Pensioner Day Pictures14<strong>UNISWA</strong> News - October 2013
THE ROLE OF PLANTED PASTURES IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTIONBy Dr. G.Z. Khumalo“…He maketh me to lie downin green pastures.” We are allfamiliar with this Bible phrasefrom Psalms 23:2. We havealso had phrases like “leavingfor greener pastures.” What isspecial with green pastures?Why do we need plantedpastures?In this articlewe will briefly look at thecontribution of planted pastures in livestock production.As humans we utilise livestock and livestock productssuch as meat, milk, cheese and yoghurt. Unless we havepastures, we cannot have these in sufficient amounts.Quality pastures are the powerhouse of any livestockenterprise, whether it is a large commercial operationor a small landholding running limited numbers oflivestock. Healthy pastures mean healthy animals, animportant goal for landholders of any scale.In Swaziland we mainly use planted pastures in dairyproduction. Dairy farming plays an important role inthe production of milk and income generation. Milk isessential in both human nutrition and health; it consistsof 87% water and essential substances to man such asproteins of high biological value, carbohydrates, fats,all B-vitamins, vitamin A, calcium and phosphorus(Bayly, 2011; Mathewman, 1993). Mathewman (1993)referred to milk as a complement for all diets, thereforea valuable source of nutrient for growing children,convalescing adults, pregnant and lactating women andfor sick people as it sustains and nourishes the body. It isused in many recipes and made into milk products suchas cheese, yoghurt, and ice-cream.In Southern Africa including Swaziland, milk istraditionally either consumed raw or allowed to fermentnaturally or sometimes pasteurized prior to consumption(FAO, 1990; Masarirambi et al., 2009). The populationof dairy cows in the country is about 6323, and out ofthese, 474 cows are owned by smallholders that aredistributed in the Swazi Nation Land (SNL) (SwazilandDairy Board, 2009). The rest are kept by commercialmedium and large scale dairy farmers in Title DeedLand (TDL). These animals produce 9 million litres ofmilk in comparison to 56 million litres of milk that isrequired in the country annually and the deficit stands at48 million litres of milk (Swaziland Dairy Board, 2003).ogether with its poor quality resulting in lowproductivity of dairy animals (Premaratne, 2006). Inorder to maximise milk production, it is essential for thefarmer to feed his/her animals with high quality greenfodder. Thus it is necessary for a farmer to first securea well-established planted pasture. Planted pastures arevery important in the dairy industry; they provide forageduring periods of greatest food shortage in the forageflow programme and also high quality green forageduring winter months (Tainton, 2000).Establishment of pastures is costly, thus planted pasturesare used for high valued livestock products (milk).Although it is expensive to establish and maintainplanted pastures in terms of fertiliser and seed costsas well as fencing expenses, a farmer is rewarded withhigh quality product and returns. When compared tocommercial feeds (feed concentrates), pastures providea cheap source of feed for livestock. There are two broadtypes of pastures: natural and planted pastures. Naturalpastures or veld are usually found in areas which arenot suitable for crop production due to many factors, inparticular infertile soils, acid/alkaline soils, undesirabletopography, harsh climates. Hence, their yield andquality are often low. They cannot sustain high yieldinglivestock such as dairy cows. They usually supportlow demanding animals, e.g. beef, sheep, goats andwildlife. On the other hand, planted pastures are usuallyincorporated in cropping systems where conditionsare favourable in terms of rainfall, temperature, soil,topography, etc. Thus they usually compete with arablecrops. They are also expensive to maintain in termsof fertilisers, fences, etc. Hence high valued livestockproducts (milk) are needed for reasonable returns.Pastures are an integral part of dairy farming<strong>UNISWA</strong> News - October 2013 15