‘The government is delaying – and I can’t plan ahead’
André Cloete, an apple, pear and sheep farmer from the Overberg, is this year’s recipient of the fruit industry’s Novice Award. Thanks to hard work and attention to detail, André...
Finding water for the Vaal
If nothing is done to increase water availability in the Vaal River water supply system - including clamping down on illegal water use by irrigation farmers - it will be...
Northern Cape’s mentorship success!
The Jagpan Vernootskap Boerdery is a mentorship programme that's successfully partnered four emerging farmers in a Dorper sheep enterprise that's won many awards. But Jagpan's farming future isn't secure, because...
Pushing forward against all odds
Johannes Tshoke has risen above stock theft, the problems of farming on communal land, a lack of money and other challenges to get his own farm. He is now set...
Caring for piglets before weaning
The pig farmer can ensure maximum survival by understanding and meeting the piglets' needs.
What patronage shares mean
Co-operatives must reward members who work harder on the co-operative's behalf and deal with members who try to get away with the least amount of work.
From shepherd’s son to top farmer
Niklaas Slinger, the Agricultural Writers Emerging Farmer of the Year, never went to school. He was a farmworker for the Theron family for 20 years, and when Jan Theron died,...
Rudles farming enterprise: A case study in cooperation
The Limpopo agriculture department brought in two small-scale chicken farmers to take over a failed land reform project.
Don’t eat the seed!
Commercial farmer Johannes Fourie and his farmworkers, from Groblershoop in the Northern Cape, have proven that successful BEE farming is possible in South Africa. The Sanddraai Arbeidsgenot BEE farming project...
Farming to make money
From restaurant manager to Grain SA's 2010 Developing Grain Producer of the Year - how did William Matasane from Senekal do it? The secret to his success is chasing profits,...
Increasing crop yields with trees
Evergreen agriculture combines conservation farming and agroforestry to create what proponents call an 'out of the box solution' to increase crop yield, improve soil, make better use of scarce rainwater...
Size matters
Charl Senekal's achievements over the past 30 years have made him a 'super farmer' - he's got big ideas and the guts to follow them through. He told Robyn Joubert...
Land reform farms that work
Many land reform farms have collapsed, so are there any that work? The Free State Agriculture Land Reform Success Day showcased some successful land reform farms. Peter Mashala reports.
Mentorship beats government money
Dirkie Willemse, an emerging farmer from Suurbraak, and his mentor Dirk van Papendorp, a livestock and crop farmer, have learnt through experience that the state's land reform and farmer support...
Major conservation win for famers
'KwaMandlangampisi' might be a bit of a mouthful, but it's a name to savour because it's the country's first Protected Environment, and it bars an important catchment area from mining....
Rift Valley fever
This highly contagious disease originated in the Rift Valley of East Africa, and occurred for the first time in South Africa during the 1950's.
‘I couldn’t let my family starve while I had two hands and a brain’
After losing his job four years ago, textile worker Mike Moloto set out to provide for his family by starting a farming operation. Initially, things were tough, but he made...
Growing groundnuts
Groundnuts is a drought-toleraGroundnuts are rich in protein and can be eaten raw, cooked or roasted. The upright types are mostly cultivated under drier conditions, while the runner kinds are...
Harvesters keep American farmers in business
For six months every year, the Eberts family and other contract harvesters are on the road, cutting crops for farmers across the American Midwest, from the Texas border in the...
How banana flour is helping Ugandan farmers
A presidential pilot project in Uganda is using value-adding to exploit a massive banana surplus, producing banana flour with biofuel as a byproduct. Robyn Joubert reports.
