Business

Even if succession seems straightforward, as when passing on operations to a single heir, several steps are needed to facilitate the transfer of the farm from one generation to the next, says Trevor Dickinson.

After a fire destroyed the Tomis Group’s meat-processing facility, the owners decided to reinvent the business as a market leader in meat quality and safety. Managing director Laurie Terblanche spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the recovery and transition.

Vegetable farmer Mabel Dikobe’s story is a fine example of how equipping small businesses with the resources they require can empower them to support entire communities.

In this first article in a new series on how to run a family farm successfully, Trevor Dickinson, CEO of specialist consultancy Family Legacies, writes that the key to a profitable, long-lasting business is to start a family conversation about succession planning. And this needs to happen sooner rather than later.

In 2020, Sergeant Thabo Moletsane won the Western Cape Stock Theft Committee’s award for Best Member of a Stock Theft Unit for the fourth year in a row. Glenneis Kriel found out more about this remarkable man.

A group of subsistence farmers in the Western Cape have put their differences aside and come together to realise their individual dreams of owning a farm. Glenneis Kriel reports on the launch of Thembelitsha Farming.

Freshpact’s range of paper punnets is the ideal alternative to single-use plastic. These punnets are recyclable and reusable and do not compromise the shelf life of fresh produce.

James Sedgwick Distillery is the only commercial whisky distillery in Africa. Jeandré van der Walt visited the facility in Wellington to learn how it turns waste to wealth through green technology innovations.

A group of recent graduates from the Syngenta Leadership Academy believe the factors that give farming a poor public image could be resolved through developing a better understanding of the complexities that underpin the main challenges facing the sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in South Africa have profoundly disrupted education and training of all types in the country, and agriculture is no exception. The KwaZulu-Natal Poultry Institute is adapting to the new normal to ensure that aspirant and existing poultry farmers, as well as their employees, continue to receive top-class training in all aspects of poultry production.

Making boerseep takes hours, and the combination of ingredients and timing are crucial to the process. After years of searching for a traditional recipe, Esmarelda van der Walt of Bothaville has become an expert at making this pure, all-purpose, biodegradable soap.

First minted in 1967, the South African Krugerrand set the global standard for collectable and investment gold coins and is still the most extensively collected and traded bullion coin in the world.

Most farmers are entirely dependent on the safe haulage of their produce to market. The effects of disrupted transport on individual producers, as well as on the rest of the agriculture sector, can be disastrous.

Agriculture is rife with complaints that extension services are poor, with this blamed as a key factor in many failed farmer-development initiatives. However, William Gillepsie and Felicity Mitchell, authors of a manual on the training of extension services, are showing how proper skills development is setting emerging farmers on the road to success.

When the COVID-19 lockdown forced Ncumisa Mkabile to shut down her catering business, she put her entrepreneurial spirit to the test by starting two small-scale farming businesses on a piece of land in Khayelitsha.

After losing their farm, Isa Basson and her husband, Sonnie, established a preserved fruit brand. She spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how they have thrived by keeping faith and adding value to fruit.

With bee populations dwindling globally, beekeepers are looking for ways to improve the resilience of their colonies. Albertus van Zyl spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how he achieves this.

Small beginnings can lay the foundation of great success. This holds true for SA Harvest, a food rescue and distribution organisation. Ali Conn, regional manager at SA Harvest, spoke to Jeandré van der Walt about the organisation’s journey over the past year and its future plans.

Mechanisation is key to improving food and fibre production. But traditional linkages between companies that lease agricultural machinery and their clients are often problematic. A new online platform promises to take the stress out of hiring and leasing.

Unreliable power supply by Eskom presents a considerable threat to farming businesses. Fortunately, producers have a number of options available to mitigate the impact of both scheduled and unscheduled outages.