Good management is crucial for any pork producer who wants to farm profitably. The ultimate goal of a breeding herd is to produce as many weaned pigs per breeding female as possible - per year and over her lifetime on the farm. Dr Peter Evans, a veterinarian, says this should…
The success of a pig production business depends on selecting the correct breed. Simon Streicher, former CEO of the South African Pork Producers Association, tells us what to look out for. Producers starting out with a new pork production unit have to buy breeding stock. And this has to be…
Question: What are the benefits of artificial insemination (AI) and how is it done? Joël Kotzé from Taurus, an AI company, sums up the benefits: “Dairies don’t use bulls. Imagine a bull among 200 cows… In beef cattle farming AI is normally only used for the top 20% of the…
Breeding to improve animal production entails the upgrading or improvement of a breed in respect of specific characteristics. An expert explains how to do this. Animals that have poor characteristics shouldn’t be used for breeding, but those that have good characteristics should be retained as parents for the next generation of…
