Identification of the feed supplements commonly utilised by communal beef cattle farmers during the dry season at Ga-Matlala, Limpopo province

Abstract

A survey was carried out to identify the feed supplements commonly utilised by communal beef cattle farmers and investigate knowledge and perception of farmers on the feed supplement during the dry season in Ga-Matlala, whether they assess the feed supplements before feeding to cattle and their perception on how they affect cattle. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a total of 59 cattle farmers from three rural villages (Phofu, Phetole and Madietane) in the Ga-Matlala area using a snowball sampling technique. In the studied area, males outnumbered females, with the majority aged 55 and older. The majority of respondents were cattle owners with 16 years or more of farming experience. Secondary school was the most frequently reported educational background, followed by primary school whereas 20.3% of respondents never attended school. The most common cattle breed owned was Nguni, while Afrikaner was the second most common breed. More than 50% of respondents reported releasing cattle in the morning and returning late to provide them with feed supplements and water. The majority of respondents were using feed supplements during the dry season, and the most feed supplements that were identified in the study areas are lucerne hay and maize stover. Lucerne hay and maize stover were the most commonly used and acceptable supplementary feeds during the dry season. The major reasons for feeding cattle with lucerne hay and maize stover were reported to be weight gain and average weight gain of cattle, respectively. The majority of farmers reported that they do not assess the quality of supplementary feeds especially those who supplement with lucerne hay. However, the remaining percentage of farmers assesses the quality of lucerne hay by checking the moisture content and moulds in the feed supplements. It is thus concluded that there is a need for more knowledge and information on the overall quality of the locally available dry season supplementary feeds for enhancing productivity in communal areas.