Feed Right For Your Type

For sustainable grassland management, farmers need to know whether they are farming on sweet- or sourveld, and should adapt their livestock management practices accordingly. Glenneis Kriel reports.

- Glenneis Kriel

Rangeland management is one of the main influencers of livestock production profitability per hectare, with poor management negatively affecting fertility, calving and animal growth, driving up production and input costs, and rendering farmers more vulnerable to climatic risks.

A study by the Agricultural Research Council and the University of the Free State found that calving percentages achieved in South Africa are relatively low, averaging around 62% on commercial farms, 48% on emerging farms, and 35% in communal areas.

“Improved and sustainable veld management could go a long way towards increasing average calving percentages, which will improve farm margins and make South Africa less reliant on beef imports,” says Dr Mias van der Westhuizen, rangeland specialist at the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A livestock farmer’s first objective should therefore be to look after the veld and protect it against degradation; this will repay the farmer by providing enough nutrition for the animals.

First of all, however, the farmer needs to know what type of veld is growing on the farm.

TYPES OF VELD

In South Africa’s grassland biome, found mainly on the central plateau, which includes the Free State and inland areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Eastern Cape, differentiation is made between sweetveld, sourveld and mixed veld based on the palatability of each. Palatability, in turn, is determined by climatic factors and soil quality.