Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: feeding/nutrition; Key words: Fruit waste, maize alternatives, pasture degradability, starch, supplementation. 

1. PROJECTS, CAPACITIES AND PUBLICATIONS BY PROGRAMME LEADER AT INSTITUTION.

    

1. Banga, Cuthbert and others - ARC-Irene.

   Projects:

The dairy industry is a major consumer of antibiotics globally and mastitis is the most treated disease of dairy cows. In South Africa, producers have unrestricted access to 12 of 22 registered within-udder antibiotic products without prescription, whereas the remaining 10 registered products are restricted for veterinary use. It is conceivable that the antibiotics available without prescription may be used incorrectly and may contribute to the emergence and/or persistence of antibiotic-resistant strains. 

Some interesting results have been reported by Dr Jan van Wyk, who is responsible for the Milk SA project: Fasciola hepatica: Impact on Dairy Production and Sustainable Management on Selected Farms in South Africa. The report is from the fourth quarter of 2018.

The economic benefits of restoring natural capital have been well known. Also, the economic value of ecosystem goods and services, when taking a natural capital accounting approach, often far exceeds the usually accepted value of natural capital. Yet, despite the obvious value in restoring and maintaining natural capital, the world is facing a crisis with respect to environmental breakdown.

Routine bulk tank milk testing is an adjunct to monitor milk quality and udder health as total bacterial counts, and enumerating psychrotropic and thermoduric bacteria counts, may provide useful information on the cleanliness of milking procedures and equipment, the effectiveness of milk cooling and system sanitation. Also, differential bacterial counts may provide information on the occurrence of and changes in mastitis pathogens.

Dairy breeds originated in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. Both regions have a wet and cool to cold climate. As a result, the environmental comfort zone for dairy cows varies between -5 and 21 °C. Anatomical features that help cows withstand cold conditions include a thick skin, a dense hair coat, subcutaneous fat layers, large muscles and a digestive system that is based on fermentation processes in the rumen which creates internal heat.

For dairy farms to be economically sustainable, herd managers should continuously monitor specific key performance indicators (KPIs). Indicators must be based on quantitative or performance goals which are specific, measurable, attainable and relevant. These may include the average daily milk yield of the cows, their daily feed costs and specific reproduction parameters. These to a large extent are farm specific as each farm is unique in terms of natural resources, infrastructure and management style which will affect milk yield, production costs and breakeven milk yield.

The dairy industry is characterized by a dual production system, comprising of a high input commercial production system and low input smallholder and emerging systems. Performance data from both systems are included in the official national genetic evaluation database, with models which assume homogeneous variances. If variances are heterogeneous, above average animals in more variable herds will be favoured over high performing animals in the less variable herds. This may result in biased selection and inaccurate estimation of breeding values.

Longevity in dairy cows is an important trait affecting the genetic progress, lifetime (birth to cull) performance and lifetime efficiency. An early age at first calving increases productive life (total number of days in milk) while also reducing rearing costs, and financial sustainability of a dairy herd. However, calving problems may increase when age at first calving is too early. For this reason most farmers rear heifers to reach first calving at an older age although not necessarily at a higher live weight.