Skip to content

"Experientia docet" - Experience is the best teacher

Estimates of variance components for feedlot traits of the Simmentaler breed in South Africa

  • 2021
  • Issue: 6
  • Volume: 51
J. Hendriks, F.W.C. Neser, J.B van Wyk, F.J. Jordaan & M.M. Scholtz Page: 793 - 800

Breeding of beef cattle is changing, with more emphasis on efficiency of production. Feed cost is the highest expense, and reducing it has the potential to increase profitability. Common measures of efficiency are ratio traits such as feed conversion (feed…

Read more

Genetic improvement of sow longevity and its economic impact on commercial pork production

  • 2019
  • Issue: 6
  • Volume: 49
B.E. Mote, T.V. Serenius, C. Supakorn, & K.J. Stalder Page: 1036 - 1046

Sow longevity (sow productive lifetime) plays an important role in economically efficient piglet production. Direct selection for sow longevity is not commonly practiced in any pig-breeding program. In recent years, an increased number of peer reviewed articles addressing the economic…

Read more

Multi-trait genetic evaluation for horn traits of economic importance in the Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer)

  • 2019
  • Issue: 2
  • Volume: 49
A.A. Lepori, G.C. Josling, F.W.C. Neser, P.C. Lubout & J.B. van Wyk Page: 363 - 370

The wildlife industry in South Africa has shown immense growth since the 1990s, which was brought about by the private game segment of the industry. In recent years, trophy quality Cape buffalo breeding animals have achieved extremely high prices. Much…

Read more

Relationship of ewe reproduction with subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits in the Elsenburg Merino flock

  • 2018
  • Issue: 1
  • Volume: 48
P. A. M. Matebesi-Ranthimo, S. W. P. Cloete, J. B. van Wyk & J. J. Olivier Page: 29 - 38

Subjectively assessed wool and conformation traits are widely used to select breeding ewes and rams in the sheep industry. Data from a Merino flock that is maintained at Elsenburg Research Farm were used to investigate animal model (co)variance components for…

Read more

Genetic parameters for ewe reproduction with objectively measured wool traits in Elsenburg Merino flock

  • 2017
  • Issue: 5
  • Volume: 47
P. A. M. Matebesi-Ranthimo, S. W. P. Cloete, J. B. van Wyk & J. J. Olivier Page: 712 - 722

Reproduction is important for sustainable lamb production in Merino sheep. Data from a Merino flock maintained at Elsenburg Research Farm in the Western Cape, South Africa, were used to investigate the genetic parameters for ewe reproduction traits and their relationship…

Read more

Genetic parameters for test-day milk yield in tropical Holstein Friesian cattle fitting a multiple-lactation random regression animal model

  • 2017
  • Issue: 3
  • Volume: 47
S. Meseret1 & E. Negussie Page: 352 - 361

Accurate estimates of genetic parameters are essential for genetic improvement of milk yield in dairy cattle and for setting up breeding programmes. Estimates of genetic parameters from test-day models, particularly for Holstein Friesian cattle maintained in tropical environments, are scant…

Read more

Preliminary genome-wide association study for wet-dry phenotype in smallholder ovine populations in South Africa

  • 2017
  • Issue: 3
  • Volume: 47
A.H. Molotsi, J.F. Taylor, S.W.P. Cloete, F. Muchadeyi, J.E. Decker, L. Sandenbergh & K. Dzama Page: 327 - 331

The aim of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with genomic region underlying variation in the binomial reproductive trait ‘wet-dry’ in sheep. The wet-dry phenotype was used to represent the reproductive status of the ewes, divided…

Read more

Environmental and genetic factors affecting faecal worm egg counts in Merinos divergently selected for reproduction

  • 2015
  • Issue: 5
  • Volume: 45
Z. Mpetile, S.W.P. Cloete, A.C.M. Kruger & K. Dzama Page: 510 - 520

Infestation with gastrointestinal nematodes is probably among the most pervasive problems in small-stock production worldwide. Faecal worm egg count (FWEC) has been reported as an indirect measure of parasite resistance in livestock production. Environmental and genetic factors of FWEC were…

Read more

Animal factors affecting fatty acid composition of cow milk fat: A review

  • 2012
  • Issue: 2
  • Volume: 42
E. Samková, J. Špička, M. Pešek, T. Pelikánová & O. Hanuš Page: 83 - 100

The review summarizes literature dealing with the effects of animal factors (breed, cow individuality, parity and stage of lactation) on fatty acid (FA) composition of milk fat. Genetic parameters affecting the composition of the FAs in milk are reviewed and…

Read more

Genetic parameter estimates for live animal ultrasound measures of carcass traits in South African Angus cattle

  • 2011
  • Issue: 3
  • Volume: 41
M.M. Seroba, A. Maiwashe, K.A. Nephawe & D. Norris Page: 243 - 249

Genetic parameters were estimated for body weight at scanning (SCW) and live animal ultrasound measures of rump fat thickness (P8FT), rib fat thickness (RBFT), rib eye-muscle area (REA) and intramuscular fat percentage (IMF) for South African Angus beef cattle. A…

Read more
Back To Top