Stocking rate of extensive land-reform livestock farmers during 2018/2019 drought: Bloemfontein grassland biome case study

The study aimed to determine the average stocking rate among land reform beneficiary farmers specialising in livestock production in order to establish differences between calving percentage, fodder availability, and mortality rate of sampled farms, as well as to compare forage scarcities of Land Reform farms with their neighbouring farms during the midsummer drought of 2018/2019 in the Bloemfontein area. The average stocking rate was 5.9 ha/LSU in comparison with the Departmental grazing capacity norm of 6 ha/LSU for rangeland in good condition. However, 31% of the sampled farms were found to be severely overstocked, and the mortality rate on these farms, in relation to grazing capacity of 6 ha/LSU, was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the mortalities on the other remaining farms. Naturally available fodder was found to be heterogeneous, with 37.9% of the respondents observing their available fodder as worse than that of their neighbours. The total mortality of 176.77 LSUs was recorded for the 29 sampled farms. These findings will assist the local extension personnel prevent future rangeland condition degradation and increase land reform farmers’ productivity. The study concluded that training is paramount to farmers’ development and further recommends more research undertakings.

RATIONAL WAY OF NATURAL PASTURE UTILIZATION IN CAMEL HUSBANDRY

The aim of the research is to develop a rational way of using natural pasture areas in productive camel breeding. The conducted studies showed that when grazing Arvana camels on each experimental field of pastures for one day (group I), the grazing capacity of these types of pastures was high and amounted to an average of 4.75 and 4.95 c/ha dry fodder mass during the spring-summer grazing season with the output of the eaten fodder reserve of 2.07 c/ha and 2.52 c/ha respectively. Similar indicators of grazing capacity of pastures when using each field of pastures in a row for 3 days (group II) and traditional grazing without dividing the territory into conditional experimental fields (control group) were significantly low and amounted to 3.80 (1.70) c/ha and 3.90 (2.05) c/ha; 2.60 (1.15) c/ha and 2.85 (1.54) c/ha of dry fodder mass according to the types of pastures respectively. The mode of pasture utilization with different loads had a noticeable impact on the feeding value of the grass stand of the main types of desert pastures. So, compared with the feeding value of pasture herbs, when using one day of each conventional pen (0.67 and 0.77 fodder units, 68.9 and 75.0 g of digestible protein) female camels for three days in a row on each experimental field (0.38 and 0.43 fodder units, 59.1 and 66.6 g of digestible protein) and traditional unsystematic utilization (0.31 and 0.35 fodder units, 48 and 53 g of digestible protein) significantly low, which ultimately affected the total grazing capacity and, consequently, the forage capacity of the main types of desert pastures. Generally, with a rational mode of use (with a conventional pen grazing method), the grazing capacity of shrubby-ephemeral sandy and half-shrubby-ephemeral pastures on loamy sierozem soils is 1.90 and 2.90 centners respectively of conventional fodder protein units per hectare, which is significantly higher compared to the control control (81.58% and 80.35%) and the II experimental group (60.0% and 59.65%). Milking camels of all experimental groups on seasonal saltwort pastures eat almost the same amount of pasture forage (22.80-23.95). In autumn (September-October), the average daily milk yield of female camels of the I, II and III experimental groups averaged 9.32 kg, 10.0 kg and 11.50 kg, respectively, this indicates a non-positive effect of normalized feeding of milking camels on their milking capacity in conditions of grazing maintenance.

Socio-Economic Benefits Stemming from Bush Clearing and Restoration Projects Conducted in the D’Nyala Nature Reserve and Shongoane Village, Lephalale, South Africa

This study aimed to investigate the socio-economic benefits stemming from bush clearing and restoration projects conducted in the Lephalale municipality, within the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study was conducted at two sites: the D’Nyala Nature Reserve and a nearby local village, Shongoane. A qualitative thematic content analysis approach and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from 14 purposively selected participants between the ages of 22 and 55 (male = 9 and female = 5). The results indicated that the nature reserve benefited from the project via the improved visibility of the landscape features and game viewing, which made the reserve more attractive for tourists and resulted in increased revenue. The costs of buying feed for game could also be curbed since the grazing capacity increased. Since the nature reserve sourced temporary labour from the local village to execute the project, the community benefited in terms of members being able to earn a wage, which led to an improvement in their livelihoods. Another indirect benefit was the morale and behavioural changes observed amongst community members. It was obvious that the socio-economic benefits derived from projects such as these far outweigh the negatives and that there is every reason to institute projects of a similar nature elsewhere.

Impact of grazing system on rangeland condition and grazing capacity in Zimbabwe

The influence of different land tenure and rangeland management systems on rangeland condition and livestock grazing capacity in African rangelands is not well documented. A rangeland condition assessment was carried out at 15 sites located in the communal grazing system, small-scale commercial grazing system and the large-scale commercial grazing system in Zimbabwe. Rangeland indicators assessed were: floristic composition, herbaceous biomass yield, shrub stem density and grazing capacity. Grass species composition and forage value were analysed using PROC FREQ procedure of SAS 9.3. Fisher’s exact test was performed to test for independence of the grass variables between grazing systems. A one-way ANOVA was used to test for significant differences (P < 0.05) in floristic composition, shrub stem density, herbaceous biomass yield and grazing capacity among the three grazing systems. It was observed that communal rangelands had significantly high levels of woody species, unpalatable wiry grass species, low biomass yield and were dominated by the invading shrub Helichyrsum kraussii compared with the other rangeland management systems. These results suggest that if control measures are not put in place, livestock production may not be feasible in communal rangelands in the near future because of high levels of rangeland deterioration when compared with the commercially managed rangelands. Furthermore, the observed high stem density of unpalatable woody species and the low grazing capacity of communal rangelands affect livestock production, a primary source of livelihood. This warrants a change in rangeland management system in favour of the rest-rotation grazing system, which is beneficial to both livestock and the range.