How to Livestock

South Africa’s increasingly common heatwave conditions pose a major threat to the country’s farmed cattle, sheep and goats, which often feed and live outdoors. Lloyd Phillips spoke to a number of experts in the field about the negative effects of extremely high temperatures on livestock, and practical methods a farmer can use to mitigate these.

Optimal reproductive performance is crucial to the success of a beef cattle enterprise. A defined breeding season can help to achieve this.

To maximise kilograms of meat or wool produced per hectare, it is crucial to maintain a farm’s carrying capacity during winter. This invariably means producing high-quality stored fodder, and making sure there is enough of it. Deal Miles, a beef, mutton and wool farmer in the Cedarville area of the Eastern Cape, outlined his methods of achieving this to Lloyd Phillips.

These fat-tailed sheep, which are smaller than average, are kept for meat. They appear in various combinations of white, brown, red and black.

With the increasing spread of infectious diseases, biosecurity needs to be taken seriously on every livestock farm.

Discrepancies between estimated breeding values and livestock performance have led some farmers to doubt the accuracy of these values. They are, in fact, excellent indicators, but animals may not be able to reach their genetic potential.

In this article, Dr Louis du Pisani, national manager for production advice and development at the National Wool Growers’ Association, explains how to carry out post-drought recovery and reconstruction of a livestock enterprise to achieve optimal, lasting results.

This deadly zoonosisis a real threat to all warm-blooded animals.

Foot-and-mouth disease has drastically reduced South Africa beef exports, as importing countries buy animals and animal by-products only from FMD-free countries.

The sweet thorn tree has been appearing in increasing numbers. Yet this ‘invader’ should be welcomed by farmers, as it provides year-round feed and shelter, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

This article examines how to breed and feed chickens properly, as well as how to maintain good hygiene in order to keep the birds healthy and productive.

This indigenous fat-rumped meat breed does well in arid semi-desert, savanna bushveld and coastal spekboom veld. The lambs mature early.

Keeping sheep and cattle in top shape requires careful management and a balancing act between eliminating vectors and avoiding resistance build-up to medication. Lindi Botha spoke to veterinarian and MD of RuVASA Dr Faffa Malan about how to maintain a healthy livestock enterprise.

This sexually transmitted disease could be the reason your lamb crop is smaller than expected. Roelof Bezuidenhout offers advice on prevention.

Chickens must be provided with a warm, dry sleeping area, and plenty of fresh, clean water.

A vaccine against wireworm has become a vital tool in helping to control the disease and thereby reduce contamination of pasture by the eggs of the parasite.

The Boer goat, which is bred primarily for meat, is farmed very effectively in combination with cattle due to its browsing ability and its limited impact on the grass cover.

This locally developed, dual-purpose meat and white wool breed thrives in semi-arid regions.

This breed matures early, producing meat with a high ratio of lean meat to fat. This makes it an attractive proposition to the modern consumer.

Ngunis have excellent breeding potential, renowned resistance to tick-borne livestock diseases, and outstanding maternal ability. But feedlots often offer unattractive prices for them. Crossbreeding may solve the problem.