Category: POULTRY AND LIVESTOCK

Nelius Ferreira, 37, 2018 Free State Agriculture’s Young Farmer of the Year, says there are numerous elements that feed into the success of a family business. But at Ferrero Bonsmaras the focus is undoubtedly on quality production. Ferreira studied as an engineer before joining the farming operation in partnership with his father Kiewiet and brothers Theo and…

Subacute rumen acidosis (SARA), is a digestive disorder found mostly in high-producing dairy herds and intensively fed beef and sheep operations. It is the result of a low acidity level (pH), or fast and drastic pH changes, in a cow’s rumen, typically due to incorrect feeding management. According to Dr Chris van Dijk, Milk Producers’…

Dairy production on pasture with low input levels and limited labour can be profitable. But there are two preconditions: the farmer must carefully plan his infrastructure for future expansion, and milk low-maintenance cows. This is according to Pat Hennessy, a dairy farmer from Kilkenny in Ireland. Pat started his dairy in 2015. Before the first…

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…

Having grown up on a maize and cattle farm in Viljoenskroon in the Free State, Lynne Griesel understands the work ethic required to make a success of farming. “It’s early mornings and late nights. Success comes with constant hard work, day in and day out. It’s not about working hard for just a season and…

Antibiotic resistance has resulted in the majority of producers in some countries launching programmes to reduce and, where possible, eliminate the use of antibiotics. READ Diseases in the fish farming sector The trend is similar in South Africa, although not to the same extent as in the US and some European countries, according to Dr Ziyanda…

Rico Vergotine of Idas Valley in Stellenbosch was an electric gate technician, “who happened to be at the right place at the right time”. In 2010, he was repairing gates at the Spier wine estate in Stellenbosch when he met Angus McIntosh, who runs the Spier Biodynamic Farm. “At that stage, I was bored with…

Floor management is one of the pillars of successful broiler production, as important as biosecurity, climate control and general animal welfare. Yet this essential aspect is all too often overlooked. “Neglect any of these and the business will be at risk,” says Kobus Visser, managing partner of Mabron Broilers on Löttershof Farm near Caledon in…

Temperature control is an essential part of successful broiler production, especially during the first two weeks of a chick’s life. Many producers in South Africa use liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to heat up their broiler houses, but Hugh Davison, who farms at Cordale Farms between Caledon and Hermanus, decided two years ago to use wood…

1. Understand the disease Commonly found in the gut of warm-blooded animals, E. coli comprises rod-shaped bacteria and can be both a primary and a secondary pathogen, but you’re likely to deal with E. coli as a primary pathogen 90% of the time. Most strains are harmless. Those that aren’t known as ‘avian pathogenic E.…