Sheep milk cheese – a quality niche product
Sheep milk is far richer in fat, protein and minerals than milk from cows or goats, and thus makes excellent cheese. While in the Netherlands, Jacques Claassen visited a dairy...
Preserving the indigenous Mbuzi veld goat
With the advent of industrial agriculture, Southern Africa’s indigenous goat breeds faced extinction. However, some farmers such as Hilton Sanders of RH Ranching Mbuzi Stud, are dedicated to ensuring that...
Unique merino stud thrives in harsh conditions
Father-and-son team Hansie and Johan Sauer’s Droogfontein Merino Stud is doing exceptionally well in one of the harshest areas in the northern Eastern Cape. Gavin Isted paid them a visit.
The Suffolk – ‘a no-nonsense breed’
The Suffolk is an outstanding mutton sheep breed that can add real value to sheep farming in the country, according to award-winning Suffolk breeders Abraham and Carel Greyling.
The business of sheep farming
The National Wool Growers’ Association (NWGA) chairperson for the Joe Gqabi district, Lawrence Maduna, is a developing sheep and wool farmer who runs a self-sustaining farming operation in the tough,...
Lessons from a communal wool farmer
Communal and emerging wool farmers produce 12% of the national clip. One of these is Nophumzile Sithole in Naledi, between Sterkspruit and Lady Grey. She is a regular contributor to...
The Tankwa feral goat: a unique genotype
Is there a place for the hardy Tankwa feral goat in smallstock production? Roelof Bezuidenhout investigates.
Farming Bosrander and Meatmaster sheep
Freddie Peters has combined the best qualities of two breeds to establish the Meatmaster breed.
Sustainable use of dewormers
Dewormer resistance in small ruminants has increased worldwide. Veterinary scientist David Bartram provided an insight into this problem at the recent World Merino Conference.
Feeding slaughter lambs for profit
In the second part of a two-part series on managing sheep nutrition, Dr Francois van de Vyver takes a closer look at various economically efficient methods of readying slaughter lambs...
Optimum nutrition for breeding ewes
Once a ewe’s maintenance nutrient requirements have been met, nutrients can be effectively channelled to achieve optimum production. Dr Francois van de Vyver looks at nutrient requirements during the crucial...
A history of SA Merino farming
The first person to successfully commercialise Merino farming in South Africa was Michiel van Breda. He started farming Merino in 1817 on the historical Zoetendals Vallei farm in the Overberg...
