Dairy R&D in SA

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.

South Africa and Kenya rank among the top milk producing countries in Africa, whereas Zimbabwe ranks in the middle. These countries are unique on the continent in that they implement dairy production breeding programmes. South Africa has the highest milk yield per cow, with opportunities to export to other countries. South Africa is also often used as the main reference point for dairy improvement in Africa because countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe and Rwanda source South African animals to improve their national dairy herds. Kenya and Zimbabwe may also serve as reference points for genetic evaluations in other countries of Africa.

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

One of the key traits in profitable milk production is somatic cell count (SCC). It is used as a measure of udder health and management thereof in terms of cleanliness, cow health and selection is paramount. Over years, a substantial data base has accumulated from the milk recording and management system, allowing analyses from different perspectives to better understand factors influencing SCC. Some factors not normally thought of provide interesting results as shown by the author cited below. 

Discipline: management; Keywords: age at first calving, lifetime efficiency, productive life, selection, genetic parameters. 

Discipline: yogurt; Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, probiotics, antibacterial activity, antibiotic resistance, yogurt.

Discipline: contamination; Keywords: Pseudomonas fluorescens , psychrotrophic bacteria, refrigeration temperature, unhygienic surfaces, biofilms, milk flocculation, UHT milk.