Getting a recipe for farming success from Hendrik Botha is not an easy task, as he, modestly, only wants to talk about the way in which the farming community of Stettyn, near Villiersdorp in the Western Cape, is working together to grow their sustainability and create jobs.
“We are a close-knit community, consisting of only a handful of farmers, who are related to one another and grew up together.
“As such, we help each other and look out for one another, and I always have a soundboard I can bounce ideas off. Everything is a team effort,” he says.
Botha recently won the Tru-Cape Award for the highest number of class-one pack-outs and income per hectare for apples.
When he finally does talk about pome fruit production, this farmer, who only ventured into pome fruit production in 2012, makes little of the prestigious award: “We only have 21ha under apples and pears, making it much easier to keep a grip on quality than if the farm was bigger,” says Botha. Venturing into pome fruit production so late also allowed him to learn from other farmers’ experiences.
FAST FACTS
The area under pome fruit production is small, making it easy to manage.
Tractors are kept on tractor roads during picking to prevent the bruising of fruit and ease picking.
Regular meetings and training sessions ensure everyone knows what is expected of them.
“The Botha family has been farming at Stettyn since 1818. Over the years the original farm, which has been subdivided multiple times to accommodate follow-up generations, acquired shares in Two-aDay, which sells fruit via Tru-Cape.
Bu hikaye Farmer's Weekly dergisinin August 25, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Farmer's Weekly dergisinin August 25, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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.
