Prepare for rainy season

Farmers must always be prepared for every rainy season as each presents unique challenges.

These include floods, lightning, heavy winds, cold, drought, disease and pest outbreaks, among numerous other potential problems.

Agribank’s technical advisor for livestock and rangeland management, Erastus Ngaruka, said livestock farmers need to keep abreast of climatic activities and information and prepare for every challenge that can arise during the rainy season.

He said farmers must maintain hygienic and safe environments for their animals to ensure that their welfare and performance are not compromised during the rainy season.



Changing patterns

Ngaruka said that every year has become spatially and temporarily unique in terms of the rainy season’s initiation, intensity, distribution and duration.

He said the previous rainy season provided much-needed relief for many livestock farmers in the country as the grazing capacity improved, although not optimally in terms of value.

At the same time, the density of unwanted plant species has increased as well.

Ngaruka said much of the forage yield from the previous grazing season was underutilised due to poor grazing value, and a significant number of grazing animals, especially cattle, were reduced during the drought years.

This has left a large amount of grass as fuel, which has intensified the impact of veld fires that can destroy large tracts of grazable land.

Veld fires have already been recorded in many areas around the country.

"As much as farmers always wish for a good rainy season to improve their grazing conditions, they must also be cautious of and prepare for the veld fire events at the end of the season."



Prepare optimally

Ngaruka said that to this end, it is very important that the rangelands are prepared to benefit from rainfall while ensuring that sufficient forage materials are preserved, protected and available until the next season.

Farmers need to adopt sustainable and restorative rangeland utilisation practices such as re-seeding with valuable perennial grasses, bush thinning, soil condition improvement and protection, prevention of soil erosion and sustainable grazing practices that could minimise the impact of fire while reserving grazing.

According to Ngaruka, with heavy showers predicted, farmers need to prepare and protect farm infrastructure and livestock from possible floods, especially in risky areas such as the northern parts of the country.

Farmers are advised to adopt techniques of harvesting rainwater and storing it for later use in gardens and other household needs, he said.

"On the other hand, moist environmental conditions also predispose the prevalence of insects such as mosquitoes, ticks and biting flies."



New life

These insects can transmit common diseases like lumpy skin disease, tick-borne diseases such as sweating sickness and gall sickness, among others.

He said that farmers need to vaccinate their animals.

"Like the previous rainy season, there will be a high prevalence of internal parasites, more especially the liver fluke among others."

Ngaruka explained that the liver fluke’s intermediate host is a snail, and as it moves around, it leaves it on the ground or in water.

He advised farmers to understand the seasonal prevalence of parasites and related symptoms such as itching, anaemia, bottle jaw, diarrhoea and running nose and to select the correct anthelmintics or antiparasitic remedies.



Well-being and safety

As much as rainfall provides relief for farmers, it can also be a disturbance to livestock's well-being.

Ngaruka said that, in addition to diseases and parasite prevalence, rainfall also comes with cold and windy conditions, lightning strikes, and damp environments that can be unhygienic and uncomfortable for livestock, for example, muddy kraals.

"Livestock kraals should always be cleaned and need to be sheltered to protect animals from rain, cold, wind, and lightning. These stressful conditions can result in incidences of lung infection, especially in goats and sheep."

Rainfall also affects livestock foraging activities, limiting their foraging time and daily intake as they run for cover to avoid getting wet.

To that end, extra feed should be provided to compensate for the possible loss of dry matter intake and to enhance the animals’ metabolism for them to keep warm from metabolic heat, said Ngaruka.