Cathy Shearer joined her aunt, Gwen Devenish, at Charlesford Farm, bordering Phantom Pass in the Western Cape’s Knysna River Valley, towards the end of the 1980s.

“Gwen used to farm dairy cattle, breed racehorses, manage a horse-riding school,
and hold regular polocrosse events at the nearby Old Drift. She used to call the dairy her bread and butter and the racehorses the jam,” says Shearer.

When Shearer inherited Charlesford in 2002, she realised she would have to do things differently for the small farm to remain financially sustainable amid rising cost pressures.

That’s when she decided to diversify farming operations. Over time, she kept the dairy cattle and diversified into a small beef herd and pig production, with value added to slaughter animals through on-farm processing at the Charlesford Farm Meat Co & Deli, which was built around 2016.

To accommodate the diversification, Shearer went into a partnership with farm manager Cobus Erasmus to buy Spurwing Farm near Rheenendal, and also started renting small pockets of land from neighbouring farmers.

This added another 150ha to the 110ha of arable land at Charlesford and unlocked an opportunity to sell grass to the lawn industry.

They also ventured into agritourism by building a campsite on Charlesford with 13 sites strategically spaced next to the Knysna River, and seven cottages spread across Charlesford and Spurwing.

“The campsite is secluded, off the grid, and has become known for its beauty, tranquillity, and abundance of birds. As such, it appeals to nature lovers and people who want peace and quiet,” says Shearer.

Using their network

Managing such a diverse farming operation can be challenging, especially because of the highly intensive nature of dairy and pig production. But Shearer and Erasmus are proof that it can be done quite successfully.

A key factor in their success is knowing their limitations. With this in mind, they participate in local farmer groups to discuss production challenges and familiarise themselves with new production trends, and consult with experts for advice.

They also use farm management software like DeLaval DelPro in the dairy and PigCHAMP in the piggery to unlock the full potential of their animals and land.

In addition, their Jersey herd is evaluated at the Outeniqua Research Farm near George every year, during which common traits of first- and fourth-generation cows are analysed to identify weaknesses and strengths in breeding programmes.

“The [evaluation] programme has been running for over 30 years and, over this time, has greatly contributed to genetic advancements in terms of teat placement, milk production volumes, milk solid content, and longevity in the national herd,” explains Erasmus.

Genetic progress

Along with this, Jersey SA scores all their heifers to facilitate the selection of replacement animals. The collected data is then used to inform the selection of bulls for each of the heifers and cows, through the Opti-Mate breeding programme.

Initially, they used to drive all the way to a piggery close to Cape Town to buy the ‘best boar’ on offer for their Landrace and Great White pig herd. However, around 2014, Pig Improvement Company (PIC RSA) convinced Shearer and Erasmus of the advantages of using its services and genetics.

“It was a no-brainer. We realised that having access to genetics from across the world would accelerate genetic progress much faster than being stuck with local genetics from another piggery. The switch led to a great improvement in our growth rates and feed conversion ratios in particular,” says Erasmus.

Their pigs’ feed conversion ratio has improved from 4,2 in 2010 to 3,3 in 2024.

Pastures

Experts are also consulted to help with the formulation of feed rations and supplements for the cattle and pigs at specific ages and stages of production, based on what is available on the farm.

“Even an animal with the best genetic potential will not thrive unless its feed and nutritional demands are met,” adds Erasmus.

The Jerseys are pasture-based and rotated, using strip grazing, over 75ha of irrigated kikuyu, interplanted with clover, plantain, perennial ryegrass, and other species recommended and trialled by the Outeniqua Research Farm.

The quality of the pastures is assessed annually and then reseeded as needed. Soil corrections are made before new seed is planted in April each year.

Ryegrass used to be planted in the warmer sandy camps, but has since been replaced with tall fescue, which performs better. Erasmus points out that the fescue lasts about three years before it needs to be re-established.

Lucerne is also planted. It is left for an average of four years before it is rotated with teff as a summer crop, and then re-established.

Strip grazing

To facilitate strip grazing, the whole area under production has been enclosed with electric fencing, with an additional electric wire dividing the land into strips of roughly 1ha in size.

The farm has about 330 cows in milk throughout the year, and they are milked twice a day. The cows are sent into new camps in the morning and afternoon, followed by steam-up and dry cows, when necessary.

Erasmus says this practice helps to ensure clean camps and reduces the need for mowing.

The grazing interval ranges from 17 to 20 days in summer to 35 days in winter.

The decision to let the cows graze, nevertheless, is primarily driven by the leaf stage of the ryegrass, and the density of the pasture. More specifically, it is grazed in the third-leaf stage.

Erasmus explains that grazing earlier than that will negatively affect regrowth, while later grazing will result in a deterioration of quality.

“If the camp is over its curve, we will skip it and move onto the next camp. The skipped camp can then be mowed later and the plant material made into silage,” he adds.

Cows receive additional supplements while they are being milked.

Producing silage on-farm

Shearer says pork prices were up to R8/ kg under production cost, following the listeriosis outbreak in 2016 and skyrocketing feeding expenses due to high maize prices. This resulted in the closure of numerous piggeries across the country.

Shearer and Erasmus overcame the cost crunch by starting to produce maize to make maize silage, which together with lucerne silage is added to the feed mix and has helped to lower pig and dairy feeding costs substantially.

