by Lori Milner

When your laptop or phone begins to slow down to the point of unbearable speed, a wave of terror takes over you. You have horrifying visions of being without your precious device for a few hours. The good news is the simplest solution is often the most effective. Most likely, once you restart the device, it will work again perfectly. It’s the same with you. No matter what work you do or where you are in your career, you also feel as if your operating system is not functioning at its maximum capacity.

What can you do to press your internal reset button so you can start operating at your optimal level again? Like most things in life, if you want a better answer, ask a better question. Here are seven questions to ask yourself to press reset and reboot yourself.

What are your non-negotiables?

What did you learn from 2020 that you are no longer willing to tolerate? Is it that you refuse not to get a genuine lunch break, eaten on a plate and not hovering over a Tupperware in front of your computer? Whatever it is for you, learn from the experience and begin to block out your calendar with designated slots for lunch or planning time. Label the meeting ‘Touch base with EXCO’ so no one else can question the meeting and get into your diary. After all, you are the executive committee!

How can you become the architect of your calendar rather than the victim of it?

What does an ideal average day look like for you? I intentionally said an average day because you are on track to a great work week if you can get these days right. What time are you waking up, what self-care activities do you enjoy, what time do you start your workday and finish it? How do you spend your evenings?

Now ask yourself how you can become the architect of your calendar rather than the victim of it. If you have spent the last year telling yourself that you will go for a run after work, but when the time comes, you collapse onto the couch with a glass of wine and Netflix because you are exhausted, then it’s time to review this strategy.

If this is the case, figure out how you can do things differently. Perhaps you need to schedule the walk at 11 a.m. or find a way to do your telephonic meetings while walking? If you do not prioritise your day, everyone else is going to.

How can you create strategic pauses?

Recovery is not something that happens only on weekends or when you take some leave. How can you reframe recovery to a strategic pause?

How can you schedule 15–20-minute breaks intentionally in your diary so you can press the reset button before each meeting? If you are crashing in the late afternoon, you are not consistently recharging throughout the day.

The research shows taking a break every 50 minutes boosts productivity and energy. You can take a walk in the garden, stretch or get some water. Inserting strategic pauses is not only about managing your Zoom fatigue but visual fatigue too.

How can you digest what happened in the meeting if you are rushing from one activity to the next? How can you strategically think through the next steps or generate innovative solutions when you are not running at your optimal capacity?

This is different from being distracted as it is planned out in advance. If you are working and then decide to go down the YouTube rabbit hole to escape, this is not recovery as you are riddled with guilt. But when you have a planned distraction, you can enjoy it and get the full benefits.

How can you convert your to-do list into a to-feel list?

How about ditching the to-do list for a to-feel list? Ask yourself, how do I want to feel at the end of each day? Overwhelmed, fatigued, stressed? Or how about grateful, energised and content?

The difference between how you want to feel and how you currently feel lies in your calendar. If you want to feel more relaxed, show me the corresponding mindfulness activity. If you want to feel more positive, show me where you are making time for personal growth?

You can take it further and create a to-be list. Who do you want to become? How do you want to show up for yourself, your team and your loved ones? How do you want them to remember you? Again, the answer lies in the activities you plan in your calendar.

You may be feeling that you have no energy because you are not showing up on the calendar. The fear is that making time for yourself means you will have less space for everything else, but the truth is that self-care is self-leadership. When you are charged from the inside out, you can better serve at the highest levels.

What is your oxygen mask?

I’m sure you know the cliché — in the case of an emergency on an aeroplane, always grab your oxygen mask first before you can help someone else. What’s the equivalent of your oxygen mask? What activity do you need to fill your energy tank instantly? It is often something creative that allows your mind to focus on everything else except work. Is it music, tennis, swimming, riding, painting, baking, scrapbooking, photography? You fill in the blank.

Then go back to the strategic pauses and figure out where to create time for this activity in your day. If daily is not an option, how about dedicating time on a Wednesday from 3:30 p.m.? Something in the middle of the week that you can look forward to? 

Equally, create space for this activity on a weekend so you can begin Monday fully energised. How can you structure pockets of time in the week that you can look forward to? The anticipation of the activity is often more energising than the activity itself.

Do you have a powerful vision of your future self?

