Dairy R&D in SA

Discipline: economics; Key words: sustainability, environmental impact, total factor productivity, pasture-based dairy. 

Discipline: development; Key words: entrepreneurship, dairy cattle, food security, indigenous knowledge systems.

The authors referenced below did a case study in the local municipality areas of Matatiele and Groblersdal to explore and identify the drivers of dairy smallholder farmer decisions. They found the following as determining factors:

• dairy farming is dominated by male farmers who were over 60 years old;

The South African dairy industry shows immense diversity when it comes to mastitis management practices. However, if consistently executed, which should improve udder health and milk flow, it could be satisfactory, but supporting the diversity by extension is a challenge. As is the case globally, the dairy industry is aware of and actively addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To that effect, a survey was funded by Milk SA to record what practices are followed and a project: ‘Resistance to Available Antibiotics in Lactating Cows with Mastitis’, was initiated in 2015.

Dairy farmers increasingly are employing precision farming practices and computer software that enables them to manage large herds at the individual animal level. In South Africa, dairy farmers have been adopting similar strategies with a trend towards larger production units and the incorporation of automatic milking systems (AMSs). The software used in automatic systems can record production, reproduction and health parameters daily.

Dairy farming generally has small profit margins. A large capital outlay is required at start-up while daily operations also require a high, mostly feed, cost input. A number of factors affect the economic success of dairy farming. The average milk yield of cows is often regarded as the most important factor affecting profit margins. Although, generally, higher producing dairy herds have higher profits, a high average milk yield does not always guarantee high profits, because production systems differ, for example TMR and pasture-based systems.

Weight loss of cows during the dry period has several consequences, mostly associated with reproduction and subsequent lactation. What is not generally considered is the success of colostrum production and its quality. This formed the basis of the study by the authors cited below.

To maximise production, dairy cow diets are balanced for amino acids through the use of feed formulation programmes. A limitation of these programmes is that the bacterial amino acid profile used is considered constant and based on assumptions about the composition of mixed ruminal bacteria. However, research has shown that the amino acid composition differs between the fluid-associated bacteria (FAB) and the particle-associated bacteria (PAB) and also depends on factors such as diet composition, feed intake, protein source and thus potentially, feed additives.

In most calf rearing systems milk is fed twice a day to dairy calves. However, at Outeniqua Research Farm calves have been reared successfully by feeding milk once a day. The advantage is that by feeding once a day labour requirements are reduced and it may positively affect growth, health and rumen development of calves, e.g. more rapid development of the digestive system. Effective calf rearing will reduce calf mortalities and rearing costs in both commercial and small holder operations.

The report on sustainability is structured according to the FAO-IDF Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam (DDoR) and the Dairy Sustainability Framework (DSF), which endorse the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provides guidelines for sustainable development.

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.