Erasmus points out that the maize is planted when the mixed pastures need to be cleaned of weeds or have other problems. The pastures are eliminated and cleaned, after which nutrient imbalances are corrected and maize is planted. Mixed pastures are planted again after the maize season.

A toxin binder is added to the concentrates fed to the animals to prevent mycotoxin problems.

Along with this, they have managed to source reject dairy products, such as milk, yogurt and maas, from a nearby distributor to feed to the pigs.

“We primarily feed the dairy products to our grower pigs, as these products are rich in protein, lysine and other amino acids,” Shearer says.

She adds that a feed nutritionist should be consulted to ensure that farmers do not sacrifice growth when feeding by-products to pigs.

The feed and piggery should also be kept as clean as possible to prevent a build-up of bacteria when feeding dairy products.

Interconnectedness

The farm’s financial resilience has also been improved by the way in which the various production branches complement one another.

Manure from the dairy and piggery, for instance, are collected in a central pit. The manure is pumped out and then spread onto camps with a slurry tanker after the camps have been grazed.

This practice, in combination with the planting of mixed crops in pastures, improves microbial activity in the pastures while simultaneously reducing fertiliser costs.

Erasmus points out that farmers in the region have been able to cut nitrogen applications from as much as 600kg/ha a few years ago to roughly 160 kg/ha today. At Charlesford, they have managed to reduce nitrogen applications to 147kg/ha.

He explains that mixed cropping aids this because of the inclusion of plants, such as legumes, that can fix nitrogen through their symbiotic relationship with rhizobium bacteria, and other plants that help to improve soil functions, health and fertility by merely being included in the mixture.

Some of these crops also improve milk production. Fescue, for instance, has been shown to increase the butterfat content of milk, whereas plantain has been found to be a good energy source, which translates into higher protein.

Manure is also used to fertilise the 5ha of land at Spurwing Farm that is under kikuyu and quick grass aimed at the lawn market.

“The idea not to mine the land but to replenish production by merely refilling cavities with manure,” says Erasmus.

Their 80 to 90 Angus cattle are used to ensure pastures are grazed clean, and to add value to marginal soils.

Adaptability

Small farms like Charlesford often lack the economies of scale enjoyed by larger operations, but they make up for it with their ability to quickly respond to opportunities and challenges.

Erasmus explains that they have been farming pigs since 2008, but in 2016 decided to significantly expand production by building a piggery with the capacity to house 300 sows.

The initial idea was to supply a third party with porkers, but the market crashed because of the listeria outbreak. In response, they decided to divert some of the money that would have gone into the sow unit into the establishment of a meat-processing unit.

“It was a great decision. We worked out that we would never have made a meaningful income from pigs by supplying a third party. The listeria outbreak also worked in our favour, as it resulted in more buyers wanting to source meat from someone near them that they knew,” adds Erasmus.

Today, they supply a variety of restaurants, hotels, and outlets in the greater Knysna and Plettenberg Bay area with value-added beef and pork. They also sell directly to the public from the farm and online.

They have received approval to start an abattoir, but will wait until they have sufficient volumes for it to make financial sense. For now, the cattle and pigs are slaughtered at an abattoir in George, with the carcasses returned to the farm for value-adding.

The same approach has been used with the agritourism venture. Costs have been saved with Erasmus building most of the facilities and cottages himself, from wood sourced from trees in nearby plantations, as and when they had money to justify expansions.

While some farms have a stringent culling programme, Shearer and Erasmus are much more lenient when it comes to deciding which animals can stay. This, in turn, has resulted in them keeping dairy cows for an average of five lactations and sows for four to five parities.

“Our animals’ longevity is quite high, because we select for positive points like milk solids, litres [of milk], and fertility, and our cows are fit, as they walk long distances and are not stressed,” says Erasmus.

He adds that they do not mind inseminating quite a few times, which is reflected in their artificial insemination rate of roughly two straws per cow.

“Getting a cow into production is still cheaper than raising a new calf. Hence, cows can stay here as long as they produce sufficient milk and do not have any physical problems,” he explains.

They raise 150 heifers every year, of which 70 are used as replacements and the rest are sold. “Fortunately, there usually is a demand for in-calf Jerseys, and this helps the bank balance,” adds Erasmus.

Favourable location

Charlesford’s location offers several advantages for production. The farm is situated in a valley, with most of the wind blowing right over the top. According Erasmus, this means the farm benefits from cool conditions, which are excellent for pasture growth, but little wind stress. However, it can be very hot in summer.

The farm is also isolated, with no bordering livestock farms. This reduces the risk of livestock diseases spreading and makes biosecurity easier.

Shearer and Erasmus have divided farming divisions between themselves, with Shearer being primarily responsible for pig production and raising heifers, and Erasmus handling the pastures, fodder flow planning and production, the dairy, and the maintenance of all the farm equipment.

Erasmus’s wife, Lize, manages the butchery and deli, freeing him and Shearer to focus on farming.

“Running such a diverse operation is quite challenging, but it is key to our success. I am fortunate to have such a dedicated farm manager-and-wife team that treat Charlesford as their own,” says Shearer.

For more info email Cobus Erasmus at [email protected], or visit charlesford.co.za and spurwingfarm.co.za.