Dairy R&D in SA

The production and consumption of milk in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape Province is largely unknown. Although production is expected to be modest, there should be potential in the sector for purposes of household and commercial milk production. Consumption trends in these communities, with a population size of roughly 4 million people, may influence general milk consumption trends in the country. The aim of the study by the authors referenced below was to collect baseline information which could inform future research. 

Research in the past 50 years has shown that the general health of dairy cows can be improved by higher post-ruminal delivery and absorption of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially omega-3 (n-3) acid. Since flaxseed contains a high concentration of n-3, the objective of the authors cited below was to evaluate the effects of feeding the flaxseed-based supplement LinPro on the production and health of mid-to-late lactation multi-lactation Holstein cows.

This is a summary of results reported by Dr Craig Galloway (see reference below) of farms where there have been improvements in the carbon balance and other parameters as indicated by data collected between 2013 and 2019. Some of the farms have data for all the years, whereas others only have data for two of the years. All improvements indicated are the most recent data relative to the baseline, which is the first time the assessments were done. The farms are pasture-based dairy farms in the Eastern Cape (Tsitsikamma, Oyster Bay, Humansdorp, Cookhouse, Cradock and Alexandria).

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.

Food contamination is a problem that the food industry still struggles, especially contamination of the food product after production. There are two pathogens in particular are of concern as the chance of the occurrence of these two are relatively higher, namely Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. A possible solution which can be considered is to introduce probiotics to the product which may have an inhibitory effect on the pathogens.

The aim of the paper by the authors cited below was to review the state of fertility of female dairy cattle in South Africa and to compare it with international efforts at improving fertility. Fertility in dairy cows is defined as the ability to conceive from first insemination soon after calving and to carry the calf full term to calving.

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.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR): The results of an antibiotic susceptibility testing trial of Staph. aureus isolates showed that 75-80% isolates were multidrug resistant. The isolates were found to be 100% resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin and penicillin G, 95% resistant to cephalexin, 82% resistant to streptomycin, 75% resistant to oxacillin, 64% resistant to erythromycin, 50% resistant to tobramycin, 46% resistant to tetracycline and 39% resistant to vancomycin. None of the Staph.

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.

Discipline: grazing/pastures;