Just outside the small Free State town of Villiers, which lies on the border of Mpumalanga, is the land that has been farmed by three generations of Odendaals for over 80 years. Adriaan Odendaal and his three brothers started farming here with their father, also Adriaan, in the 1970s, but when he retired in 1996, each of the brothers went their separate ways. Odendaal continued farming on the farm Uithoek, and he has recently handed over the reins to his two sons, Riaan and Gerrie. Both his sons produce soya beans and maize. Riaan inherited the OdensimSimmentaler Stud. Gerrie and Odendaal’s granddaughter, Mariza van Niekerk, help manage the Rocky Droughtmaster stud.
“I started breeding Droughmasters in 2012. Ian Curren, who was the breed adviser for the Africa Droughtmaster Club at the time, invited me to attend a meeting with him in Parys about establishing the Droughtmaster in South Africa. At the time, I wasn’t even really aware that the breed existed, but my interest was piqued,” says Odendaal. Shortly after this, Johan van der Nest, who introduced the first Droughtmaster genetics to South Africa in the 1990s, invited Odendaal to his farm to examine his cattle.
“I was immediately impressed with what I saw,” says Odendaal.
He then decided to start breeding Droughtmasters, buying in his first group of cows towards the end of 2012.
Denne historien er fra September 17, 2021-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra September 17, 2021-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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Technology that can help protect South Africa's farms
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The impact of theft on farms in South Africa
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Free State has no reason to mark Transport Month
Free State Agriculture (FSA) is very concerned about the extremely poor state of rural paved and gravel roads in the province and has very little, if anything, to celebrate during Transport Month, which takes place every October.
SA's food system ‘vulnerable to climate change'
The Just Transition Agenda for Food System Policymaking in SA webinar, hosted by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) in October, highlighted the role that South Africa’s food system plays in contributing to climate change and how vulnerable it is to the impact thereof.
