Calf rearing is a demanding task which requires regular milk feeding that contributes substantially to the labour inputs on a dairy farm. The feeding of milk and especially grain is necessary to develop the rumen of calves before weaning. Grain…
South Africa faced its worst drought in 2015 and as a result the livestock herds and flocks were under severe threat. This drought, linked to the heat waves and the reduction in breeding stock, will result in a shortage of…
Numerous factors affect cow efficiency, but the most important one is reproductive performance. Increased productivity generates less greenhouse gas emission per unit of product and this article gives an overview of breeding objectives, appropriate selection criteria and crossbreeding strategies to…
The thought “farmers’ follies” came to mind recently while evaluating some dairy farms as part of a national herd evaluation process. The Oxford Dictionary describes a folly as a “foolish act, idea or practice, unwise conduct, lack of good sense”.…
The aim of the study was to establish the nutritional value of different browse species utilized by communal livestock farmers, in various local municipalities of Amathole and O.R. Tambo districts of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Leaves from twelve different…
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of agricultural extension services on beneficiaries of Nguni cattle project in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A survey was conducted on 73 Nguni cattle project beneficiaries in Ncera…
