CATEGORIES

Getting Down To Business With Geese Farming

Anton and Sharon Kock’s Ember Down goose down and feather business has been built on ethical farming practices, attention to detail and meticulous management.

Legal Evictions: Landowners Need To Know Their Rights

Media reports and public debate often simplify and blur the sensitive issue of evictions. Typically, evictions are seen solely from the perspective of the landowner or from that of landless people, and there is a failure to distinguish between lawful and unlawful evictions. Annelize Crosby, policy head for land affairs at Agri SA, explains the various perspectives and the relevant laws.

Adelaide's Desperate Struggle To Survive The Drought

The drought in the district of Adelaide in the Eastern Cape has paralysed production on farms and left many residents of the town without water for months.

Don't Ignore These Aspects Of The Land Panel Report

Dr. Tinashe Kapuya, Value Chains lead at the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy, takes a closer look at the report produced by the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture to highlight some of the suggestions that have received little public attention.

Breeding A Million-dollar Bird

Pigeon breeding and racing remains a popular pursuit, with some fanciers aiming for the ultimate goal of turning their hobby into a career. Sabrina Dean visited brothers Daniel and Justin King of Kingslea Lofts in Bloemfontein to find out more about the demands, and thrills, of the sport.

Improve Fertiliser Placement With Strip-tillage – And Maximise Yield

According to Michael Petersen, lead agronomist at US-based Orthman Manufacturing, the main pillars of success for strip-tillage are vertical tillage, residue management, seedbed preparation and fertiliser placement. Stehan Cloete explains the technical aspects of these factors.

A Grass-based Approach To Beef Stud Farming

The Arwin Farms Bonsmara Stud, founded in 1982 in the Dordrecht district of the Eastern Cape, is run entirely off the veld. Mike Burgess visited Johan and Michael-John Greyling to find out more about their grass-based beef genetics, and the lessons they learnt along the way.

Planting A Bean Crop

Before planting beans, arrange for a soil analysis. This will enable you to address soil fertility correctly. Each component should be topped up if necessary, after which you can apply nitrogen as required.

‘High-End' Properties Not The Target Of Expropriation - Mahlati

About 60% of South Africans do not have tenure of their land, and according to Dr Vuyo Mahlati, president of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA), radical correction steps need to include expropriation without compensation. Donwald Pressly reports.

The Long, Hard Road To Profiting From Potatoes

In 1998, at the age of 45, Frans Vlok left his job as head of Kynoch fertiliser services in the Western Cape to pursue his lifelong dream of farming full-time. He was joined in the business eight years later by his daughter, Monique Vlok, who told Glenneis Kriel of their struggle to succeed.

The Farmer's Role In The Quest For Sustainability

The concept of sustainable development is straightforward: the future should be a better, healthier place than the present. Farmers have a major part to play in forging this future.

The Basics Of The Persian Breed

This indigenous fat-rumped meat breed does well in arid semi-desert, savanna bushveld and coastal spekboom veld. The lambs mature early.

Plant Nutrition: Part 1

Managing plant nutrition is crucial to successful hydroponic production. In this issue, we discuss the macro-elements nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, and their interaction with one another.

How To Deal With Desertion From Work

The operation of a business can be severely disrupted when an employee is absent without leave. This in turn can hit the company’s bottom line.

Gold For John Deere

John Deere was awarded the only gold medal in the DLG/Agritechnica 2019 Innovation Awards for its eAutoPowr transmission and intelligent e8WD system for the 8R Series large tractors.

Breeding Fuss-Free Sheep

The changing climate and rising input costs are forcing farmers to find innovative ways to remain economically viable. Hugo Wiehahn, owner of Hugo Wiehahn en Seuns Mutton Merino stud near Caledon, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how his livestock have helped him achieve this goal.

Analysing SA's Trade In Live Plants

The value output generated by trade in live plants has not increased at a similar rate to that of the horticulture sector as a whole. Yet this remains a subsector with much growth potential.

Cold-Pressed Sunflower Oil: A Hot New Product

Vergezocht Plant Oils is the first factory in Africa to produce cold-pressed, high-oleic sunflower oil. Sabrina Dean visited the plant in Bloemfontein in the Free State to find out more about Vergezocht’s business plan, which is built around using a niche sunflower cultivar to produce a high-demand product in a world moving towards healthier lifestyles.

Biodiversity: A Valuable Ally For The Farmer

Caring for the indigenous vegetation on a farm not only helps protect plant species from extinction, but benefits the production of crops in several crucial ways. Glenneis Kriel spoke to Cape Nature botanist Rupert Koopman and Stellenbosch University researcher Rhoda Malgas.

'Africa Needs Its Own Agro-ecology Revolution'

An eco-agriculture or agroecology model such as that adopted in India and parts of Asia and Africa could play a major role in improving South African farmers’ incomes by reducing input costs and improving farm productivity and sustainability.

A Bomber Pilot's Supreme Sacrifice For His Comrades

World War II pilot Edwin Swales received a posthumous Victoria Cross for saving the lives of his crew. Graham Jooste tells the moving story of this South African hero.

Strict Selection Criteria Are Vital To Boerperd Breeding

This popular indigenous breed is a hardy and muscular all-rounder that excels in many equestrian sports.

New Holland Debuts Orchard And Vineyard Tractor

During the second annual Nampo Cape 2019 event, which was held in Bredasdorp in the Western Cape from 4 to 6 September, New Holland presented a number of new products, such as the TD3.50F tractor for orchards and vineyards.

Green Beans: History And Varieties

Green beans originated in what is now Central America and Mexico and have been grown in the latter for at least 7 000 years. In time, farmers began differentiating between varieties more suitable to be eaten green, as a whole pod, and those better enjoyed as dry beans, such as haricots, which are used today for baked beans and sugar beans. Green beans and the various dry beans are all members of the same species, Phaseolus vulgaris, and can be crossed with each other.

Reduce Heat Stress In Poultry With Vitamin C Supplementation

High environmental temperature is the most common stressor of chickens in South Africa.

Irrigating Your Home Garden: Part 1

If you apply too much water, you’re in danger of leaching nitrogen out of reach of the plant roots, says vegetable expert Bill Kerr.

Cashing In On The Expanding Plant Extracts Market

Planting alternative crops for the extracts or essential oil market can be profitable, but it’s no easy road to riches. Pietersarel de Bruyn of Herbs Aplenty spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the opportunities and difficulties of this rapidly growing agricultural niche.

What To Look For When Buying Beef Breeding Stock

Breeding with structurally faulty animals can set a herd’s quality, productivity and profitability back several years. Knowledgeable breeders Ting Braithwaite, Tim Hempson and Ndumiso Gule, all based in KwaZulu-Natal, share their tips on what to look for when considering which animals to buy as a nucleus or replacement breeding stock. Lloyd Phillips reports.

Taking Farming Back To Its Collective Roots

Adding vibrancy and diversity to the local food scene in Minnesota in the US, the Hmong-American farmers have earned their place on the agricultural landscape. But they have not been spared the challenges that face small-scale farmers everywhere. Lindi Botha spoke to Pakou Hang about the structures in place to uplift their community.

Going The Extra Mile To Provide Farmer Support And Development

For more than 30 years, the project implementation agency, Casidra, has worked behind the scenes to empower emerging farmers. Ashley Seymour, the current CEO, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about plans to extend support to include entrepreneurial finance, environmental projects and more.