A powerful way to press reset is by creating an inspiring vision of your future self. If you can see your future self and your current self as two separate people, you will begin to make decisions in your own best interest. Perhaps you aren’t in the mood for the walk, but in order for the future you to have high levels of vitality, current you needs to suck it up and get moving.

Viewing your future self as a fundamentally different person allows you to think about what they would want.

Some questions to create clarity for your future self include:

• What does your life look like?

• What do you look like?

• What does your environment look like?

• Who are the main people in your life, and on your team?

• What types of clients or people are you working with?

• What is the overall experience you’re having?

• What does your typical day look like?

• How much money are you making?

• What is important to you?

• Where is your focus?

Remember, your job right now is not to determine how any of this stuff will happen. Your first job is to get clarity on your vision. The more accurate your vision is, the more evident and easy it is to plan your daily, weekly and monthly goals.

Don’t define yourself by your past experiences but instead ask yourself, ‘what are some exciting future experiences I want to have?’ Perhaps it is a travel goal, a relationship goal, something you want to achieve in business, a legacy you want to leave? Think big.

Now that you have clarity on where you want to go, start by taking action. What are three things you can do in the next week to start the process? Perhaps it is investing in new skills? How can you begin today?

Do you have a sense of fulfillment in your work?

Part of planning for your future self is to be clear on what you want and to realise that success without fulfilment is not a true achievement.

Perhaps you have realised the work you are doing now isn’t giving you the fulfilment you are after.

Beth Kempton, the author of Wabi-Sabi, suggests you pose these questions to invite a different kind of career journey:

• What needs to be different by this time next year for me to thrive in my work?

• How would I like to describe myself a year from now?

• How would I like to describe my home a year from now?

• How would I like to describe my work-life a year from now?

• How would I like to describe my finances a year from now?

• What would I like to have created a year from now?

• How would I like to describe my headspace a year from now?

When your work is linked to purpose and contribution, something that is bigger than yourself, you will feel a deep sense of drive, motivation and energy.

Final thoughts.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” ― Anne Lamott

Pressing the restart button does not need to mean a drastic change. It is updating your software for a smoother operating experience. It begins with a simple set of questions:

What are your non-negotiables?

How can you become the architect of your calendar rather than the victim of it?

How can you create strategic pauses?

How can you convert your to-do list into a to-feel list?

What is your oxygen mask?

Do you have a powerful vision of your future self?

Do you have a sense of fulfilment in your work?

What is the question that resonated with you the most and begin there?

What is one small action you can do today to live more congruently with your future self? Equally, what is one action you will stop doing so you can move into alignment with the energy you want to generate?

As author and Strategic coach Dan Sullivan says:

“The only way to make your present better is to make your future bigger”.

Here’s to pressing restart,

Warm wishes

Lori

From humble beginnings with little more than the clothes on her back and ten cattle, Loretta Visagie has built a healthy diversified farming business in under a decade. She has two outstanding character traits that have made this seemingly impossible story possible: She never gives up and she actively seeks out opportunities to learn about farming and to network with others. Loretta had a dream and she tells African Farming’s Peter Mashala about how she turned that dream into a reality on her farm, Kings Farming Cooperative.

Loretta Visagie arrived on her farm in Klipkop in 2013 with ten cattle that health inspectors had told her to remove from the backyard of her house in Springs township, east of Johannesburg. She had no car, no tractor, and not a single farming implement. But what she did have was a dream to farm.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform had allocated Loretta a government-owned farm to lease and when she went to look at the land, she found there was nothing there except an old farmhouse. Undaunted, she asked her children to fetch her bed and some blankets so that she could move in immediately.

“My kids were shocked that I wanted to stay and worried about me sleeping here alone in a strange place where I knew no one,” says Loretta.

In the nine years that have followed, she has built up a mixed farming operation that she hopes to leave to her children, Natasha King and Adel Visagie, and to her grandson, Tyreek Visagie, who lives on the farm with his mother. Loretta’s partner, John Lushaba, also lives on the farm.

The farm has 332ha of maize and soya beans, 140 cattle, 145 mixed breed sheep, 38 pigs and 5ha of vegetables. But no matter how far she has come, Loretta says farming is never easy. “When I got here there were no implements, no machinery, no fences and no infrastructure. It took three years before I could start doing anything meaningful,” she says. “And still, every day comes with its own challenges. We’ve had drought, we’ve had veld fires, and we’ve had stock theft.”

