Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: quality; 

The report here is part of the Milk SA R & D programme to find solutions to the milk flocculation problem in the dairy industry. The investigation on the influence of psychrotrophic bacteria is by Prof Celia Hugo and postgraduate students at the University of the Free State. 

Discipline: contamination; Key words: Listeria monocytogenes, listeriosis, soft cheese, stress

Discipline: breeding; Key words: lifetime efficiency, productive life, Holstein cows.

Discipline: economics; Key words: sustainability, environmental impact, total factor productivity, pasture-based dairy. 

Discipline: development; Key words: entrepreneurship, dairy cattle, food security, indigenous knowledge systems.

The authors referenced below did a case study in the local municipality areas of Matatiele and Groblersdal to explore and identify the drivers of dairy smallholder farmer decisions. They found the following as determining factors:

• dairy farming is dominated by male farmers who were over 60 years old;

The South African dairy industry shows immense diversity when it comes to mastitis management practices. However, if consistently executed, which should improve udder health and milk flow, it could be satisfactory, but supporting the diversity by extension is a challenge. As is the case globally, the dairy industry is aware of and actively addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To that effect, a survey was funded by Milk SA to record what practices are followed and a project: ‘Resistance to Available Antibiotics in Lactating Cows with Mastitis’, was initiated in 2015.

The 2018 Progress Report of a study by Dr Inge-Marie Petzer of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria.

In a previous contribution we argued the economic benefit of restoration and as a consequence soil health, whether in a dairy farming context or national. Conceptually this seems a good argument, but does it pay? If restoration does not make economic sense, the country is better off without it. However, if it does make economic sense, then the opportunity cost of not restoring is negative – that is, the country is worse off by not restoring.

Fasciolosis, or liver fluke infection, results in reduced production and economic losses in dairy cattle and other livestock species. The lifecycle of the fluke, Fasciola hepatica, involves lymnaied snails as the intermediate host and depends on the development and survival of larval stages both in the snail and in the environment. This implies that the infection risk will depend on pasture and other areas harbouring the snails, as well as climatic and other environmental influences.

Female fertility is a fundamental trait for a profitable dairy herd enterprise. Studies have shown a decline in fertility probably because of dedicated selection for increased milk production. Age at first calving (AFC) and calving interval (CI) are prominent indicator traits to improve fertility, but these traits are greatly affected by management decisions. Service data present additional selection criteria with minimum bias.