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Know the basics Starting a commercial beef herd from scratch
Commercial cattle farming forms the backbone of the beef industry in South Africa. Over the past few years, the demand for good-quality South African beef products, both at home and abroad, has continued on a steady upward curve. In many cases, cattle farming forms part of a diversified farming e...Read more -
PHYTOGENIC BLEND HELPS TO BOOST FEED STRATEGY AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
Phytogenic feed additives offer multiple benefits in terms of increased feed intake, improved gut health and – crucially for developing piglets – reduced incidence of diarrhea by Dr Ceinwen Evans, Danisco Animal Nutrition (IFF). With restrictions on the use of in-feed antibiotics introduced in a ...Read more -
Importance of body condition scoring in suckler cows
Avoiding obesity, excessive leanness or large changes in condition in pregnant suckler cows could avoid unnecessary winter feed use and lead to healthier fast-growing calves, new research has found. Body condition scoring is a rapid way to assess fat coverage of livestock, and in cattle it is s...Read more -
How intensive sheep farmers can improve traceability and profit
Long gone are the days when sheep were produced on sleepy farms where the animals were simply left on the veld for days without having any contact with the farmer. These days, farmers have to manage their flocks with far greater care due to the risks posed by stock theft and predation. Gareth Ang...Read more -
Genetic insights could help tackle campylobacter in chicken
UK scientists claim they have identified regions in the genetic make-up of chickens that are linked to resistance to Campylobacter. It is estimated that each year, more than 500,000 people in the UK are affected by Campylobacter, the leading bacterial cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in humans...Read more -
Livestock Development in Hanoi City, Vietnam—Challenges and Policies
The rapid urban growth of Hanoi city requires a livestock production system that ensures both food security and the livelihoods of dwellers. This paper reviews the existing policies for livestock production of Hanoi city and the changes in livestock population between 2014 and 2018 and identifies...Read more -
Gene-editing breakthrough could end male chick culling
Researchers have used gene editing to create single-sex mice litters, which they could improve animal welfare in the poultry industry. The scientists from the University of Kent’s School of Biosciences and The Francis Crick Institute have used gene editing technology to create female-only and mal...Read more -
Farmers need to adopt agroecological practices
An agroecological farming approach – which aims to optimise production while minimising external inputs – is needed if the country is to meet climate and biodiversity targets set by the Scottish Government. However, a survey of farmers found that while Scottish crop farms are ahead of...Read more -
Evolving E. coli strains from farm animals to humans
Research suggests that genetic material from E. Coli bacteria in farm animals, including poultry, could be contributing to the evolution of deadly pandemic strains in humans. E. coli usually live as harmless bacteria in the gastrointestinal tracts of birds and mammals but also reside in environme...Read more -
Earliest spread of millet agriculture outside China linked to herding livestock
5000 years before the modern rise of millet as a popular grain, this Chinese crop was spread far and wide by ancient food aficionados, not for their plates but instead for their animals, suggests new research from an international collaboration led by Kiel University (Germany) and Washington Univ...Read more -
COMMON DISEASES OF SMALL PIG HERDS
Malnutrition (poor condition) Malnutrition is one of the most important problems of small pig herds The pigs will appear thin and show poor growth The only bones that you should see are the shoulder blades, which should be covered by a layer of flesh so that you cannot actually feel If the backb...Read more -
CARBOHYDRASE AND ITS IMPACT ON PIG HEALTHY LIFE
The aim of modern pig production is to optimise performance and gain, while seeking a more sustainable way of production. With feed taking up the lion’s share of production costs, it makes sense to get the most out of what is fed. An enzyme can help optimise feed usage – and multiple enzymes can ...Read more -
10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE STARTING A POULTRY FARM
It’s not unusual for new farmers to start out with poultry because of the popular opinion that poultry farming is an easy entry into farming in general. To an extent, this opinion is true. But as an Agric-Tech Information Expert that deals with poultry farmers on a daily basis, we can emphaticall...Read more -
7 FACTORS THAT AFFECT INTAKE AND DIGESTIBILITY IN CATTLE
What are the actors that affect feed intake, digestibility, and utilisation of feed nutrients in cattle? And moreover, how can they be influenced? 7 factors are listed here. 1. Overfeeding Cattle are adversely affected by overfeeding and often show symptoms of bloat, indigestion, and acute dist...Read more -
Researchers use cameras to study the social interactions between cows
Data from sensors, showing the position of the cows, in combination with a video stream taken by cameras installed in the barn, are used to study the behavior of dairy cattle. In a pilot study, at one of Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences´s research barns, Keni Ren and her colleagues sho...Read more -
Reducing calves’ castration pain drives research
Reducing or mitigating the pain of castration for male beef calves is one of the main animal welfare concerns in the beef cattle industry today. Canada’s national codes of practice for the care and handling of both beef and dairy cattle recommend that male calves be castrated within the first few...Read more -
Environmental mastitis risk during housing
Udder infections may be picked up from the environment or transmitted from cow to cow (contagious transmission), so understanding the origin of infections can improve the effectiveness of any preventative steps. During this winter housing period take time to consider the risks facing your own her...Read more -
Easy test can see if breeding bulls have the right stuff
Forget sending bull semen out for complicated laboratory tests to learn whether the agricultural animal is highly virile. Soon, a quick and easy method — reminiscent of a home pregnancy test — can tell if a breeding bull has the right stuff. By borrowing from nature, Cornell Universit...Read more -
Pig grunts reveal their emotions
We can now decode pigs’ emotions. Using thousands of acoustic recordings gathered throughout the lives of pigs, from their births to deaths, an international team of researchers is the first in the world to translate pig grunts into actual emotions across an extended number of conditions an...Read more -
Evaluation of Public–Private Partnership in the Veterinary Domain Using Impact Pathway Methodology: In-depth Case Study in the Poultry Sector in Ethiopia
Public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the veterinary domain are joint approaches in which public veterinary services and private actors such as private veterinarians, producers’ associations, or private companies work together to address complex animal health challenges. They are implemente...Read more -
Wild Meat Vs Livestock Emissions
Consuming sustainably sourced wild meat instead of domesticated livestock reduces greenhouse gas emissions and retains precious tropical forest systems, which in turn mitigates the effects of climate change. That’s according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Brazi...Read more -
Virus-resistant pigs to vastly improve global animal health
Researchers at the University of Missouri have successfully produced a litter of pigs that are genetically resistant to a deadly porcine virus. Coronaviruses, highly contagious and widespread viruses known for their distinctive microscopic halos, are responsible for a variety of deadly intestinal...Read more -
Pet dogs really do grieve the deaths of other dogs they live with
Pet owners may have long suspected it, but now a study has found that nearly 90 per cent of dogs that experienced the death of a “companion” canine in the same household showed negative behaviours in the following months. This included becoming less playful, eating less, being more fearful and se...Read more -
Kenya Livestock Commercialization Project Launched In Trans-Nzoia
A Sh9.6 billion livestock commercialisation project jointly funded by the Government of Kenya and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Heifer International has been launched in Trans Nzoia. County Director for Livestock Bashar Elmi said the project, which targets 10 counties, is...Read more
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