10 tips on how to use vet medicine correctly
Not sure about how to correctly use veterinary medicine for animals, read through our tips.
Remove bush and increase grazing capacity
Bush encroachment has affected large areas of savannah to such an extent that keeping livestock is no longer viable. Lindi van Rooyen looks at rehabilitation of grasslands.
Dealing with clostridial diseases (1)
Pulpy kidney and other illnesses can be deadly. Some symptoms and preventive measures.
Weaning weight and fair performance comparison
Leslie Bergh, a researcher in beef cattle improvement at ARC’s Animal Production Institute, discusses factors that affect weaning weight in beef cattle and how to compare calves’ performance.
Know your crop pests: African bollworm
Scientific name: Helicoverpa armigera
Family: Noctuidae
Distribution: Throughout Africa
How to run a meeting
Meetings are essential in any business, including farming. But they need to be well-run to be effective.
Groundnuts in a nutshell
A source of plant protein and oil, groundnuts are produced by commercial and subsistence farmers. ARC agronomist Loureine Salomon offers tips for growing this popular crop.
Why colostrum is important
A calf must drink from its mother as soon as possible during the
first 12 hours of its life.
Goats: good management = good money
If you understand the needs of your goats and enjoy working with them, you’ll earn more from an average quality flock than a bad manager will from a top-class flock, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.
Don’t be tricked by pronkgras
Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum, or pronkgras in Afrikaans) can trick landowners into assuming that it is a relative of indigenous blue buffalo grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) and therefore valuable as a grazing plant.
How to start your own poultry business
New opportunities to generate a sustainable income are opening up in SA’s poultry industry.
Dealing with powdery mildew
Unless a cucurbit variety has genetic resistance to powdery mildew, you will have to deal with this fungal disease at some stage.
Classing mohair 2
Roelof Bezuidenhout focuses on the importance of the micron in Angora hair and how to shear and grade.
Know your pests: Aphids
All aphids share the same basic body structure. They are small and soft-bodied with a tear-drop shape and sucking mouthparts. Their success is in part due to the prolific asexual reproduction capability of some species.
Know your crop pests
In the coming months, entomologist Paul Donovan will explain how to identify crop pests and suggest various measures to control them.
Look after your wind pump
A wind pump is expensive, but is one of the most neglected pieces of farm equipment, says Roelof Bezuidenhout.
Managing heifers and first-calvers
It’s expensive to grow out heifers until they calve for the first time. It pays to invest in the heifer group, says the ARC’s Leslie Bergh.
Farming hydroponically – part 3
Hydroponics is a popular way to grow vegetables because of the high quality of the produce and efficient water use. If you use a greenhouse, you can supply vegetables out of season when the price is good.
