The Blue Water Footprint of Extensive Beef Production on Semi-Arid Rangeland over a Full Production Cycle in South Africa

Water plays a critical role in beef cattle production. Current methods used to estimate the blue water footprint of beef cattle are largely based on generic values that do not make provision for different production systems within different regions. Total production cycle measurements should therefore be considered to accurately assess the blue water footprint of beef cattle grazing natural rangeland. The aim of the study was to measure water intake of extensive Bonsmara cattle grazing Marikana Thornveld over a full production cycle at the ARC-Roodeplaat Research Station. Measurements commenced at weaning (June 2017) and continued until the heifers weaned their first calves at approximately 210 days of age (July 2019). Water consumption differed between 21.4 litre per animal per day when the heifers were still growing to 54.3 litres during lactation, relating to between 6.7% and 12.0% of live weight. The blue water footprint over the total production cycle was calculated to be 27,147 litres.