As farming is an enterprise, just like any other, it is vital at this time of the year to look back and evaluate your steps during the course of the year. There are several questions to consider, and it is best to be honest in your approach when answering them as this will help you chart your way forward into the next year. Perhaps it would be of help if we segment these important questions into different pointers as follows:
Nutrition
How did you score on the nutrition side with your animals? Are they well- nourished? Do they look fit and market-ready? While this is an important aspect for any livestock farmer to consider, it is sadly not always the case. In this day and age, there are unfortunately still farmers who feed their livestock solely on veld grazing.
While grazing is vital for the development of any livestock, feeding sorely on it often disadvantages the farmer.
You would need to supplement the free-range grazing with fodder, licks or other forms of supplements that add to the bone and body structure, fitness and overall health of the animal. If you live in areas with limited or depleted grazing, it becomes even more paramount that you supplement such grazing.
Vaccination
Many times, farmers complain that cows are not producing at the desired rate, or that many of them are losing their calves at birth. Most of these are largely attributed to vaccination, or the lack thereof. Vaccination helps animals become healthy and immune to certain diseases, which builds antibodies to fight others.
Vaccines can prevent a wide range of diseases which can cause reduced production, fertility or death in cattle, and economic losses to producers. It, therefore, goes without saying that failure to follow a strict vaccination schedule for your animals is not only detrimental to your farming business, but is akin to shooting yourself in the foot.
Score yourself on this, and see if you can tick all the boxes on vital vaccines that should have been given to your animals. If there are gaping hopes on your vaccination charts, work harder in the coming year to make sure you perform better.
General upkeep
Whatever farming enterprise you are in, the healthy and decent upkeep of your livestock, poultry products or any other products that you farm with is central to profit-making, and the growth of your enterprise.
I have seen many farmers investing little or nothing in the infrastructure in their place of farming. Kraals are often full of dung; fences have holes; and animals spend a lot of their time either under the hot summer heat or in torrential falling rains due to weak infrastructure.
Kraals with dung give way to pests such as lice and ticks, and predators have easy access to your chickens if your enclosure is not fixed properly. Also, livestock exposed to extreme heat and cold become sick and eventually die, causing great losses which could have been avoided.
Make it a habit to monitor your livestock frequently to be able to detect illnesses or deformities of any kind in time. And most importantly, be involved. Be there.
Remember, it is what you inspect that gets done, and not what you expect. Be hands-on if you can, get involved, and never leave farming only to your herders or those who work on your farm.