Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: pastures; Keywords: soil health, fertilisation, nitrogen mineralisation, pasture yield, area differences.

Discipline: dairy production; Keywords: greenhouse gas, global warming, fossil fuel, methane, nitrous oxide, water use, animal foods, plant-based foods.

The claims and accusations in the campaign have been researched from various perspectives. The response by the author plus associated information is summarized below:

Discipline: dairy & health; Keywords: probiotics, Lactobacillus, antibiotic sensitivity, antimicrobial activity, acid and bile resistance.

Discipline: breeding; Keywords: breeding values, cow fitness, genetic improvement, heritability.                                                                                      

Discipline: environment; Keywords: drought, water shortages, veld and pasture, sediment, water infiltration, water quality.

Discipline: environment; Keywords: greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon, pasture, dairy farms.

Discipline: breeding; Keywords: automatic milk recording system, efficiency measures, milk yield, liveweight, Kleiber ratio, component value.

Discipline: environment; Keywords: methane, nitrous oxide, enteric fermentation, manure management, pasture, range and paddock.

Discipline: Keywords: across-country genetic evaluation, genetic connectedness, genetic progress.

Discipline: mastitis; Keywords: SCC, test day records, lactation, province, season, breed, variation explained.