Farmers in South Africa are experiencing difficult times. There is not much that counts in favor of farmers in South Africa except for the growing food crisis in the world that could force the South African government to change their minds somewhen in the future and look after the country’s farmers.
South African farmers are not only facing the elements of nature such as droughts and flooding, but have to live with the fear of constant brutal
farm attacks. The international average for murders in the world is 10 per 100 000 people. In South Africa it is 61 per 100000, but among farmers in this country it is 274 murders per 100 000.
Apart from this the national government is not an agriculturally friendly government. New laws are currently in planning that authorize the agricultural minister to claim any property, farmland and belongings of farmers for any prices he wants. The hundreds of land claims both justified and unjustified, took years to finalize, putting many farm businesses on a halt. (Putting food production on a halt!) The government also forces farmers to implement a so called Black Empowerment Scheme (BEE) which means that 30 % of the ownership of many family farms has to belong to BEE partners. The 30 % could even be risen to a higher percentage in the future.
Once there were 65000 commercial farmers in South Africa but nowadays
there are less than 35000. The population of South Africa counts nearly 50 million people. This means that each farmer has to feed roughly 1 400 people. In 1998 there were 7200 dairy farmers in South Africa, currently there are just over 3000 dairy farmers left – providing work for more than 60 000 people. All these factors are putting extreme pressure on food production and food security in Southern Africa while the world food reserves are starting to run out very fast…
Rising production costs
Milk production costs also rise very fast. In May 2008 the average milk price that afarmer received was just over R 3,00 per liter but in 2009 the price dropped to about R2,80. In April 2007 the expenses per cow and day averaged R 23,35, in May 2008 the costs were R 40,45.
The rising production costs are shown in table 1. The figures were obtained by Mr. Willie Cronje, a dairy consultant in Southern Cape. In Mr. Cronjes‘ opinion dairy farmers who want to survive in the future also have to look for additional income through beef and the selling of animals. Fleckvieh already
proved to be a reliable partner for farmers during these difficult times in Southern Africa. Fleckvieh is adding extra income and value to an existing dairy farm. This message of a dual income is spread by Bavarian
Fleckvieh Genetics already for a very long time. Farmers who started
with Fleckvieh some time ago, are already picking the fruits of dual
purpose but it is not too late for those who want to start.
Dr. Carel Muller of Elsenburg is doing an excellent job with research with Fleckvieh on Holstein and Jersey. The farmers knew their own farm figures but felt that official experiments were necessary and approached the Dept. of Agriculture in Western Cape Province for officiworld al results. However, the Elsenburg experiments are at a very early stage. Also the small scale black farmers will benefit from this research work because they will end up having the same production cost problems as the commercial farmers. Fleckvieh could help to increase their income tremendously. To give a glimpse what to expect from the older calves in this research project we would like to show you the results of a feedlot near Cape Town as well as the milk production of the Dundonald dairy farm.
Braams feedlot trial
Braams Feedlot did a trial with 47 animals in November 2007. There were 3 groups: Pure Fleckvieh, Fleckvieh/Holstein (F x HF) crosses and Fleckvieh/Jersey (F x J) crosses. They found that the growth rate of the Fleckvieh x Jersey steers equals the average growth of all beef breeds in South Africa. In the past no feedlot dared to buy any animals with Jersey blood, but Fleckvieh/Jersey crosses have a growth of 1,62 kg per day and a
dressing percentage of more than 53 %. Farmers who sell these crossings as weaners to feedlots earn R 12 per kg for 6 month old calves with a weight of about 200 kg. This means an extra income of almost R 2.500 for each cow that produced a bull calf. Pure Jersey bull calves have no economic beef value at all. In the past they were donated to a crocodile and cheetah ranch to feed the animals.
Dundonald farm trials
On Dundonald near Heidelberg in the Southern Cape at first small numbers of Jersey cows were inseminated with Fleckvieh to see what their milk and beef production would be. After excellent results the manager on Dundonald farm started to use Fleckvieh on the whole 500 cow herd from 2007 on. This herd is being milked from pasture, walking long distances with 3 kg concentrate per milking. The January 2007 figures showed that the first lactation F2 (75 % Fleckvieh) also outperformed the purebred Jersey cows in milk production. Measured in lactation value they had a 6,5 % better production than the average of their age group and a 7% better production than the herd average. In the second lactation group F1 crosses (50 % Fleckvieh) had a 12 % better lactation value compared to their age group and a 13 % better lactation value than the herd average. In the 3rd lactation group the F1 crosses had a 19 % better production than their age group and an almost 15 % better production than the herd average.
Conclusion
Especially in the Southern Cape Fleckvieh attracts more and more the attention of the farmers as a crossing partner to rise their income. Farmers are marketing their cross bull calves in groups to selected feedlots and get the same price per kilogram as the beef farmers. Apart from the advantages regarding beef- and milk production, Fleckvieh brings about strength, fertility, docility, hardiness and lots of pleasure. This is what dairy farmers urgently need to keep their moral up in a very hostile and unfriendly
world…
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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