AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Retail butcheries and supermarkets are increasingly demanding younger carcasses as the meat is more tender, and consumers want a certain amount of fat covering the carcass.
It is therefore crucial for the communal livestock farmer to follow three steps:
- Use the correct meat-type breeding genetics.
- Ensure your livestock is in good body condition when marketing. This is achieved more easily and cheaply through good veld or cropland management than by buying expensive bagged feed or lucerne/grass bales.
- Institute proper animal health regimens such as an annual vaccination programme, dipping for external parasites, and dosing for internal parasites.
