Keeping livestock healthy with good nutrition does not come automatically. It takes a lot of groundwork and research to ensure that what your animals eat, leads to great reproduction and profitability.
In this edition of Food For Mzansi’ Gather To Grow session on Twitter, experts shared tips on livestock nutrition and breeding techniques.
Gisela Bisschoff, ruminant nutritionist at ADM South Africa, said the very first thing that a new entrant in the market needed to do and know is getting feed manufacture guides, which are accessible at feed production stores. This is in order to ensure that farmers get the basics right.
Get your basics right
“Such guides will answer all the questions that a farmer might [have]. What is important to understand is that the veld does not supply everything that your animal needs,” she pointed out.
In the episode, Bisschoff also talks about how feed manufacture guides can help in choosing the right type of supplements a farmer may need, as well as mixing instructions and more.
“The guide will indicate what type of protein level, energy and micro mineral aspects your animal needs in order to have proper support for reproduction because without that you cannot breed and have profit,” she explained.
Know your grass and veld
Thami Mpanza, a researcher at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), also joined the conversation. His point of view is that while the guides are important, it is critical that farmers understand the type of grass their animals are exposed to.
“As a farmer, understand the available material in your space, the type of grass that your animals are grazing. It is then that you will understand the nutrition that is lacking. In most cases our grass is lacking minerals, calcium, selenium, and iron amongst others, that is the area where a farmer will need to get supplements for their animal,” he said.
Mpanza advised farmers to evaluate the behaviour of their animals when grazing. By doing so, farmers could get a head start on issues with animals.
“The grass that you animals consume, take it for sampling in the laboratory. It will help you a great deal to know what type of top-up supplements your livestock greatly need,” he said.
In the episode, experts also explore understanding breed types, their needs, and how farmers can take care of the veld and why this is so important.
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