BONUS SPRING SUMMER 2025

The concept of natural power: Introduction Jurie Naudé – Product Manager: Extensive Ruminants We are living in strange and exciting times where everything is accelerated. Much of what we experience today is what I refer to as a “drive-through mentality”. Wemake quick decisions and often seek instant gratification, failing to consider the long-termcosts of our actions. We often focus on the “now” or the immediate future and disregard the cost of our current actions on the future. We can already see the outcome of our lifestyles and choices in various aspects such as global weather pattern changes, caused by global warming, pollution of our planet by micro-plastics, resistance to available antibiotics (typhoid fever, etc.), and the possible creation of superbugs that cannot easily be controlled by modern medicine. Most of these are driven by population growth that exceeds the planet’s ability to produce and supply food to the growing population. Production needs to be increased to feed the world, and we make use of modern technology that increases production while maintaining profitability. We have fewer animals and space, and a constantly growing demand for food that increases the pressure to supply food. Figure 1. USA cattle inventory versus commercial beef production. Spring/Summer 2025 BONUS www.agribonus.co.za 42