Interestingly, the responsible use of resources becomes even better if you are able to regenerate the basics of ecosystem functioning – the soil and the vegetation. In addition to the online guiding courses, Pieter Nel, the Senior Trainer in the department, cattle lover extraordinaire, and a fervent believer in Regenerative/Holistic/Planned Grazing has been busy researching and posting articles, case studies, examples and references on the WhatsApp group for the Eco-Rangers and trainers that have attended our Herding for Health programmes at SAWC.
The topics have included;
- Current affairs – the effects on COVID and lockdowns on the industrial beef production industry and the animal welfare and pollution fallout resulting
- Silage production – for our effort to harvest grass at SAWC and use it to help communities in the area
- Cattle breeding and the relative strengths of different native and imported bloodlines in how they are able to thrive on rangeland grazing
- Dung!!! And we quote “dung tells a story” about protein and nutrients and fibre and dietary supplements…
- Meat safety and the cattle meat industry
- Foot and mouth disease and its implications for holistic management and inclusive conservation and rangeland management
