An agricultural odyssey Down Under
It's big, it's flat, it's a land of extremes - including blistering droughts. But while farming remains a fundamental part of Australian life, it has taken a heavy toll on the enviroment. Chris and Mathilde Stuart take a tour of Australia and discovered problems that make South African farmers' woes seem almost manageable.
Living his farming dream among sticks and stones
'Farming is not for sissies', says emerging commercial farmer André Thops of Olyfkloof farm in the Hex River Valley. He sites the lack of cash flow and access to funds as the key restraining factors experienced by emerging farmers. To counter these factors he diversifies his wine grape, olive and broiler chicken operations with
cash crops.
