Veld and flock management

The full article “Veld and flock management” was published in Farmers’ Weekly, 26 April 2013. Herewith a few excerpts on supplementation from the article.

According to Roelof Bezuidenhout, a fourth-generation Karoo small-stock farmer a goat farmer must plan veld and flock management in advance.

Veld is the cheapest source of feed and is easier to manage than pastures but supplementary feeding should be part of fodder flow planning.

There’s no such thing as cheap feed. Balance the cost of supplementary feed against what you could lose by allowing ewes, rams, young goats and kids to go hungry.

Supplementation means supplying a small quantity of concentrated feed to compensate for shortages in the available grazing. When giving a lick supplement on the veld, enough grazing must be available, as most animals take in at least 3% of their body weight in dry feed daily.

Because South Africa has so many veld types, each with its own specific shortages of phosphate or certain trace minerals, base your decision on the type of supplements to buy for any season or purpose on the advice of a feed consultant or company.

Once you start feeding, you can’t stop until it rains, and that’s highly unpredictable during a drought. Unless your farm lies in a high rainfall area, or has plenty of good quality irrigation water, it might be better to buy in feed rather than to produce your own. Feed companies manufacture convenient, ready-mixed, balanced licks, pellets and blocks. At a cost of about R1/animal/day, this has advantages over self-produced feed.

Start feeding when animals have lost about 15% of their normal body weight but before they become weak. Don’t stop feeding too soon after rain. Young, green grass is short in energy, and this can lead to losses in drought-stressed animals.

For more information regarding the correct feeds for your animals, contact WESFeeds at 014 777 1330 or visit www.wesenterprises.co.za.