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Dwarf Avocado Cultivars: Dynamite In Small Packages

As fruit farmers are pushed to produce more with less, so the trend towards dwarf trees has gained momentum. Dwarf avocado trees offer the benefits of a compact orchard and savings in labour and production costs. Lindi Botha spoke to farm manager Simon Dunshea in Mpumalanga.

Plan Crops With Facts

29 years ago Computers had already become an indispensable part of farming by the early 1990s, as this article indicates.

British Alpine Basics

This goat breed is best suited to a temperate climate and performs poorly in regions with high humidity.

Support Facilities: Key To A Successful Hydroponics Operation

In addition to your greenhouse, you will require a working area, a cold room, offices, a dining area and other facilities. These should be carefully planned, not merely added as an afterthought.

Market Demand Motivates Intensive Boer Goat Farmer

Free State Boer goat farmer Mariaan Grobler says intensive production is a viable option as there are never enough goats available to meet demand. Sabrina Dean visited her on her Free State farm to learn how she has fine-tuned her commercial operation to maximise production.

'Over-applying Fungicide On Wheat Has Negative Long-term Effects'

The excessive use of fungicides in wheat production is not only harmful to the environment but can result in the development of fungicide-resistant fungal strains.

Repurposing Used Feed Bags To Grow Vegetables

Used maize meal bags are being repurposed to grow leafy vegetables in areas not previously thought suitable for food production.

Low-cost, Infra-red Crop Monitoring

Using a radio-controlled aircraft instead of a conventional machine cut the cost of infrared crop monitoring.

How To Make A Living Running A Small-scale Broiler Operation

Raising chickens is relatively easy; selling them and actually making a living out of the enterprise is the real challenge. This is according to Anneke Loock, who in 2017 started a broiler poultry business on a smallholding in Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein.

Novice Tunnel Farmer Wins With Hydroponics

Byron Booysen started farming only five years ago and now produces tomatoes and other crops in an undercover system on 1,9ha just outside Kraaifontein near Cape Town. Jeandré van der Walt visited him to find out how he got started, the lessons he has learnt, and the challenges he faces.

Options For Foot-and-mouth Disease Control In Sa

Earlier this year, fewer than 50 cattle in Sundani village, Vhembe district, probably worth less than R300 000, were diagnosed with footand-mouth disease. This was enough to place a R6 billion export industry of livestock and livestock products in jeopardy.

Massey Ferguson Introduces A Full Range Of Hay Equipment

AGCO has acquired the forage division of the Lely Group, a leading manufacturer of balers and loader wagons in Europe. Joe Spencer reports.

The Chef Who Puts Local Farmers First

Jack Coetzee, chef of Johannesburg-based Urbanologi restaurant and a believer in sustainable living, sources all his ingredients from within a 150km-radius of the restaurant. To achieve this, he has worked hard at building close working relationships with local farmers. Lindi Botha reports.

Low Investment In Research Hampers Agri Growth

Dr Sifiso Ntombela, a trade economist at the National Agricultural Marketing Council, writes that as technological advances are being achieved at an everfaster rate, countries that fail to invest sufficient resources in research and development risk falling behind and becoming uncompetitive.

How Millennials Can Take Farming Into The Future

Group manager for assurance services at NWK, 34-year-old Jacqueline Mathews, maintains that South Africa’s agriculture sector needs tech-savvy, curious young people. Annelie Coleman reports.

Why Dryland Macadamia Production Is Possible

With a looming water crisis and an expanding macadamia industry, the obvious question arises: where will the water for the new orchards come from? A recent groundbreaking study shows that farmers have been grossly over-irrigating and that dryland macadamias in high-rainfall areas actually provide better yields. Lindi Botha spoke to Theunis and Armand Smit, specialists in irrigation and optimal water usage.

Hydroponics: Avoiding Basic Mistakes

In the second instalment of our series on alternative crop production methods, international hydroponics consultant, Prof Gert Venter, highlights common mistakes made by farmers.

Innovative Business Model Empowers Communities

Mkululi Pakade, director of East Cape Macadamia, has devised a business model that positions the Eastern Cape’s local communities firmly within the macadamia industry.

Namibia's First Romagnola Stud

The Romagnola cattle breed is a relatively new entrant to Namibia, but is set to add great value to the country’s beef production industry in the long term. Annelie Coleman visited Babette Stöck and Andreas Wiese, owners of Ongeama Romagnolas near Windhoek, to find out more.

Will Conservation Agriculture Ensure SA's Food Security?

Most farmers are aware of the benefits of implementing conservation agriculture practices such as crop rotation. However, the authors of this article argue that, while its wide-scale adoption might improve the sustainability of farming over the long term, conservation agriculture will negatively affect maize and wheat production in the short term, threatening national food security.

Land Reform: Approach It As A Business, Not A Project

While many land reform projects across the country have failed, Siyazama Klipland Boerdery, a BEE company in De Doorns, is testimony to how projects can succeed with the right attitude. Shareholder and managing director, Alec Abrahams, spoke to Jeandré van der Walt.

Calls For More Oilseed Research

The widespread outbreak of Alternaria leaf blight in sunflower has emphasised the extent to which oilseed research in South Africa has been neglected, according to Chris Schoonwinkel, a sunflower producer near Wesselsbron in the Free State. 

JD Autotrac: Now For All Tractors

Green Fit software from Reichhardt enables John Deere’s automatic GPS AutoTrac steering system to be used on other tractor brands, a move that will be welcomed by farmers. Joe Spencer reports.

From Our Archives

Devoted to Sa Farming Since 1911

Stopping Wildlife Trafficking

“The scope and scale of illegal wildlife trafficking today is unprecedented,” Michigan State University associate professor of wildlife, Meredith Gore, told the recent International Congress for Conservation Biology in Cartagena, Colombia. 

SA's Cotton Production Estimate Continues To Rise

Cotton SA has raised its 2017 season harvest forecast another 7% from last month’s estimate, for a total crop of nearly 83 000 lint bales of 200kg each. This was a year-on-year increase of 64% after production was hit by the drought last year.

SA Stud Book Bids Farewell To Retiring CEO

According to outgoing SA Stud Book CEO, Dr Pierre van Rooyen, his retirement from the organisation by no means signalled the end of a career in the livestock industry spanning nearly half a century. 

Pickled Hake With Onions

Cooks perfected the art of pickling food products long before they had fridges. Try this great South African classic – pickled fish – with its mouth-watering sharpness and exquisite oceanic tang.

Dealing With Patchy Skin

Streptothricosis, or rain scald, thrives in humid conditions, causing scabs that are painful to remove, says Kim Dyson.

Dealing With Invasive Plants - Part 2

Alien invaders are one of the main causes of the extinction of plants worldwide.