Agribusiness

It’s important to plan beyond the drought in a sector that will remain a driver of economic growth & social stability.

Fresh produce markets are available to all producers. Yet using them optimally requires know-how.

In order to boost sales, it’s important to know your customers and what they expect.

Dr Gordon Adam, Western Cape coordinator of the Ruminant Veterinary Association of SA (RuVasa), spoke to Glenneis Kriel about developments in the sector.

Applying lean agriculture could help SA's farmers improve operational efficiency

A passion for pet alpacas lead to the start of an alpaca farm in Wellington.

Flowershed supplies the local and export markets with indigenous flowers. Here's how they broke into and conquered the indigenous flower market.

Many farmers are not only struggling with the environmental effects of the drought, but experiencing monetary difficulties. Marius Volschenk, Nedbank’s area manager of agriculture in Bloemfontein, spoke to Annelie Coleman about the importance of long-term financial planning.

Agrico has served the SA farming community for more than a hundred years. HEre's how they stay ahead of the game while retaining traditional values.

The milling operation started out of necessity. Today a successful business, here are lessons from an expert on maize meal and animal feed milling.

Oyster farming offers several advantages: it’s sustainable, has low-impact, and produces naturally organic and healthy food.

Grown on dry, unirrigated land, Darling Wines of Origin produce wines with intense flavour and have proven to be as popular locally as abroad.

Farmer Tom Turner runs an unsual mixed farming operation with his father Frank Turner near Wellington in the Western Cape. By working with and for the sake of nature, Bontebok Ridge Reserve is seeing success both economically and ecologically.

Although Zambia has a thriving agricultural sector, much of the industry still lags in the implementation of modern practices and technologies for improved productivity and profitability. One operation, however, is setting the trend for being a progressive and diversified farming business.

Gugu Mlipha is the SA Agricultural Writers’ New Entrant to Commercial Farming for 2015. She farms vegetables on 6ha in Walkerville, Gauteng, and also runs a vegetable processing business. She has plans to further diversify her business.

Leading UK potato producer Tony Bambridge was recently sponsored by Syngenta to give a presentation at the Potatoes SA Congress on potato production and market trends in his home country. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the lessons that had been learnt in the industry.

The Namibian Agricultural Union’s Production-Cost Index is a valuable tool for determining and monitoring price trends in the country’s livestock production industries, according to Jaco Hanekom, the union’s assistant manager of commodities. The index has lately shown an alarming negative price trend in cattle production.

The cost of transportation has become an ever-greater burden for SA farmers. There are several reasons, for this. Transport consultant Alistair Christison and Prof Jan Havenga, director of the Supply Chain Management Centre at Stellenbosch University, gave Gerhard Uys insights into the road and rail situation – and what can be done to improve matters.

The definition of successful production is changing. Where high output and farm profits were the main measures of farming success in the past, today what matters just as much is the impact of farming on nature and others when measuring it. Kobus Pienaar spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this trend.

Within four years of its launch, a micro cheese enterprise in Darling is experiencing macro demand from gourmet outlets across the Western Cape for its soft European-style cheeses – a rarity in South Africa. Jay Ferreira visited Carla Bryan of Udderly Delicious Cheese to find out more.