An award-winning Merino sheep enterprise
Van Pletzen is a well-known and highly respected name in the SA Merino wool sheep industry. Gavin Isted visited the farm Sterkfontein near Jamestown to find out why.
Barbary sheep: farming potential?
The much-maligned and hunted Barbary sheep may have a niche commercial value when farmed sustainably in a well-managed confined production environment. Shane Brody investigates.
How to keep farming sheep in drought
Drought is a fact of life – and death – in South Africa, and the current drought is certainly no exception. Overberg sheep farmer, Thys Delport, gives practical advice on...
Groblersdal’s champion Damara Stud
Neels Nel has been breeding Damara sheep near Groblersdal in Limpopo for almost 25 years. Today, his Krinkhout Stud, which has consistently won South African champion titles over the years,...
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...
Top genetics boost communal goat project
Goat farming is central to the economy of the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela Traditional Authority (BBKTA) in North West. A project to improve the local goat herds through world-class genetics is...
Awassi rams for Free State milk sheep flock
For Elmarie van Aswegen, returning to the family farm, Patria, near Smithfield in the Free State in early 1997 went hand in hand with producing sheep’s milk cheese and breeding...
Meet the Quattro Boer Goat Group
By integrating their clients as partners in the marketing chain, these breeders face the problems in the industry head on.
World-class Boer Goats from the North West
The Schoonheid Boer Goat flock began as a sideline on the Kriek family’s farm near Amalia in North West. Since then, strict selection and the introduction of top genetics have...
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