FINDING HER FARM

Loretta was born and raised in the Eastern Cape living with her grandfather, who was a communal farmer. “In those times we used horses to round up our cattle,” she says.

In 1981 she moved to Johannesburg and settled in Springs township where she set up and ran small businesses. Soon she was speculating with cattle, temporarily housing the animals she bought at auction in her backyard. “I bought cattle and sold them to people in the township for various occasions. I also raised calves and sold them as weaners,” explains Loretta. There would be 10 animals or more in her backyard at any one time.

Then her neighbours started complaining about the flies and the health authorities told her to remove the animals. Loretta approached the local council for a piece of land and was given a plot just outside the residential area. But it was still too close and the complaints continued.

The saleyard is a great place for networking and in 2013 while at an auction, Loretta was sharing her problems with other sellers when she was overheard by a woman who worked for the Germiston-based office of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. This lady told her to apply for a government farm through the land reform programme.

“Until that moment I didn’t know there was such a thing as government farms but the following Monday I was on the train to Pretoria. I arrived at the department, filled in my application and handed it over to an official,” explains Loretta.

Not content to leave things to others, she kept phoning the department to see whether there was any progress on her case. But there was a long list of people who had applied for land and she was told she would have to wait. Eventually Loretta went back to the department. “I hadn’t made an appointment and I had to wait the whole day to see the director,” she says. After that meeting Loretta was invited to an interview. It went well and got her the approval she needed.

Weeks later a call came through to let her know there was a farm available for her. “The lady on the phone said they had found a farm for me but that it was in Vereeniging, far from Springs,” recalls Loretta. “At that point, I didn’t care where it was. I told her I’ll take it.” She met the department’s officials on the farm the next day.

THE WAY FORWARD

When Loretta moved to the farm, she had only the ten cows she had brought from Springs. “I didn’t have a single agricultural implement. I woke up every morning with my pliers to fix the fence where it was broken,” she laughs.

She carried on speculating with cattle to bring some cash in, buying her animals from a saleyard in Randfontein and selling them at one in Springs. She made a conscious effort to introduce herself to her neighbours, which was how she met Amos Njoro, her first mentor. “Amos was my saviour. He helped me apply for the recapitalisation programme funds that I got in 2016,” explains Loretta.

The recap money funded the purchase of second-hand tractors and implements and she started planting. With Amos’ help, Loretta planted 143ha of dryland maize and got her personal best yield of 7t/ha. She increased the hectares planted to maize every year and by 2019 she had 300ha planted to maize.

Many of those seasons were spent in trial- and-error learning. “Some years I would make money, some years I would just break even, and there were times when I made losses,” explains Loretta.

She says poor cash flow makes planting, and building up a herd, difficult. “When you farm grain, the money comes in once a year. There were times when I would run out of money and couldn’t pay my workers. I was struggling with cash flow, and I knew I could not go on like that,” says Loretta.

SAB STEPS IN TO HELP

One of her small businesses in Springs was a tavern and through this, she had interacted with South African Breweries (SAB) and was also a shareholder in the SAB Zenzele share scheme. “I always read their information brochures and I came across information about SAB’s empowerment programmes.”

She approached SAB to help her establish a vegetable production unit and was approved for a grant to set up vegetable farming under shade nets. “SAB helped me put in an irrigation system, pump station, packhouse and 3ha under shade netting,” she adds.

The company also hired an experienced manager and general workers who were paid from a budget allocated to her.

“I was lucky because the empowerment scheme had a holistic approach to its support strategy,” she says.

Loretta’s main crop is spinach, which the farm supplies to Boxer Supermarkets, Harvest Fresh and hawkers. They also grow broccoli and cabbage on request from Harvest Fresh. “We plan our vegetable production to ensure that we have crops throughout the year to supply the market,” she says.

“After we have ripped, disced and made the seedbeds, we put down kraal manure before planting.” Loretta applies 2.3.2 fertiliser two days after planting, and two weeks later she puts down LAN (nitrogen, calcium and magnesium). The spraying programme depends on the pests and diseases that are prevalent at the time. “We scout for insects every week to help us decide when and what to spray for,” she explains.

