by Heinz Meissner
Click on any of the publications below to read more about the specific topic:
admin@milksa.co.za
012 460 7312
Brooklyn Court, Block B, First floor,
361 Veale Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk
Pretoria, South Africa
Click on any of the publications below to read more about the specific topic:
Title | Date | Discipline | Extract |
---|---|---|---|
DIURNAL VARIATION IN ENZYMATIC DIGESTION OF STARCH AND FIBRE. | 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. |
||
HEAT STRESS IN DAIRY COWS. | Heat stress is defined as an event that affects an animal’s homeostasis and health owing to a physiologically harmful heat load. Heat stress may prompt physiological dysfunction, which affects an animal’s production and reproduction capacity negatively, and causes economic losses that are estimated to be billions of dollars worldwide. Heat stress also influences a cow’s immune system which may manifest in a higher incidence of udder health problems during summertime. |
||
ARTISANAL CHEESE MAKING IN SOUTH AFRICA. | The overemphasis on economic challenges to small-scale farmers often overshadows the debate about potentiality of artisanal cheeses, which can be processed using local resources, with low input of ingredients and machinery. There is a need to evaluate the processing of artisanal cheeses in rural areas with appropriate economic approaches that consider the local people’s social-economic status, culture, and region. Strategies that could improve farmers’ productivity include technical training, indigenous knowledge development, mentorship, financial support and working as cooperatives. |
||
BIOFILM FORMATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE PATTERNS OF STREPTOCOCCUS UBERIS SPECIES. | Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to human and veterinary medicine. Often it is not known to which antimicrobials specific mastitis-causing pathogens such as Streptococcus uberis are resistant or to which new antimicrobials they are sensitive to. A complicating factor is that one of the resistance strategies of many pathogens which makes it more difficult to treat than their planktonic counterparts, is biofilm formation. A further complicating issue is that virulence factors of Str. |
||
PASTURE YIELD AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZATION. | The response of pasture yields to nitrogen (N) fertilization is a long-standing topic of debate. In dairy-pasture systems, N application is often thought to be directly proportional to pasture yield. The question is: is it. This was evaluated using data from 153 pasture camps over five years. Fertilizer application rates were grouped into three treatments: <200, 200-350 and >350 kg N per hectare (ha) and the herbage yield response over the five years was recorded. |
||
MASTITIS RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE COST TO THE DAIRY FARMER. | Mastitis results in large economic loss to both farmer and processor. In addition it has welfare implications for the cow and antimicrobial resistance concerns. Therefore, describing and analysing the measures used to prevent the disease and to minimize the losses remain important. For example, somatic cell count (SCC) directly affects revenue from the sale of milk and in one of the investigations the revenue loss was studied. |
||
AN ANALYSIS OF THE GLOBAL RELEVANCE AND IMPACT OF CATTLE. | Cattle have been the focus of an intense debate between those concerned about, among other things, the possible negative effects on global warming, land degradation, food competition and human health, and those who are positive toward the possible role of cattle in maintaining global socio-economic and environmental sustainability. This paper reviews the pros and cons in view of a projected increase in demand for animal-based foods and therefore in cattle numbers. Analyses of cattle numbers and foods from various literature sources suggest gross overestimation towards 2050. |
||
A FLEXIBLE MODEL TO ESTIMATE GHG TOGETHER WITH FINANCIAL RESULTS | A web-based carbon footprint assessment tool was developed by the researchers cited below that will assist dairy farmers in understanding their GHG emissions and developing effective mitigation strategies and sustaining farmlands. The tool also provide a means with which to communicate and report back to stakeholders and key audiences, such as consumers, about the real impact of dairy farmers in South Africa on the environment. |
||
MASTITIS RESEARCH IN SA: CONTROL THROUGH SCC AND OTHER MEANS. | In a survey among dairy farmers in 2017, it was found that routine evaluation of cows, groups and/or herds for SCC was relatively low at 67% for cows and groups and 53% for whole herd testing. The majority of high SCC cows are however treated. Only 1% of dairy farmers reported to clip or flame udders. Approximately 50% of dairy farms pre-dip, lower than in some other parts of the world and approximately a third of producers either do not strip or wipe and/ or do not use gloves. |
||
A1 VERSUS A2 MILK: THE POSITION OF THE ORGANISED DAIRY INDUSTRY | What is A1 and A2 milk: The difference is associated with variation in the protein composition of cow’s milk. Both A1 and A2 variants are proteins in the casein group which makes up about 80 % of the proteins. The two variants are almost identical apart from differing in one amino acid at position 67 of the polypeptide (amino acid chain): A1 has histidine whereas A2 has proline. |