SA’s best commercial beef cow
The best commercial cow at the Farmer's Weekly-ARC Best Elite Cow Awards was bred by veterinary scientist Dr RD Bigalke.
Ansoria Gelbvieh impresses once again
Ansoria Geldenhuys has won her second Farmer's Weekly-ARC Best Elite Gelbvieh Cow award with ANS 00 0016. Chris Nel reports.
Good udder health paramount at Reynshire
Free State dairyman Riaan Reynders ascribes his success to a directed programme of cost-effective animal health, udder health monitoring and a consistent hygienic milking routine. This approach has significantly improved milk production and is keeping it at a sustainably high level. Annelie Coleman visited his farm Vaalhoek near Bethlehem.
Nico’s exemplary Sussex cow
The mother of the 2007 Vleissentraal-ARC Special Performance Test Class bull, NJB 01 0148 now has an Elite Cow title of her own. Chris Nel reports.
The best Beefmaster cow in SA
The WO Beefmaster Stud in Vrede took the award for the Farmer’s Weekly-ARC Best Elite Cow, writes Chris Nel.
Brahman cattle raised without intervention
Although beef farming abounds with technical information on how to maximise production and financial returns, successful beef farmer Neil Haines believes the benefit of using nature as an ally is often underestimated.
The biosynthesis of milk
If we want our dairy cows to produce more and better milk, we need to understand how they synthesise milk in the first place.
No place for pampered stud animals in beef cattle production
Don't pussyfoot around with stud cattle - to be effective in the commercial market, they must be managed as commercial animals, with the ultimate test being performance. So says stud breeder John Burgers of the Victory Brangus Stud. Annelie Coleman visited him on his Wakkerstroom farm to find out more about his approach.
Border Collies: Worth their weight in gold
For 50 years sheepdogs have proven themselves indispensable workers on many livestock farms. But for KwaZulu-Natal farming sisters Ragni Pretorius and Ingrid Fricke, Border Collies are absolutely critical in managing their Dohne Merino flock.
Absorption of undegradable proteins
Food proteins that can't be broken down by microbes are passed down to the duodenum and digested enzymatically. Malcolm Stewart-Burger examines these undegradable proteins and how they are absorbed.
Getting through to horses for a living
By the time Riekert Erasmus could walk, he was picking up tips on how to break in horses from his father. At 16, he was taming and training wild horses for pocket money.
Sussex a top feedlot contender
Sussex cattle perform so well in a feedlot that the Huntersvlei and Skietlaagte Feedlots in the Free State pay a premium for Sussex or Sussex-cross weaners.The feedlots belong to the Rhys Evans Group in Viljoenskroon. General manager Arno Cronje told Annelie Coleman about the growing interest in Sussex bulls for crossbreeding because of the breed's exceptional weaning weights.
