Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: liver fluke; Keywords: Fasciola hepatica, Lymnaea truncatula, anthelmintics, water, temperature, biological control. 

Discipline: quality; Keywords: Protein instability, Alizarol test, Pseudomonas, potassium, APC method, plasmien.

Introduction: The world has changed as the evidence and perceptions about climate change have surfaced and progressively became centre in the media and people’s minds. This has lead to questions of what are the reasons for the change which primarily pointed fingers to man-introduced carbon emissions and over-use of resources and waste accumulation. All sectors, including agriculture (therefore dairying), have come under scrutiny. In addition the public, often influenced by activists, have become more critical of how food is produced – is it safe, do the practices follow acceptable standards, does it minimize the carbon footprint and limit resource use, should we have animal foods at all, etc.

Discipline: sustainability; Keywords: dairying, resources, GHG, waste, productivity, health.

Discipline: products; Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, consumers, buttermilk, maas, spoonable yoghurt, dairy juice blends, UHT milk.

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted both in shifts in South Africans’ demand for dairy products as well as changed purchasing habits according to BMi Research, cited below.

Discipline: mastitis; Keywords: dairy cow, mastitis, udder health, prevention, economics, costs.

Discipline: forages/grazing; Keywords: Brassica rapa; forage turnip; dairy cattle; teat lesions; Barkant; Brassica-associated liver disease; hepatogenous photosensitivity.

Discipline: cow health; Keywords: haematology; body condition score; milk production; lactating Holstein dairy cows; veterinary.

Discipline: disease; Keywords: climate change; control; diagnosis; epidemiology; heartwater; ruminants; survey.

Discipline: farm analysis; Keywords: systems dynamic model, costs, management intervention, sub-models.