Feed right for your type
Rangeland management is one of the main influencers of livestock production profitability per hectare, with poor management negatively affecting fertility, calving and animal growth, driving up production and input costs, and rendering farmers more vulnerable to climatic risks.
A study by the Agricultural Research Council and the University of the Free State found that calving percentages achieved in South Africa are relatively low, averaging around 62% on commercial farms, 48% on emerging farms, and 35% in communal areas.
“Improved and sustainable veld management could go a long way towards increasing average calving percentages, which will improve farm margins and make South Africa less reliant on beef imports,” says Dr Mias van der Westhuizen, rangeland specialist at the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. A livestock farmer’s first objective should therefore be to look after the veld and protect it against degradation; this will repay the farmer by providing enough nutrition for the animals.
First of all, however, the farmer needs to know what type of veld is
