CATEGORIES

Look After Those Earthworms!

Earthworms play a crucial role in improving soil quality, and every farmer should try to maintain a healthy population of these remarkable creatures.

Great Reads For The Holiday

From Vietnam to chocolate, from dogs, wolves and opera to Lucas Davenport and Zapiro, we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to whiling away those long summer days.

The Rake's Progress

McHale rakes and balers have been tested under the world’s most difficult conditions, resulting in strong, efficient and reliable machines, says Joe Spencer.

Cotton And Mohair Sectors To Promote Local Consumption

Role players in the domestic cotton and mohair industries have joined forces to ensure that a greater portion of natural fibres produced in South Africa are also processed and consumed here.

Beef Farming As Part Of A Broader Business

Napoleon Holborn of Komga is the 2018 Agricultural Research Council’s Emerging Beef Farmer for the Eastern Cape. Mike Burgess visited him to learn about his beef operation and how he has built it, and his other business interests, on the solid foundation laid by his father.

Chicken Thighs With Cauliflower And Leek Mash

There is no doubt in my mind that thighs are the best part of the chicken, and that cauliflower mash and its blessed variants cut your carbohydrate load without leaving you with a sense of sacrifice.

Why You Should Take The Leap To Cover Cropping

A cover crop can play a valuable role in ensuring that a cropping operation grows and remains sustainable. Cover crops can be tricky to manage, however. In this first article in a series of three, veteran US farmer and cover crop coach Steve Groff explains why a farmer should not give up when trying to grow a cover crop for the first time. Lloyd Phillips reports.

Rewards Elude Farmer Despite Hard Work

Petros Sithole has spent a decade working hard to rebuild a farm near Malelane left destitute by land reform beneficiaries, but now stands to lose it all. After stepping in at government’s request, he has been told to leave as the same beneficiaries have returned to the farm. By Lindi Botha.

Make Money From Cattle Hides

Selling hides can add to your overall profit margin, so it pays to protect them.

Global Economic Outlook: Growing Gloom Worldwide

Growth in global GDP is expected to slow in both developed and emerging market economies this year and in 2020. The reasons for this include a decline in world trade, due in large part to the trade war between the US and China. In a recent report on the global economic outlook, Rabobank economists provided insight into these and other factors.

Tissue-Cultured Bananas: Uniform And High-Yielding

Establishing a healthy orchard starts with choosing the correct plant material. In South Africa’s only laboratory of its type, banana plants are cultivated from tissue culture to produce clones that offer farmers vigorous growth and high yield. Lindi Botha visited Du Roi Laboratory in Limpopo.

Dairy And Citrus Combine To Ensure Recipe For Success

Huguenot Farms in the Sundays River Valley is implementing a long-term, mixed farming strategy that will see its ‘beautiful soils’ produce to their full potential. Sabrina Dean visited the farm, where the Marais family has established a profitable combined dairy-citrus operation.

Award-Winning Brangus Breeder's Formula For Success

Christopher Sparks can be counted as one of the top cattle stud producers in South Africa after having claimed two prestigious national titles last year. Sabrina Dean visited him at his Mount Olive Brangus Stud in the Free State to find out what it is he is doing right.

The Search For The South African Unicorn

The discovery of apparent one-horned animals in Southern African rock art resulted in some 18th and 19th century European explorers believing in the existence of unicorns. By Mike Burgess.

Dealing With Powdery Mildew

When it comes to pumpkins and squashes, it’s not a case of if, but when powdery mildew will strike. This fungal disease can be highly destructive, especially late in the season.

Riding The Food-To-Go Wave

The report, ‘Business models to ride the foodto-go wave,’ released by Rabobank, explores the growing trend of precooked and readyto-eat meals, and how retailers and foodservice providers can work together to benefit from this movement.

Weaker Rand, Low Rainfall To Lead To Higher Food Prices

Despite inflation being at its lowest in years, the weaker rand-dollar exchange rate and the possible development of an El Niño event are likely to push food prices up into 2019.

From Food To Feed

A Dutch company that produces animal feed from food waste says this is the only way in which agriculture can remain sustainable. Gerhard Uys spoke to Karel van der Velden from Nijsen/Granico.

Managing Gerbils On Your Land: Part 3

Rodenticides should be used as a last resort and with a ‘big hammer’ approach if an outbreak has to be brought under control.

Hire A Farmer To Grow Your Food

Herenboeren is taking the Netherlands by storm, with city dwellers and urbanites paying farmers to produce food according to their exact specifications. Gerhard Uys spoke to Boudewijn Tooren, a board member of the co-operative, about this radical approach to farming.

Land Reform: Why Repeat The Mistakes Of Other Countries?

At Agri Western Cape’s recent annual general meeting in Rawsonville, Dr Theo de Jager, president of the World Farmers’ Organisation, highlighted examples of land reform projects across the world, and what South Africa could learn from their successes and failures.

Low Rainfall May Support Maize Prices Into 2019

South Africa’s stocks of white and yellow maize are at a high, putting pressure on prices. But an anticipated El Niño event could result in lower-than-average rainfall, leading to reduced plantings or crop losses, lower supply and higher local prices.

Tenacity Wins The Day For Up-and-coming Veggie Farmer

Energetic new farmer Mbali Nwoko started her vegetable farming operation only two years ago, but her determination to succeed has been rewarded and recognised. Last year she was named one of 20 finalists in the prestigious 702 Sage Small Business Awards. Siyanda Sishuba reports.

Vehicle Path Management: Key To Reducing Compaction

Efficient in-field mechanisation is a major contributor to higher yield and lower production costs. Unfortunately, mechanisation also means that machinery wheels regularly compact the soil. According to precision farming specialist Ian Beecher-Jones, traffic-induced soil damage can be limited by implementing controlled traffic farming. Denene Erasmus reports.

No-till: Key To Greater Profits

Tillage over-aerates the soil and stimulates soil organisms to rapidly break down organic materials. This is a difficult concept to grasp, as it seems logical that loosening the soil creates a better growing environment and enables rapid root development.

Barley Gains Ground In The Swartland

The availability of improved varieties, mandate contracts and storage infrastructure promise to turn barley into a lucrative option in the Swartland. Gert Claassen, who five years ago started producing barley on a commercial scale, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this opportunity.

City Rooftops: The Next Frontier For Farming

You don’t have to have green fingers to grow lush vegetables and herbs. But you do have to have a head for heights if you want to join the brigade of farmers transforming their lives and Johannesburg’s inner-city rooftops with their hydroponic gardens.

Share-milking: The Answer To Transformation In The Dairy Industry?

In the first of a two-part series that looks at using a share-milking business model to incorporate Eastern Cape emerging farmers in the dairy value chain, Jannie Strydom, CEO designate of Agri Western Cape, and Prof André Louw, chair of Agribusiness Management at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, explore the disparities and opportunities in South Africa’s dairy farming industry.

Self-development For Young Farmers

Dr René Uys, director of Thinking Fusion AFRICA, argues that young South African farmers need to have the emotional fortitude to face up to the often harsh realities of agriculture in this country. In short, they have to be both skilled and brave, which is why self-development is crucial.

The Origin Of American Horses

The use of horses on US ranches and in feedlots to manage cattle can be traced back to the Spanish conquistadors who imported horses to the New World to use as mounts in cavalry.