Farming Basics

With a little planning and a lot of care, you can cultivate your own grazing pastures that will feed your livestock for a number of years. In this way, you’ll cut your costs and boost your profits, says Shane Brody.

A poorly managed compost pile will take a long time to decompose. Here are the signs of trouble to look out for.

The Angus breed was first bred in Scotland in the 1700s. the high quality of its beef was important right from the start. the first importation of angus into South Africa was in 1895, when 10 cattle arrived on the farm of J Newburg in the Free State.

Any animal can suffer a sudden traumatic injury or other medical emergency. In this first part of a four-part series, Prof Cheryl McCrindle, a practising veterinarian and professor at the University of Pretoria, details how to treat cattle, sheep and goats in emergencies.

‘People-pleasers’ and ‘injustice collectors’ tend to suffer from the same basic problem: a lack of self-esteem. Trevor Dickinson explains these different personality types and how they fit into the larger family business.

Taking a good look at every camp on your farm will reveal if your veld management system is on the right track, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

In a study to provide a global estimate of the importance of pollinators for plants in natural ecosystems, researchers from Stellenbosch University, led by Dr James Rodger, a postdoctoral fellow in mathematical sciences, found that, without pollinators, one-third of flowering plant species wouldn’t produce seeds at all.

Diseases and viruses of papayas include damping off, powdery mildew, black spot and root rot. All can be treated or prevented.

When an animal is slaughtered on the farm, the skin should be salted immediately. Many farmers don’t bother to do this, thinking the cost of the salt is more than what they can get for the skin. This means the loss of potential income when prices are right, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Wandering cattle from unknown places and of unknown health status can wreak havoc in communal herds if animals from the two groups mate with each other, says Shane Brody.

Ticks are external parasites that live on the skin or the fleece of livestock. It’s important to know about their effects on your animals.

Before selecting sheep, decide on your breeding goals and which type of sheep will adapt best to your conditions and provide maximum income.

A critical juncture in the life of the family agribusiness is the transition from one generation to the next. One of the reasons for this, explains Trevor Dickinson, is that the capacity of the business to pay any form of remuneration has to be balanced with the requirements of the individuals who own and operate it.

Many South African gardens contain exotic species that originate from regions with far higher rainfall than occurs here. As a result, gardeners have to water them frequently. The answer? Beautiful indigenous plants.

Dr Danie Odendaal, director of the Veterinarian Network, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about what to consider when drawing up a herd health and production management plan for sheep and cattle. His advice can be applied to most other livestock.

If you record your production and general farming notes in a diary, you’ll have ready access to a wealth of information in a few years, says Bill Kerr.

It takes time and effort to know how to control pests and fertilise crops. There is no simple one-size-fits-all solution, says Bill Kerr.

This article focuses on how to build, manage and maintain an affordable, small-scale egg production unit.

Summer-planted pastures can boost a farmer’s profits by keeping animal production high. Renowned grazing specialist Prof Chris Dannhauser says there is a variety of these crops to choose from and, as Susan Marais found out, many can also be used in winter in the form of hay, foggage and silage.

Mastitis can cause devastating economic losses for a dairy farmer. Yet a long-term vaccination programme can be an effective weapon in the fight to control it, writes Robyn Joubert. She spoke to Prof Inge-Marié Petzer, an udder health specialist at Onderstepoort.