Animals

Jumping to win means you have to feel each stride as you ride and know when to shorten or lengthen it, says Dr Mac.

South Africa’s indigenous Kolbroek breed is ideal for contributing to food security in rural areas, according to Wessel Pistorius, a Kolbroek breeder near Magaliesburg. The modern animal, bred from a wide variety of breeds, offers many advantages: it requires little space, is an indiscriminate eater, has excellent maternal traits, and is generally healthy.

Experience over the past two years has demonstrated the value of monitoring egg counts in manure. This is key to planning an effective worm control programme, says Dr Mac.

Nile tilapia has become the species of choice for global commercial aquaculture after years of selective breeding.

Since the first Herefords arrived in Namibia in 1918, the breed has steadily adapted to the harsh realities of beef production in the country. A century later they have emerged as a fast-growing, highly fertile, medium-maturing beef breed, according to Heinz Gruhn, Namibian Hereford Breeders’ Society chairperson.

The Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute (GADI) Student Angora Stud is accustomed to accolades; it produced, for example, the South African Champion Ram at the 2009 International Mohair Summit in Graaff-Reinet. But it was the National Angora Show in November 2016 at Willowmore that really underscored the esteem with which the stud is held in the mohair industry.

It’s convenient to be able to open farm gates without dismounting. Here’s how to teach your horse the trick. Be prepared, though, to invest a bit of time and patience, cautions Dr Mac.

One of the questions modern farmers face is whether they can farm in an environmentally sustainable, yet profitable, way. Craig Galloway provided the answer in his PhD thesis on the sustainability of pasture-based dairy farms.

With her tiny 10-sow piggery, Western Cape pig producer Augusta Thomas lacks economy of scale. But despite this, she is making a reasonable living. She spoke to Glenneis Kriel about her business strategies and how they enable her to overcome size contraints.

Henning Vorster sold a SA Mutton Merino ram for a South African record price of R110 000 at the National Sale in Bloemfontein in 2017. To find out why farmers are willing to pay record-high prices for his dual-purpose sheep, Mike Burgess visited his stud on the farm Bloubosfontein.

If you want to grow plants and decent-sized fish, the first step is to get rid of those plastic circular bins.

The severity of African horse sickness (AHS) is strongly linked to the immunity status of the horse concerned, and the dose of the virus it receives from biting midges.

Selecting a bull that will significantly improve a herd can be a daunting task, especially for a new buyer. At the 2017 Aldam Stockmans School, cattle veterans Martin Seyfferdt, interbreed cattle judge, and Arthur de Villiers, Arcadia Bonsmara stud owner, offered advice on selection breeding and marketing, and explained the breeder’s role in selling high-performance bulls.

Despite being a stud breeder for only five years, the ARC’s 2017 National Young Beef Cattle Breeder of the Year, MJ Ernst, has already made his mark. Annelie Coleman visited him on the family farm between Klerksdorp and Wolmaransstad to find out more about his Red Angus stud.

With his passion and skill, Gysie Britz raised the bar in South African pigeon racing. Thomas Smit spoke to the champion fancier about his success.

The market for slaughter and breeding goats in South Africa appears to be almost insatiable. With more than 60% of the local goat population in the hands of smallholder farmers, this sector should be benefiting from the strong demand. Denene Erasmus reviews some of the recent research into the factors preventing the smallholder sector from taking full advantage of this opportunity.

With 9 600 sows, Chalala Farms near Malmesbury in the Swartland will soon produce more than 275 000 piglets per year. Jeff van Zyl, manager of the piggery, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the operation’s production methods.

A horse that gets into the habit of shying at every perceived danger can be both irritating and dangerous. Fortunately, there are ways of teaching it to become more confident.

The Single Step method makes it possible to include genomic information in BLUP breeding values. This has put SA Stud Book at the forefront of genomic methodology, says Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, SA Stud Book CEO.

There are massive dams and reservoirs in South Africa that are ideal for cage culture, yet are not used for this purpose. What a waste of this marvellous resource!