Many farming areas in Namibia have received above-average rainfall compared to previous seasons.

The productivity of some rangelands has improved in some areas, although the quality of the grazing materials is still not the finest.

However, the animals’ body condition is good enough. It is important to note that the quantity and quality of available grazing materials directly affect livestock endurance until the next rainy season.

To this end, the next rainy season cannot be predicted with certainty, as information or warnings about a possible El Niño effect are being reported.

Thus, farmers need to continuously ensure that the survival and performance of their livestock are not compromised by maintaining favourable health and nutritional conditions.

The normal dry season is characterised by two adverse conditions, namely dry-cold and dry-hot, which threaten livestock health, nutrition, and reproductive performance.

Hence, livestock management approaches should be proactively responsive to prevailing environmental conditions.

Regarding nutritional supplementation, livestock require a sufficient supply of nutrients throughout the year in response to seasonal changes in rangeland conditions and in their own physiological demands.

Grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep are the most vulnerable to nutritional deficiency, especially mineral deficiencies, because soil mineral concentrations, especially in sandy areas, are beyond the root zone for uptake.

During the rainy season or the summer months, focus has been on mineral supplementation, with greater emphasis on phosphorus, as it is deficient in soils. Phosphorus plays a vital role in metabolic functions, among others, especially when animal feed intake is higher.

Tips 

As winter approaches, the grasses stop growing and enter a period of dormancy, during which nutrients are relocated and stored in the root system as reserves for regrowth in the next season.

During this time, grass dries up, sheds seeds, and in the process, vitamin A and much of the protein are lost. Therefore, farmers need to inoculate their animals with vitamin A and provide protein supplements.

One of the ingredients used in the winter supplements is urea, as it enhances the digestion of dry forage materials by increasing the population and activity of the rumen microorganisms responsible for digestion in ruminant animals.

Later in the dry season, especially from August, the animal’s energy demand increases as the grass plants become depleted, scarcer, or grazed to the maximum.

Thus, energy supplements need to be added to the protein supplements, and in certain cases, especially when there is a shortage of grazing, roughage feeds or hay will be needed to fill the rumen. Since many farmers have planted crops, they can cheaply use processed crop residues as dry-season feed supplements.

For example, residues from beans, maize, mahangu and other crops. Further, forage materials such as camelthorn pods, grass, and cultivated pasture plants such as lucerne, lab-lab, salt bush, etc. can form part of the farm fodder flow plan as feed resources each year.

Winter is also the period when goats and sheep reproduce in some kraals. This is a critical period that requires extra effort and care to ensure that births proceed smoothly and that the lambs and kids survive.

Challenges 

The most significant challenge for the lambs and kids is to survive the cold winter months; thus, farmers need to construct shelters to keep the newborns warm.

These include houses, pits for digging, and enclosures covered with heat-trapping materials such as black plastic sheets, among others. Cold conditions can also cause respiratory distress or infections, mainly pneumonia (Pasteurellosis).

Thus, the mothers must already have been vaccinated to pass immunity to the young through milk (colostrum) at least in the first month, or the young can be vaccinated at least at two weeks of age if the mothers were not vaccinated during gestation/pregnancy.

In addition, the lambs and kids need sufficient milk and creep feeds to generate heat to keep warm and maintain optimal growth.

Therefore, their mothers (ewes and does) need sufficient quality feeds to produce sufficient milk for the young.

Another challenge for the young ones will be parasites such as mites, fleas, and lice.

These parasites compromise the health and growth potential of lambs and kids; thus, they need to be controlled. One of the recommended methods of controlling such parasites is by dipping the young ones into an antiparasitic dip solution.

Furthermore, dirty (e.g. dusty, excessive dung) kraals will also pose health risks such as respiratory and eye infections, and harboring of parasites.

A clean, healthy, and safe kraal environment plays a vital role in the survival of lambs and kids. Therefore, all potentially harmful conditions need to be eliminated.

In conclusion, your farm productivity depends on the animal, the environment, and your management.

A successful production cycle is one in which animals are born and raised to survive until they reproduce or are marketed for return on investment.

Therefore, farmers need to develop appropriate management plans that are responsive to the prevailing conditions in their production environments.

These include seasonal feed and water shortages, diseases, and parasite infestations, among others. Regular inspections will be needed to allow quick responses to any abnormalities or changes in livestock health and behaviour.

*Erastus Ngaruka is Agribank’s technical advisor on livestock and rangeland.