Dairy R&D in SA

There is reason to believe that diurnal patterns for enzymatic activity exist, as bacterial numbers have been shown to be influenced by time of feeding. Also, when performing ruminal in vitro studies, little attention is given to the time of day when rumen fluid is sampled, thereby not controlling variation caused by diurnal patterns and the effect it might have on starch, NDF, and protein digestibility. Additionally, often results are compared between in vitro studies without considering time of rumen fluid collection or feeding time.

Discipline: management;

Replacement heifer rearing is often neglected on dairy farms because for farmers the cost of rearing heifers apparently outweighs the advantage of well grown-out heifers. These advantages manifest in early conception and milk yield. To investigate trends in heifer raising, weights for age as a measure of heifer feeding programs were studied in the Western Cape.

Discipline: breeding;

Discipline: environment: 

Discipline: yogurt; 

Discipline: Performance measurement/milk recording; 

Discipline: environment: 

Discipline: mastitis; 

Discipline: health & welfare; 

Project title: Impact of Fasciola hepatica on dairy production and sustainable management on selected farms in South Africa

Principal researcher: Dr J.A. van Wyk, University of Pretoria.

Discipline: mastitis;