Understanding beef cattle production practices and associated factors constraining performance : a survey of smallholder farmers in South Africa

Farm practices of beef cattle smallholders in South Africa are characterised by poor management practices with limited advisory services. This study aimed to assess current beef cattle farming practices and limiting factors for improved beef production in South African smallholder farmers. A questionnaire was administered to 460 individual smallholder farmers purposively selected from seven provinces of South Africa (SA). The questionnaire captured information on demographics and farm profiles, constraints on production, marketing, ecological and reproduction management. Frequency procedure and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The majority of farmers were males (77 %), fully committed to cattle farming (92 %) and participated in informal markets (61 %). Farmers constraints included extreme weather events, disease outbreaks, lack of access to information on farm management, supply of cattle nutrition and fair market pricing. The majority (93 %) of farmers had no knowledge on body condition scoring (BCS) prior breeding and recorded inter-calving periods of two years (77 %). Only 17 % of farmers kept calving records and 80 % practices culling of old cows. The regression model revealed that lack of information and understanding of farm business, and information communicated by government were among the dominating factors associated with the constraints. The study confirmed the need to enhance the approach of farm information dissemination and skills transfer to mitigate farming challenges and improve productivity. Policy makers may ensure adoption of farm information chains through more implementations of open platforms such as farmer’s schools and farmers days.Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (P02000051).Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.https://www.jarts.infoAnimal and Wildlife Science

The role of cell apoptosis on in vitroproduced beef cattle embryos

The in vitro culture environment of cattle embryos can compromise the survival of developing embryos resulting in cell apoptosis. Detection of cell apoptosis is important for determining embryonic quality and reducing embryonic mortality in female animals prior to transfer. In this study the role of cell apoptosis on in vitro embryos was studied, with the focus on oocyte maturation and embryo production, caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation. Cow ovaries were collected from local abattoir and a total of 900 COCs were retrieved per week for the study over five-month period (six replicate/per experiments). COCs were randomly allocated to four incubation temperatures (39, 41, 42 and 43 ̊C) for polar body extrusion. Based on maturation results, two preferred temperatures (39 and 41 ̊C) were selected for maturation. Oocytes were subjected to normal subsequent embryonic conditions post maturation. Embryos produced from both maturation temperatures were then examined for embryonic development, caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation for evidence of apoptosis. No difference was (P<0.05) observed in embryonic development between oocytes matured at 39 ̊C and 41 ̊C respectively. Blastocysts produced at 39 ̊C showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher nuclei cells compared to those produced from 41 ̊C matured oocytes. A higher (P< 0.05) caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation were observed at (2-4 cell) and (≥ 8cell cell) embryos for 41 ̊C matured oocytes compared to 39 ̊C maturation group. A significantly higher caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation on blastocyst produced at 41 ̊C matured oocytes were also evident compared to those produced at 39 ̊C. Although embryos produced from oocytes matured at 41 ̊C showed similar developmental capacity to embryos from 39 ̊C, this study showed that a higher incidence of apoptosis can be expected in embryos produced from oocytes matured at a higher (41 ̊C) temperature than 39 ̊C.Dissertation (MSc (Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2016.Animal and Wildlife SciencesMSc (Agric)Unrestricte

Understanding beef cattle production practices and associated factors constraining performance: A survey of smallholder farmers in South Africa

Farm practices of beef cattle smallholders in South Africa are characterized by poor management  practices with limited advisory services. This study aimed to assess current beef cattle farming practices and limiting factors for improved beef production in South African smallholder farmers. A questionnaire was administered to 460 individual smallholder farmers purposively selected from seven provinces of South Africa (SA). The questionnaire captured information on demographics and farm profiles, constraints on production, marketing, ecological and reproduction management. Frequency procedure and logistic regression were used for data analysis. The majority of farmers were males (77%), fully committed to cattle farming (92%) and participated in informal markets (61%). Farmers constraints included extreme weather events, disease outbreaks, lack of access to information on farm management, supply of cattle nutrition and fair market pricing. The majority (93%) of farmers had no knowledge on body condition scoring (BCS) prior breeding and recorded inter-calving periods of two years (77%). Only 17% of farmers kept calving records and 80%  practices culling of old cows. The regression model revealed that lack of information and understanding of farm business, and information communicated by government were among the dominating factors associated with the constraints. The study confirmed the need to enhance the approach of farm information dissemination and skills transfer to mitigate farming challenges and improve productivity. Policy makers may ensure adoption of farm information chains through more implementations of open platforms such as farmer's schools and farmers days

The impact of high temperature on the development and quality of in vitro matured beef cattle oocytes and their potential to subsequent embryonic development

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of high temperature on cattle oocytes matured in vitro at 39, 41, 42, 43˚C and to evaluate apoptosis through Caspase-activity and DNA fragmentation on produced embryos. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COC) were matured at 39, 41, 42 and 43˚C. Two best maturation temperatures were selected for maturation throughout embryo production. Post maturation, matured oocytes were exposed to standard embryonic conditions. Embryos were evaluated at 3 stages: ≥ 2-4 cell, ≥ 8cell and blastocyst to determine Caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation. Maturation of oocytes at 41 and 39˚C demonstrated no significant difference (p>0.05) however, higher maturation rate compared to 42 and 43˚C. Matured oocytes at 39 and 41˚C showed no difference (p>0.05) in embryo development. Blastocysts at 39˚C maturation had higher (p<0.05) nuclei cells compared to those at 41˚C. Caspase-3 activity was comparable at ≥ 2-4 cell and ≥ 8cell for both 39 and 41˚C maturation temperatures, however, 41˚C showed high DNA fragmentation compared to 39˚C maturation group. Blastocyst from oocytes matured at 41˚C had higher Caspase-3 activity and DNA fragmentation than those at 39˚C. Embryos derived from 41˚C maturation temperature resulted in evidence of apoptosis compared to 39˚C.Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (SASCAL).https://nexusacademicpublishers.com/journal/4am2022Animal and Wildlife Science

Assessing Reproductive Performance to Establish Benchmarks for Small-Holder Beef Cattle Herds in South Africa

Smallholder beef cattle farms in South Africa have had low reproductive performance, which has been associated with management practices. Considering current farm management practices, a multi-stage selection study was conducted to assess reproductive performance as defined by pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, calving interval and days open to benchmark reproductive performance. Data were collected twice, in autumn (March&ndash;May) for pregnancy diagnosis and in spring (September&ndash;November) for monitoring of confirmed pregnancies. Overall, 3694 cow records from 40 smallholder herds were collected during 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons from five provinces. The preferred 25th quartile described target performance and GLIMMIX procedure determined associations between management practices and performance. Smallholder farms on average recorded 50% pregnancy rate and 12% fetal and calf losses with 304 and 608 days open and calving interval, respectively. The derived target benchmarks for pregnancy rate, fetal and calf losses, days open and calving intervals in smallholder farms were 54%, 1.4%, 152 and 425 days, respectively. Reproductive performance was associated with no knowledge of body condition scoring before breeding, culling of old and non-productive cows, record keeping and low bull to cow ratio (p &lt; 0.05). The performance benchmarks implied that industry averages may be improved if sustainable management services are provided through extension and advisory services