.

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 standards, this is a barrier breaker.

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, he is an up-and-coming commercial cattleman with a thirst for knowledge. Susan Botes-Marais visited the Bonga family on their farm.