Preventing zoonosis
Controlling the spread of diseases to humans is generally easy, as most of the measures are grounded in common sense, writes Paul Donovan.
Feeding pen problems
Rounding off lambs under intensive conditions requires sound management, especially of aspects such as disease prevention and housing.
Starting with onions – Part 4
Bill Kerr explains how and when to harvest this crop, how to cure the onions, and how to pack them.
Rounding off lambs in a feeding pen
When mutton prices are high or grazing is scarce, this practice can be extremely profitable.
Know your crop pests: Leaf miner
‘Leaf miner’ is a generic name used to describe the larvae of a number of insect species such as moths, sawflies, flies, beetles and some wasps.
Starting with onions – Part 2
This week Bill Kerr discusses how to prepare the soil and plant the crop.
Dealing with hydatid disease
This parasitic disease, caused by the tapeworm E. granulosus, affects cattle, sheep, goats and even humans.
Home-made tonic for sheep
Roelof Bezuidenhout recommends this remedy to boost your sheep’s condition.
Getting started with onions
Onions are either an easy crop to grow or a disaster. Bill Kerr offers basic guidelines for success.
Ticks: a major parasite
It is estimated that tick-borne diseases kill more than a million cattle a year in Africa. This amounts to a loss of more than R1,6 billion.
Lactation begins at dry-off!
During its dry period, a cow is heavily pregnant with a fast-growing foetus. This is a very important time in her production cycle, and nutrition must not be neglected.
How to identify different ticks
Ticks are the most common external parasite of livestock and are vectors for a number of serious diseases. We list and describe some of the more common ticks.
Ticks – a dangerous pest
Ticks are the most common external parasite of livestock and are vectors for a number of serious diseases, cautions Paul Donovan.
Better parasite control
‘Selective target treatment’ seems to be gaining ground in areas where sheep and goats are mostly run on dry veld, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.
Sunflower seed bug
Nearly all parts of a plant are targeted by pests. However, most pests ignore the seeds, as they are often unpalatable or covered by a hard shell.
Starting with tomatoes – Part 3
Getting your spraying right is especially important, says Bill Kerr.
Starting with tomatoes – Part 2
Before fertilising your tomato crop, carry out a soil analysis. This is well worth the cost, explains Bill Kerr.
Redwater (Tick-borne disease)
Redwater is a disease affecting cattle and is transmitted by infected blue ticks occuring in the higher rainfall regions of South Africa, such as the Western and Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
