Page
Extensive Feeding Systems
Completion requirements
View
The basic principles of an extensive production or feeding system are the following:
- Low input from management.
- The high degree of self-sufficiency of livestock.
Livestock in an extensive feeding system is normally free grazing or browsing in a camp or pasture and no additional feedstuffs are provided in addition to the natural vegetation of the veldt. The only component supplied by management is good-quality drinking water. Livestock is regularly moved to different camps to prevent overgrazing of the veldt. Dry-land systems with no irrigation of the veldt are normally the case.
Where there is a shortage of nutrients in the consistency of the natural vegetation a producer often provides a lick to compensate for this deficiency. This normally includes a protein and micro-supplement lick.