Regain profitability with these post-drought sheep management tips

Prof Tertius Brand, a scientist in animal nutrition at the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute, shares advice on how to manage a sheep flock during and after a drought in order for farmers to regain the profitability of their operations. Jeandré van der Walt reports.

- Jeandré van der Walt

As every South African farmer knows, droughts are a frequent reality in the country. According to Prof Tertius Brand, a specialist scientist in animal nutrition at Elsenburg and a presenter during a recent webinar on drought recovery, parts of South Africa are hit by droughts at an average rate of almost once every five years.

Sheep farmers are not spared the effects of drought, and it is therefore vital that they put proper management practices in place before and during a drought to keep their animals in good condition.

It is no less important to adhere to proper management principles after a drought to regain profitability as soon as possible.

According to Brand, sheep farmers can follow a number of well-recognised steps to ensure good feeding management of their flocks during and after droughts.

NUTRITION

Maintaining and regaining sufficient energy levels, he says, is one of the most important requirements for animals in a drought.

“During a drought, animals have to walk far in search of food and water. The energy that the animal uses to walk in search of these can use 30% or more of its daily maintenance needs.”

The farmer should therefore ensure that animals have easy access to drinking water.

He adds that the energy needs of lactating ewes and young, growing animals are considerably higher than those of animals fed only for conditioning.

Another basic nutritional principle that can be applied during a drought is the early weaning of lambs. In difficult seasons with reduced feed supplies, it can be more economical to wean lambs early to lower feed costs and ensure that the ewes regain condition.