Spinach is an easy crop, says Loretta. Harvesting starts from six to eight weeks after planting and continues for at least three months. The farm had contracts to supply Spar and Pick n Pay but lost them after months of covid-19 lockdowns. They now have new challenges due to the heavy recent rains.

MAIZE AND SOYA BEAN PRODUCTION

The rains have also affected this season’s grain production with only 200ha planted to maize and soya beans. “This is the first time I’ve planted less than 76ha to soya beans and only 120ha to maize,” she says.

Loretta says although she’s planted a smaller area, she is hoping for a good harvest because of the higher-than-average rainfall. Her maize yields have fluctuated between 4t/ha and 7t/ha in past seasons, and she hopes for yields of at least 6t/ha this season.

The maize is sold to Senwes and Afgri Silos, with a portion kept back for on-farm use in animal feed. “We buy concentrates and mix our own sheep and cattle feed,” she says.

Engaged in continuous learning, Loretta says access to training and short courses in agriculture helps her improve her skills. Over the years, she has done courses in farm management, livestock production, maize production and broiler production.

“Training teaches you how to handle a challenge. To some extent you can rely on knowledge and experience passed down through the generations, but training is incredibly valuable,” she says.

Emmanuel Mudau, of Mathuba Genetics in Limpopo, had his first brush with genetics during his childhood when he bred and reared pigeons as a hobby. Deliberate selection for colour traits in the birds gave Emmanuel an early opportunity to experiment with genetics. Years later, in 2016, Emmanuel joined a group of three other farmers and they started a genetics project breeding what became the Bosvelder sheep. He is the former founding deputy president of the Indigenous Veld Goat Breeders Society and the current founding deputy president of the Bosvelder Sheep Breeders Society.   

It is difficult to farm livestock profitably in Limpopo. The province, in South Africa’s northernmost regions, is known for its very hot summers and recurring droughts and is an area where various species of disease-vectoring ticks thrive.

“To survive these areas, one needs highly adaptable, heat tolerant, disease resistant, fertile animals,” says Emmanuel. In a search for the right animal, Emmanuel farmed breeds such as the Dorper, the Pedi and the Damara, none of which gave him the desired outcome. After some years, Emmanuel, originally from Tshiozwi village outside Makhado, found what he was looking for in the Bosvelder sheep, the Indigenous Veld Goat, and Savanna goats, all of which he now farms at stud on communal land in Rahele, Tshiozwi’s neighbouring village. 

In 2011 after a few years of farming indigenous goats, Emmanuel started running  Pedi and Damara sheep. “I swapped two indigenous goats for two Pedi sheep with a community member who wanted to farm goats,” he recalls. In 2012 he bought a few Damara sheep and began to breed them. But he battled with the Damaras for years as they could not adapt to the environment.

Although I had high mortalities in the Damara sheep, the Pedi sheep, on the other hand, were doing very well,” says Emmanuel. The problem with the Pedi sheep he explains is the low meat production. “My customers wanted sheep with more meat, and Pedi sheep just don’t deliver on that end.”

By this time, Emmanuel had started attending study group meetings and farmers’ days organised by established breeders. In these groups he met three other breeders, Theo Hoffman, Craig Watson and Ruddette Nel, who faced the same challenges in their sheep and were looking at ways of solving the problem.  

The Bosvelder 

In 2016, the four farmers started a project to experiment with three breeds which they hoped would give them better results. Emmanuel says some of the farmers had been trying to improve Pedi sheep by using Meatmaster rams but this had not been a successful exercise. The four-man team decided to breed a three-way cross using, Pedis, Dorpers and Van Rooys. Emmanuel says Pedi sheep are among the hardiest sheep in the world.

“It is hardy, disease-resistant, drought and heat tolerant and highly fertile. It has been around, and has survived, the harshest conditions of the north for many years,” says Emmanuel. They chose the Dorper for its meat production.

“No other breed can compete with the Dorper on meat production and quality,” he adds. The Van Rooy was put into the cross for good udders and high milk production. “The Van Rooy also has a big frame which means it can carry more meat,” he says.

He says they are in their seventh year of building this breed and so far, so good. They are also in the process of registering the Bosvelder officially as a local breed. “We are working with the Agricultural Research Council and the Tshwane University of Technology who are still conducting tests and research,” explains Emmanuel.

