Knowing what to do is not enough to build a successful veld-based livestock business. The difference increasingly lies in whether farmers can identify the few management actions that matter most, measure them and execute them with precision, says Herdscape.
By Maile Matsimela, digital editor at African Farming
“The profitability of a veld-based livestock system is not created by doing more; it is created by doing the right things at the right time,” Herdscape says.
Importantly, those “right things” will not necessarily remain the same from one season to another. Rainfall, forage growth, animal requirements and markets are constantly changing. Herdscape therefore argues that livestock management must adapt rather than rely on fixed practices or assumptions.
Carrying capacity is not fixed
One of Herdscape’s central messages is that farmers should match stocking rates to actual forage production rather than simply relying on historical or benchmark carrying-capacity figures.
Carrying capacity should not be viewed as a fixed number. It is influenced by rainfall effectiveness and how farmers manage stock density, grazing periods and plant recovery. “The question is not how many animals the farm can carry annually, but how many animals the veld can support today without compromising recovery and forage supply tomorrow,” Herdscape says.
Overstocking can reduce plant recovery and future forage production, while understocking means productive capacity is not being fully used. Herdscape says the objective should therefore not be to maximise animal numbers, but to optimise the amount of product sold per hectare over many years.
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Leave grass behind
Another important principle is resisting the temptation to graze veld too severely during the growing season.
Herdscape describes residual grass after grazing as “biological capital”, rather than wasted feed. Standing biomass protects the soil against temperature extremes, improves rainfall infiltration, supports soil organisms and leaves enough leaf material for plants to resume photosynthesis after grazing.
Plants must also be given sufficient time to recover before animals return.
Recovery is about more than visible regrowth of individual plants, says Herdscape. Farmers should consider whether the wider plant community has recovered sufficiently to maintain species diversity, strengthen root systems and improve resilience during dry periods.
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Budget forage like money
Herdscape encourages livestock farmers to make forage budgeting a core management discipline.
“Forage should be budgeted in the same way as cash,” it says. This means estimating available feed, rainfall-driven forage growth, the amount of residual biomass that needs to remain and the number of grazing days available before making management decisions.
Doing this shifts grazing management from reacting after a problem has developed to planning ahead. Farmers should also establish trigger points that tell them when conditions require a change.
Poor cumulative rainfall, declining residual biomass, falling animal condition, reduced forage availability or reproductive risk should trigger decisions around stocking rates, grazing pressure, supplementation or marketing before the situation develops into a crisis.
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Three drivers of livestock profitability
Herdscape identifies three major drivers currently determining much of the profitability of an extensive livestock enterprise:
- stocking rate per hectare
- reproductive performance
- gross margin per animal
Stocking rate influences how much product can ultimately be sold from each hectare, while reproductive performance determines biological efficiency.
Conception rates and weaning percentages are therefore critical. Nutrition, body condition, animal health and the timing of management interventions all influence whether females reproduce successfully.
As Herdscape puts it: “Every empty female represents lost production that cannot be recovered.”
The third driver is gross margin per unit. Feed, supplements, veterinary products and other purchased inputs should produce measurable positive returns. Herdscape argues the more nutrition farmers can obtain from productive veld, the less dependent they become on purchased inputs and the greater the potential gross margin.
Also read: Five performance indicators every livestock farmer should track
Find the weakest link first
Herdscape reduces the basic profit equation to:
Profit = Turnover – Direct costs – Overheads
The important management question is therefore: Which of these is currently holding the business back? Farmers should ask whether turnover is too low, overheads are too high or gross margin per animal is inadequate.
Herdscape advises farmers to identify and address this weakest link first, rather than spending time and money improving areas that are not currently limiting profitability.
Management before genetics
Herdscape also challenges the tendency to look towards genetics or supplementary feeding before addressing basic management constraints.
Genetic improvement remains important, but where reproduction, nutrition, grazing management and animal production are limiting performance, Herdscape says the greatest gains are likely to come from improving management first.
Supplementation should similarly complement veld production rather than compensate for poor grazing management. Well-managed veld should supply most of the nutrients required by grazing livestock, with strategic supplementation correcting seasonal deficiencies.
Source: This article is based on technical information and guidance provided by Herdscape. For more information on regenerative grazing, livestock management and Herdscape’s training programmes, visit Herdscape or contact them on frontdesk@herdscape.co.za or 083 781 3441.
Also read:
The cattle farmer’s manual | Plenty of grass, thin cows: What’s going wrong?
The cattle farmer’s manual | Why protein is the key to winter grazing success
The cattle farmer’s manual | Supplementation is an investment, not an expense
