A fodder bank requires careful management

The production and maintenance of a fodder bank as insurance against unfavourable farming conditions, is particularly relevant during times when large parts of the country are subject to drought. But what is a fodder bank, and how should it be maintained?

- Izak Hofmeyr

Stockfarm spoke to a few prominent farmers in different parts of the country to find out how they manage a fodder bank. They are Gerrit van Zyl, a prominent Bonsmara breeder from Dewetsdorp, Uys Willemse, a dairy farmer, and a Dormer and Tuli stud breeder from Heidelberg in the Southern Cape, Jan van Zyl, a well-known Brahman breeder in the Northern Cape and North West, and Bok van Zyl, a farmer from Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State.

Stockfarm: How would you define a fodder bank?

Gerrit: It entails feed that is ‘stored’ to sustain your herd until the next growing season. It can include bales or foggage in the form of rest camps.

Uys: A fodder bank exists when I’m able to store six months’ worth of feed for the coming months until we can start harvesting or make silage again.

Jan: A fodder bank is an attempt to make provision for unforeseen circumstances. We perform an annual evaluation of the available dry material during the first week of May when the rain season is over. We cut blocks of edible material at strategic points, which we then weigh.

Based on this, we can calculate how much edible material is available in each camp. Assuming that cattle ingest 3% of their body weight per day, I can determine how many grazing days are available in each camp.

Bok: My definition of a fodder bank is that it is insurance against drought conditions when natural grazing is sparse.

Stockfarm: What method do you use to determine how much feed to keep in your fodder bank?