In a recent radio interview, Willie Storm, a regenerative farmer of South Africa, reflected on June, when he visited farms across Namibia, evaluating veld condition and grazing management.
Much of his approach is based on direct field observation. His impressions, offered region by region, touch on several issues that are current for Namibian livestock producers including Veld condition after good rains, bush encroachment, the sustainability of charcoal as a debushing income stream and the difficulty of managing rest-based grazing where predators and migratory game are present.
Storm reported that the Kalahari veld he visited in the southeast was in excellent condition, showing the perennial grass tufts and Bushman grass he associates with healthy climax veld.
He noted good rainfall across the region and a generally positive picture. He also pointed to localised concerns, including patches of three-thorn (driedoring) between the dune streets that warrant attention, and areas dominated by pioneer or annual grasses where, in his view, producers may need to shift their management approach to gain more stable, perennial-dominated climax veld.
Bush encroachment, he said, was not a serious problem in the parts of the southeast he saw.
In the north, Storm described a more difficult picture. Bush encroachment there involves several woody species, and he cautioned that poorly executed clearing can worsen the problem rather than solve it, with cleared single-stem plants regrowing as many thinner stems.
He took note that predators, such as leopard and hyena, caused stock losses over extended periods on some farms, and that large numbers of migratory game complicate rest-based grazing, because the animals move to the best-rested camps. Several producers, he said, had told him they were unsure how to manage this.
Storm also highlighted examples of strong regenerative practice in the north, including a producer who has run a debushing programme since the late 1980s and maintains veld, animal condition and carrying capacity that Storm rated highly.
He stressed that such results depend on continuous maintenance and aftercare, because bush encroachment returns aggressively where follow-up is neglected.
A recurring concern Storm raised was the long-term sustainability of charcoal production as a debushing tool. He acknowledged that charcoal generates steady income and can, as it did on his own operation, subsidise a debushing programme for several years.
He questioned, however, what happens once the usable bush is worked out, noting that thinner regrowth may not yield charcoal of sufficient quality and that he did not see a clear plan for the period after the charcoal income ends. In his view, this is an issue that industry bodies should examine.
He pointed to biochar as one emerging alternative. Storm described a producer who converts thinner woody regrowth into biochar, mixes it with manure and applies it to her own veld, reportedly with good results.
He added that he could not gauge how widely the practice could be scaled or how many producers could take it up.
Storm reserved some of his strongest praise for the dry southwest, which he described as the most challenging environment he visited but also the best-adapted management he saw.
He relayed that one farmer’s rainfall records, kept since 1913, show an average of roughly 177 mm a year, on land close to the Namib.
Despite farming on the desert’s edge, Storm said, these producers had matched their stock type and long rest periods to their conditions, and their animals were in excellent condition.
Across the regions, several themes stand out from Storm’s account: The strong influence of rainfall on veld condition, the need to manage bush encroachment through careful, sustained follow-up rather than one-off clearing, open questions about the long-term economics of charcoal-based debushing, growing interest in biochar as an alternative use for woody material, and the value of matching stocking and grazing management to local conditions. – NAU News
