The economic implications of bush encroachment and bush control in a weaner calf production system in the Thorn Bushveld of the Molopo area.

Abstract

An urgent need exists for economically viable treatment costs to serve as directives for bush control in the Molopo area. In this paper such directive treatment costs are calculated. Research has shown that bush encroachment suppresses untilizable veld production for cattle by 970 kg. Dry matter per ha. This results in a decrease in grazing capacity from 8, 7 ha/LSU to 45, 8 ha/LSU. An economic analysis of bush control at different bush densities was made on this basis. Income (11, 76%) and cost (15, 86%) are adapted annually for 20 years and discounted for the same period to net present value at a rate of 12%. A computer model was developed to estimate the economically viable treatment cost for bush control at different bush densities and different effective treatment lifespans.

Keywords: afrikaans; bush control; bush control cost; bush density; bush encroachment; cattle; computer model; dry matter production; economics; english; grazing capacity; molopo district; net present value; thorn bushveld