If there is one thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us, it is the importance of bio- and food security. This not only contributes to customer satisfaction, but also to market confidence.
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Senwes Group CE Francois Strydom hosted a meeting at the Senwes Head Office in Klerksdorp on Friday, 15 March 2019 with a group of the livestock industry’s most influential producers. Johan Dannhauser, Brian Angus, John Devonport and Gideon Oosthuizen share their impressions following the meeting.
The taking away of South Africa's foot-and-mouth-free status has sent shock waves through the agricultural industry. This means, for example, that the country can no longer export meat and other livestock products for an indefinite period of time, which poses major economic challenges and can lead to job losses.
A healthy animal give the best production results and a sick animal causes directly and indirectly unnecessary costs. The immune system accounts for a minor portion of total nutritional requirements in the healthy animal but in response to an immune challenge has a major impact on nutritional status and requirements for specific nutrients.
At the 2018 Alfa Expo in Parys, a relatively new breeder, Raymund de Villiers, won this year's title as Hinterland National Interbreed Bull Champion. He achieved this with his bull named Ace. Raymund is very pleased. "It is unbelievable, that is the only way I can describe it."
A feedlot uses animals to produce carcasses or meat as the end product and to increase value. The profit, as in any other enterprise, is determined by the difference between input costs of the production process and income of the end product(s). Various financial, biological and physical factors fluctuate continuously which causes risk. The primary focus of a feedlot manager is therefore, risk management.