Everybody should have a checklist to ensure that jobs get done. This advice is even more relevant on a dairy farm, where so many things need attention if the whole operation is to run smoothly.
By 2050, the world will have to support a population of 9,7 billion people, posing a very serious challenge: how can we produce enough food to feed the world without using more resources and exerting even more pressure on the environment? If declining production trends continue as a result of contained disease challenges, changing production practices and a lack of innovation, our farmers won’t be able to meet the increasing global demand for animal protein such as milk, meat and eggs. Nearly half the globe won’t meet their nutritional needs by 2040 if we don’t use innovation in food production.
Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it. People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it. - Mikhail Gorbachev
Voorspoedige nuwe jaar en welkom terug! Ons hoop u het die feestyd geniet en gehaltetyd met geliefdes deurgebring.
Mastitis is die siekte van melkkoeie met die grootste finansiele implikasies in alle eerstewereldlande. Meer as 80% van die verliese kom voor kom as gevolg van die subkliniese vorm van die siekte, wat nie met die oog sigbaar is nie. Dus is een van ons grootste uitdagings om hierdie sieke te identifiseer.
This is a crucial issue given the current climate in South Africa. Not only has the drought had devastating effects for our farmers, but there also have been emotional repercussions for the people on the farm, which has had an effect on the overall farm morale.
Invoertariewe of invoerregte word lankal nie meer gebruik as ’n maatreel om binnelandse bedrywe teen ingevoerde produkte te beskerm nie. Invoertariewe word deur die regering gebruik as handels- en -nywerheidsbeleidsinstrumente om plaaslike produksie, die behoud en skepping van werksgeleenthede, en internasionale mededingendheid te bevorder.
The most important tool in a farmer’s kit is not a tool at all, it is the way he farms. His vision and farming strategy will determine how the tools and resources at his disposal are managed. For Jurie Hartley and his father, John, the most important tool on their farm is – the cow. It all began with a passion for cows, and even today happy, healthy cows are their motivation and strategy to farm sustainably.
Sustainability is quite the buzzword, and with good cause – it seems to exude excitement and the ability to draw people’s interest. But what does it mean? How can individual farmers use these ideas to run good, profitable businesses?
Dairy farmers know that in order to be sustainable, they must ensure that the quality of their raw milk meets the highest expectations of the consumer, and that on-farm practices ensure that milk is produced by healthy cattle under sustainable economic, social and environmental conditions. Use this checklist to answer the question: “Are you a good dairy steward?”
If you really wanted a better job/more money/a better lifestyle, you would have already gone out there and got it. It’s only when you really want something that you will go out there and get it. But you must really want it. It must become a priority in your life. We don’t get what we want, we get what we have to have. When you want something as badly as you need air to breathe, then you will go out there and get it.
“Big is bad…small is beautiful…”. We are constantly bombarded by marketing messages suggesting that only small-scale, local, artisan food is environmentally sustainable. Although consumers celebrate efficiency in vehicle mileage per litre or smart-phone battery life, it appears to be a negative concept when associated with dairy production, as it is linked with large “factory” farms and the perception that farmers are more concerned with profit than with caring for livestock.
Gathering data is of little use if you cannot derive value from it. Increasingly, data is being generated in every part of the dairy and agri-tech sectors, including data regarding feed, livestock, yields and even logistics. As the types and volume of data grow, there is a real need to become more efficient and to recognise that data-driven decisions are the most effective way to optimise your business. We are now in the Information Age, and future growth and success will only be guaranteed to those who exploit data (both their own and others’) in the best possible ways.
Een van die belangrikste aktiwiteite op enige melkplaas is reproduksie. Indien dinge nie volgens die gestelde parameters op die plaas verloop nie, is ons gou om iets of iemand te vind om te blameer. Is dit moontlik weens voeding, of omgewingsfaktore soos hittestres, of is die fasiliteite dalk die probleem? Wat van die algehele gesondheid van die kudde? Bestaan daar ’n strategiese en doeltreffende immuniseringsprogram op die plaas om te verseker dat die kudde voorbereid is op blootstelling aan oordraagbare organismes wat reproduksie kan affekteer?
Lameness in dairy herds is and continues to be one of the major factors that affects profitability, as well as the sustainability of cows in the herd. Not only are there direct costs involved in treating a lame cow, but indirect costs such as losses in milk production and reduced fertility also have a significant effect on cow longevity. Managing and preventing lameness is a challenge for dairy farmers, since the causes are multifactorial. The factors involved include housing conditions, management practices, nutrition and the environment.
The main purpose of cleaning processing equipment is to achieve microbial control. Cleaning should be done as a final step in the processing cycle and must not be seen as a separate factory responsibility and or something to be done by the next shift.
It is time to look forward to the 2016 African Livestock Trade Fair to be held at the Parys Afridome in the Free State next month.
The health, nutrition and management of livestock are inextricably interrelated. As drought sets in, malnutrition will threaten animal health unless management is changed to prevent problems occurring. In South Africa, drought is part of the expected management cycle, and all producers should plan in advance what they will do when feed or water run short.
Dit is noodsaaklik om te verseker dat die melkmasjien te alle tye in 'n aanvaarbare en werkbare toestand is. Goeie voeding, die beste semen en behuising wat effektief gebou en bestuur word, gaan amper niks beteken as die melkmasjien nie daardie insette tydens elke melkproses kan "uitmelk" nie.
Arno Theron is 'n bekende gesig in die skouring. Hy is passievol oor skou en skou nie net met sy eie koeie nie, maar help ook ander boere in die provinsie om hul diere ten toon te stel. "Daar is soveel boere in die KwaZulu-Natal omgewing wat ophou skou het, en ook nie meer boer nie. Ek weet dit is duur en tydsaam om te skou, daarom moet die organiseerders van skoue probeer om eerder een groot nasionale skou te hou", se Arno. Benewens die skoue is Arno ook betrokke by kuddekompetisies wat regoor die land posgevat het.
