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The beef industry is faced with the need to increase the number of weaners produced per cow and also the number of cows per unit area. Improved forage systems can play a major role in achieving these objectives. In Natal particular attention has been paid to radical veld improvement (RVI) as a means of raising the productivity of non?arable land in high rainfall areas. Recent research has been aimed at the integration of RVI techniques into ?whole?farm? systems. Substantial increases have been obtained in the production of weaners and in their subsequent growing out and fattening. Costs per cow have been reduced and profitability increased. Problems requiring further attention include that of equating animal requirements to forage flow and of optimising the utilisation and management of pastures. Systems analysis has played an important role in achieving a multi?disciplinary approach to RVI and has helped identify questions requiring further, investigation.