Dairy R&D in SA

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.

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.

The impact of mastitis is significant and costly. Mastitis leads to economic losses to both the farmer and processor, welfare implications for the cow and antimicrobial resistance concerns. Describing and analyzing the measures used to prevent this disease and to minimize the losses is important from an economic perspective. In evaluating the economics of managing mastitis, farmers need to take into account losses incurred subsequent to the disease (failure cost, FC) and those invested to prevent the disease (preventive cost, PC).

There are several causes of hepatogenous or secondary photosensitisation in ruminants in South Africa, e.g. hepatotoxic plants, water-borne cyanobacteria, the mycotoxin, sporidesmin, found in spores produced by the saprophytic fungus Pithomyces chartarum etc. In cattle, hepatogenous photosensitivity associated with the feeding of crops comprising certain cultivars and/or hybrids of forage Brassica, namely turnip (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa), rape (B. napus ssp. biennis) and swedes (rutabaga, B. napus ssp. napobrassica) has been reported from Australia  and New Zealand.

The peripartum period comprises the last three weeks of gestation to three weeks after calving. During this period, many adaptations occur in preparation for calving and the onset of lactation. These are of endocrine, metabolic and immunological nature and include increases in circulating concentrations of oestrogen, non-esterified fatty acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate, and reduced serum concentrations of progesterone, calcium, glucose, insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1.

Heartwater is caused by the proteobacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium, which is transmitted by the tick Amblyomma hebraeum.

It is fundamental to identify and understand the complexity of the dairy production system and to account for all the different variables that contribute to such an integrated system.

This report is about progress on the research done by UKZN, cited below. The aim of the project is to identify a biological control agent antagonistic to the aquatic snails which serve as intermediate host of liver fluke. It is believed that Bacillus spp. are potential bacterial antagonists of these aquatic snail hosts, and therefore the intention is to screen a large number of Bacillus isolates for molluscicidal activity.

Soil health is essential for sustainable agriculture and pasture production; however, there are limited studies that have directly examined the relationship between soil health, pasture productivity as well as the influence of fertilisers concurrently. Therefore, the research by the author cited below addressed the gap in the literature by examining the said relationship.   

The claims and accusations in the campaign have been researched from various perspectives. The response by the author plus associated information is summarized below: