The future of extensive vs intensive farming

By Roelof Bezuidenhout

The trend is shifting away from extensive, natural farming systems to intensive operations where animals are fed from a bag. While intensification may improve cash flow, it might be wiser to stick with livestock that are well adapted to your farm.

In extensive livestock production areas, farmers often switch between breeds – or even species – based on market conditions. Sometimes this approach pays off; other times, it doesn’t. Looking at historical records, the most reliable strategy appears to be sticking with the breeds traditionally used in the district – those that have proven profitable over decades.

These are animals well adapted to the farm and production system, which may include a combination of cattle, sheep and goats depending on factors such as veld type, rainfall, crops, pastures and infrastructure. Long-term trials in the Karoo have shown little difference in profitability between wool sheep, mutton sheep and Angora goats. Switching from one to another simply because it is in fashion makes little sense. Accurately predicting market cycles in farming is as difficult as navigating the stock exchange without taking a loss. The pendulum always swings, but at an unpredictable tempo.

In the 1970s, disenchanted wool farmers shifted to mutton breeds, particularly Dorper sheep. One unintended consequence was the contamination of the national wool clip with crossbred wool. Today, purebred Merino wool is increasingly scarce and rising in value as the rand weakens, while farmers argue that mutton is overpriced on retail shelves.

Rising mohair prices have recently renewed interest in Angora goats over mutton. Forgotten, however, are the many times mohair prices plummeted, prompting Angora farmers to introduce Boer goats, or even cross pure Angora ewes with meat goat rams.

The Dorper and Boer goat were specifically bred for South Africa’s harsh veld conditions, and the Merino and Angora were introduced from Spain and Turkey, respectively, about 150 years ago. Although they cannot be considered indigenous, decades of selection driven by economic pressures have drastically altered them; they bear little resemblance to the original imported animals.

Today’s flocks carry much lighter fleeces and perform better in adverse conditions, with improved growth and reproduction rates compared to the slow-growing indigenous types of the past. A similar pattern of switching occurs among cattle farmers. With a wide selection of breeds available, they sometimes struggle to choose between, say, the Bonsmara and the Nguni – both distinctly South African breeds.

All this ties into the broader debate on the intensification of livestock production, particularly in small-stock and game farming.

Supplementary feeding

Under pressure to increase production – and sometimes to protect lambs from predators such as black-backed jackals, caracals and baboons – extensive livestock farmers often try to boost profits by supplementing their flocks’ diets. Animals are kept in smaller camps near the house, where the adjacent veld becomes trampled, and are given extra feed and attention for various periods. This approach is, however, only profitable when feed and labour costs remain low and there is strong market demand for the product.

A sudden rise in input costs can put the entire enterprise at risk, potentially forcing the farmer to revert to a less intensive system – provided their animals can still cope with natural veld conditions. The real danger lies in breeding livestock that become dependent on supplementary feeding and are no longer adapted to extensive grazing. This shift can happen quickly, yet reversing the trend – by breeding animals that can thrive without extra feed during dry periods, are resistant to parasites and remain productive – can take years.

These concerns have significantly influenced the stud breeding industry, which in some cases has responded to demand from commercial farmers for sires raised under natural veld conditions rather than pampered in stalls. The ideal remains rams and bulls bred and reared in the same environment where their offspring are expected to thrive.

Back to nature, or not?

Unfortunately, “going back to nature” is not always straightforward. A classic example is the Angora goat, which is highly sensitive to cold, wet weather for up to a month after shearing, especially if it is already in poor body condition due to drought-related malnutrition. Some flocks are naturally hardier and therefore less at risk, but given current mohair prices, it would be foolhardy for an Angora farmer not to take extra precautions. This includes providing supplementary feed when necessary and keeping shorn goats in camps with ample natural shelter, close to a rainproof shed in case of sudden weather changes.

Similarly, investors in high-value game would be unwise not to secure them with proper fencing and ensure their wellbeing, even if this means raising them outside their natural habitat and potentially compromising their offspring’s ability to fend for themselves.

So where is the extensive livestock industry heading? Perhaps climate change – bringing hotter, drier summers – combined with the relentless squeeze on input costs signals a shift towards larger farms stocked with hardy, low-maintenance animals that can thrive on the veld rather than more intensive systems reliant on bagged feed.

The future may depend on what consumers are prepared to pay for food and fibre, and perhaps, to a lesser extent, on what discerning shoppers consider to be sufficiently “natural” or “farm-fresh”. In either case, a farmer can only continue producing a product as long as it remains profitable. The decision may come down to producing expensive niche products for the wealthy, or standard, more affordable products for mass-market consumers who may not be as concerned about the traceability of agricultural products.