Natural selection and production

Emmanuel says the Bosvelder is a functionally efficient breed that does not need a lot of attention. “Our sheep are run on the veld and remain highly productive with minimum effort, low input costs, and reduced physical labour inputs,” he explains. “If an animal does not survive on its own in the veld, it is useless,” says Emmanuel. “I let nature do my selection.” 

As they are in a heartwater area, only animals that are resistant to the disease are kept on the farm. “All the animals have been exposed to heartwater and have built up immunity; I do not vaccinate against heartwater,” he says. Emmanuel’s animals often carry ticks which has not been a problem. He treats his animals for heartwater once but culls them if they need a second treatment. 

Working rams are put into smaller camps where they get a high-energy supplementary feed and trace minerals (Ovimin) to maintain energy, libido and testosterone levels. “I run them in a very small camp so that they don’t lose a lot of energy roaming around when they have to serve ewes,” he explains. Emmanuel does not have a strict breeding season and runs rams with the ewes year-round. Non-working rams run in larger camps and the same principles apply to the goat flocks. 

Emmanuel says he focused on indigenous breeds because he wanted to farm with nature. He tries to avoid using drugs and chemicals on his animals. They get an annual Multivax P Plusin vaccine for dysentery, pasteurella, pulpy kidney, tetanus, blackleg/black quarter and clostridial metritis.

“We don’t vaccinate our sheep for tick-borne diseases. If you walk around the kraals, you may see that some of the animals have ticks on them and they are fine. That is what you need as a farmer, you must farm profitable, low maintenance animals,” he explains. “I don’t dose animals for internal parasites.” 

Animal nutrition

Emmanuel says nutrition is the catalyst for a profitable livestock farming operation. “Good nutrition means ensures a strong immune system and high fertility. If your animals are not getting a properly balanced diet, you will have problems,” he explains.

At Mathuba Genetics animals get a homemade supplementary feed in winter when the veld is dry, and the nutritional value of the grass has deteriorated. He mixes hominy chop, macadamia residue, beans, crushed yellow maize, and sunflower, with molasses which adds energy. “Sometimes when we don’t have macadamia residue we use peanut residue,” he says. The animals are fed in the afternoon when they come back from grazing. “About 50kg is enough for 50 ewes,” he adds.

There is little supplementary feeding in summer when the veld is green, and grass and leafy browse has high nutritional value. Only pregnant and lactating ewes are fed supplement to grow healthy lambs and boost their milk production. He says he feeds out licks when he sees animal body condition dipping which happens very rarely. 

Emmanuel says having good genetics in his flock is non-negotiable. He judges genetic excellence on fertility, mothering ability, conception rate, hardiness and disease resistance. Emmanuel breeds for breeders with the aim of helping to build the national herd by putting excellent quality genes on the market, particularly for black farmers.

“Without quality animals, commercial farmers producing for slaughter won’t have the quality to build their herds and supply the market,” explains Emmanuel. A profitable line for Emmanuel is the ‘starter packs’, consisting of five ewes and one ram, which he sells to emerging farmers at prices from R18 000 to R35 000 per ‘pack’. 

Sheep farmers should have weaned their lambs by 100 days and with poor quality genetics this may not be possible. He warns that ewes with low milk production will not be able to wean their lambs in good time.

A good eye for selection is as important as understanding the genetic traits he says advising breeders to keep careful records. Emmanuel has a four-year-old ram, Longrich, which he and a friend bred. “I have made close to R400 000 from this ram’s offspring, selling his sons as breeding rams at prices between R15 000 and R25 000 each,” Emmanuel explains.

“If I were to sell Longrich today, with the records I have kept, he would sell for a very good price. The records tell their own story.” On a more cautionary note Emmanuel says genetic progress does not happen overnight but is a long journey of hard work in selecting the right animals and building a profile and reputation. “In this game, reputation is everything. Once people start knowing and trusting you, it is easy to sell your animals,” he says. 

A LIFE WITH INDIGENOUS LIVESTOCK

Emmanuel Mudau traces his love for indigenous breeds to the weekends he spent with his dad, Daniel Mudau who took care of livestock at the Schoemansdal Museum in Makhado, previously Louis Trichardt, in Limpopo.

