General Manager, Izaak Breitenbach, says a recent meeting with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition was held and the association eagerly awaits Minister Ebrahim Patel's decision regarding the pending tariff application. This will level the playing field for local producers competing with dumped imports. Breitenbach says there are improved working relations between the industry and government, including the departments of economic development; agriculture; land reform and rural development and other stakeholders.  

There are certain alternatives for cattle farmers when it comes to antibiotic treatments against animal diseases. These include correct feeding and nutrition, as well as efficient vaccination programmes in collaboration with veterinarians. Dr Shaun Morris, a feedlot consultant at the Beefmaster Group, says South Africa as an intensive animal production system needs to be cautious about using antibiotics. He says vaccines are available in an effort to reduce farmer reliance on antibiotics due to the problem of antibiotic resistance. Morris says South African farmers do not realise what percentage of their calves get sick with pneumonia between the period of birth and weaning, and that there is a very simple vaccination programme available. 

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Cooler temperatures are expected to continue in some areas in the Free State until later this week. A forecaster at the South African Weather Service's Bloemfontein office, Michael Nethavhani, says a frontal system is moving from the Western Cape through the central interior, causing a significant drop in temperatures and a south westerly wind. He says these conditions will continue on Tuesday, particularly in the southern Free State and the eastern part of the province, around the Lesotho border. There is a 30% chance of thundershowers in the eastern Free State while other areas in the province can expect temperatures in the twenties. He says lower temperatures are expected tocontinue in the eastern Free State until Thursday. 

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