The online trading platform, Trigga Trader, is disrupting the way in which pork is sold by enabling farmers to sell their produce to the highest bidder. Walter Frey, the founder of Trigga Trader, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the advantages the platform offers to both buyers and sellers.
Walter Frey has set trends throughout his business career. In the late 1980s, after opening a butchery, Frey’s Meats at Cato Ridge near Durban, he discovered that there was a hierarchy at the Abakor abattoir, as government controlled and ran auctions.
“These auctions drew over 200 participants at a time, and I was made to understand that I was very low in the pecking order, so had to wait for my allocated turn before placing a bid,” he recalls.
To overcome this problem, he started buying cattle on auction, and negotiated what became the first contract slaughter agreement signed with Abakor.
“Up until the early 1990s, all carcasses were sold via auction, so you had to bid for carcasses even if you’d supplied the livestock to the abattoir. The whole system changed five years after I successfully implemented contract slaughter, precipitating the demise of the Meat Board. Abakor later became the first government enterprise to be privatised after the 1994 elections,” he says.
FROM BEEF TO PORK
At about the same time, Frey moved into pig processing, but had trouble getting hold of pork.
“The industry was dominated by a couple of big processors, so farmers were afraid of losing quota contracts if they supplied smaller players,” he says.
Frey bridged this problem by buying uncastrated boars.
“All the major buyers required boars to be castrated within a week after birth to prevent boar taint. But the problem only develops after 21 weeks, so I agreed to take uncastrated male pigs before this age.
“Producers liked this, because it helped to simplify on-farm management practices. Young boars also grow quicker and grade better than castrates and gilts.”
In addition, unlike the big players, he did not penalise farmers who sold him pigs weighing more than 65kg.
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Denne historien er fra July 5, 2019-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
