Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: environment; Keywords: pasture system; dairy; nitrogen balance; greenhouse gas; emission factors.

Discipline: pastures; Keywords: kikuyu-ryegrass, Tall fescue, plantain, mixture, fodder flow, milk yield.

Discipline: mastitis; Keywords: antibiotic resistance, MIC, Staphylococcus aureus, mastitis, somatic cell count, seasons, regions.

Discipline: sustainability; Keywords: environmental integrity, GHG, soil health, waste management, water, biodiversity, socio-economics, rural stability, farm worker conditions, quality and safety, animal care.

Discipline: nutritive value; Keywords: maize hardness, near-infrared spectroscopy, PSI, RVA, intra-lab analysis, feed industry.

Discipline: breeding; Keywords: high and low input systems, heterogeneity, selection, INTERGIS, milk yield, ranking of sires.

Discipline: environment; Keywords: GHG, soil health, waste management, water quality, biodiversity, socio-economics, dairy product quality, animal care.

The report is structured according to the FAO-IDF Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam (DDoR) and the Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF), which endorses the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provides guidelines for sustainable development. The report in particular pays attention to (1) environmental integrity as it pertains to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil health and nutrient supply, waste management, water quality and quantity, and biodiversity; (2) socio-economics in terms of market development, rural stability and farm worker conditions; (3) dairy product quality and safety, and (4) animal care.

Discipline: reproduction; Keywords: SA Holsteins, stillbirth, EBV’s, genetic evaluation, environmental effects.

Stillbirth remains a problem in dairy herds in many countries and is increasingly included in national breeding objectives. In South Africa, however, we lack reliable information on the incidence of stillbirth that can be used to improve this trait genetically. Currently, there are no estimated breeding values (EBVs) for any measures of calving performance produced under the national genetic evaluation programmes. The aim of the study by the authors cited below was therefore to assess the incidence of stillbirth and determine environmental factors affecting the trait in South African Holstein cattle. 

Discipline: environment; Keywords: methane, nitrous oxide, GHG, shale gas, denitrification, life cycle analysis, N fertilization.

Discipline: environment; Keywords: Greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sinc, pasture-based dairy farms, soil carbon levels, soil health, biodiversity.