Before its demise post 1994, the Schoemansdal Museum showcased Voortrekker household items, farm implements, and irrigation systems; it was better known for its efforts to preserve indigenous animal breeds such as Nguni goats, Afrikaner and Nguni cattle, Pedi sheep and Kolbroek pigs. “I spent the weekends helping and playing with young sheep and goats. Even my current kraal designs are from my faint childhood memory of the museum’s animal section,” explains Emmanuel. 

After matric Emmanuel worked as a security guard for about three months but left to help a family friend who worked at a furniture shop. “He employed me privately to help him because he was not literate and couldn’t read and write. I did the reading and writing for him, and he paid me about R400 a month,” recalls Emmanuel. When the shop managers noticed this and how it helped to improve the man’s performance, Emmanuel was offered a permanent job at the store. Later, he was transferred to another branch in Turfloop where he worked from 2006 to 2010. 

In 2010 he resigned and cashed his pension money of about R9 000 to buy his first four goats. “I got three ewes and a ram which I kept in my backyard at home in Tshiozwi. The goats were doing well and kidding at a rapid rate,” he says. The same year, he sold 15 sheep for one of his father’s colleagues with an agreement that he would make a commission on every animal sold. “I sold the sheep within a few days, except for four pregnant ewes. After paying me my commission, he gave me the four pregnant ewes,” says Emmanuel. 

At the time he wasn’t keen on sheep so after they had lambed, he swapped the sheep for eight goats to grow his goat flock. Emmanuel’s dad was very supportive of his farming venture and helped him out financially. “He gave me half his salary and every time I got this money, I would buy a goat,” he remembers. Soon his flock was too big for the backyard and in 2011 Emmanuel approached the Ravhele village chief who gave him permission to use a bigger space outside the village.

That year, Emmanuel was approached by someone who had Boer goats and no longer wanted them. “He saw what I was doing and offered to sell me all his goats. I had no money to buy them, but he insisted and arranged payment over a period,” he says. Unfortunately, all the Boer goats died. “My indigenous goats were thriving and this is when I realised that I had to stick with the indigenous breeds,” says Emmanuel. 

Apart from the preservation of the indigenous Mbuzi goat as part of agricultural history, the goats also have excellent commercial value. They are highly adaptable, drought resistant with excellent maternal ability, requiring minimal inputs, says Emmanuel.

“They raise their kids on the veld and can walk long distances and survive even on poor quality veld,” he explains. Emmanuel says the breed was formally registered in South Africa a few years ago by himself, Lourens Erasmus and Joel Mamabolo. The Indigenous Veld Goat Society was registered in 2020 and now has a little more than 50 members. 

“We also have Savanna goats that do very well here although they are primarily from the Northern Cape,” he says. Emmanuel keeps indigenous chickens which are very popular in the market. 

Dr Mpho Maja, director of animal health at the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, recently expressed her concern over animal disease outbreaks in South Africa. This serious problem is not limited to the livestock sector – some of the diseases are zoonotic, which means they can be transmitted to people. 

Commercial and communal farmers are affected by various disease outbreaks but the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) does offer assistance, according to Dr Mpho Maja. “There are foot soldiers on the ground – animal health technicians and veterinarians – advising farmers how to manage, prevent and treat disease in their herds [and flocks],” she says. 

Efforts to stop the spread of highly infectious diseases focus on limiting movement and where possible on vaccination campaigns. In some cases, such as the lethal virus that causes African swine fever, there is no vaccine. That means implementing effective biosecurity is the only appropriate measure. 

To stop the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), DALRRD has restricted animal movement from disease management areas and launched vaccination campaigns in infected areas. Minister of Agriculture Thoko Didiza says the illegal movement of cattle from infected zones to disease-free zones has caused the spread of FMD and urges all farmers to comply with livestock movement restrictions and regulations.

Vaccines against brucellosis, or contagious abortion (CA), are affective and available, yet there are ongoing and increasingly widespread outbreaks of CA, which has a very damaging effect on productivity. 

There is no substitute for a good biosecurity programme on a farm, but closing the herd or flock is sometimes seen as a solution to keeping animals disease-free during outbreaks. Some farmers erect a double fence where they are not certain of the neighbouring farm’s biosecurity, but this is not possible for communal livestock farmers, who must find other ways of keeping their livestock safe.

Dr Maja urges farmers to consider food safety at all times and to observe the correct withdrawal times (for milk and meat) after they have treated animals. 

For more information, visit vleissentraal.co.za