Category: POULTRY AND LIVESTOCK

Over the past decade, the use of genomics in pig breeding has helped to accelerate genetic improvement and on-farm performance. “Genetics companies in general have made great strides over the years by making use of performance testing to govern breeding decisions,” says Jurgens Reynders, managing director at DanBred Africa, based in Pretoria. “The combination of…

Buti Malinga, together with his sister, Cathy, started Vukani Piggery in 2008 with nine sows after they acquired the 154ha farm, Bronkhorstfontein, near Vanderbijlpark through the state’s land reform programme. The pair had, in fact, grown up on the same farm. Today, thanks to their hard work and persistence, as well as assistance from government,…

Anybody who believes in the motto ‘go big or go home’ has clearly never met 28-year-old Clive Tigere. He is going big in his own home town of Louis Trichardt, Limpopo. Tigere and his mother, Dr Caroline Tigere, started a broiler operation back in 2011, when he was still in high school. “Things have changed…

As more and more producers realise the benefits of using large populations of micro-organisms on their farms, so the number of different ways to apply these micro-organisms grows. With the development of effective micro-organisms (EM) in the form of inoculants, these organisms are moving beyond crop farms and being used in livestock concerns, where they…

The Valsrivier Bonsmara Breeders Group, which comprises two stud and three commercial breeders, was started in 2005 by Cornay Botma (Hentacor Bonsmaras) of Bothaville and WH van Zyl (Thuso Bonsmaras) of Wesselsbron. The latter has, in the meantime, been taken over by WH’s son, Thabo. The three commercial breeders are Danie Minnaar of Kroonstad, and…

The subject of methane emissions from dairy cattle has received increasing attention from environmental activists concerned about climate change. This has spilled over to consumers, many of whom are seeking milk alternatives to reduce their carbon footprints. To maintain market share and increase their sustainability, farmers will thus have to focus on reducing methane emissions…

Following in the footsteps of his ancestors, Gerhard Grobler, of Smitsfield farm in Lothair, Mpumalanga, started farming intensively about 10 years ago. His great-grandfather started out as a sheep herder and systematically bought pieces of land in the area. When Grobler began farming, he was breeding Bonsmara cattle, but about three years ago, he started…

Willie Landman and his business partner, Jean van der Merwe, both mechanical engineers, run a Drakensberger stud on the farm Rooipoortjie between Potchefstroom and Parys. Their stud, Black Hills Drakensberger, was registered in 2009. The focus of their stud, they emphasise, is to breed well-balanced animals. This calls for the implementation of a holistic selection…

The US-published, but internationally read, Stockmanship Journal defines stockmanship as “the knowledgeable and skilful handling of livestock in a safe, efficient, effective and low-stress manner”. However, and based on many informal surveys that Dr Johan Cloete has conducted of livestock owners and handlers over the years, in South Africa the use of stress-inducing methods such…

Research carried out at the Outeniqua Research Farm of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture has found that it is unnecessary to give young dairy calves milk twice a day. Once is enough, and in fact may even benefit the animals. Bertus Myburgh, who conducted the study in partial fulfilment of his master’s degree in…