Newcastle disease (NCD)
is a serious poultry disease and can affect any kind of poultry operation, from backyard production to large commercial poultry farms.
Animal improvement ‘needs a rethink’
Kevin Watermeyer, president of the Nguni Cattle Breeders' Society of South Africa, shares his views about the way forward for animal improvement and the future of the Nguni. Heather Dugmore...
Harrison Hope -The Eastern Cape’s first wine estate
American missionaries Ronnie and Janet Vehorn travelled to South Africa to preach to the Xhosa. Now they've fulfilled their dream of establishing the Eastern Cape's first wine estate along the...
Understanding cash flow and expenditure
It's very upsetting knowing you have to pay an account when you don't know where the money is going to come from. That's why keeping track of your expenses is...
Struggling to farm in a land of plenty
Eastern Cape's Umnga flats was once a highly productive commercial farming area. But it slipped into decay in the early 1980s, when commercial farmers were relocated and the farms were...
Another one bites the dust
Some 13 years after the Tafelkop Farmers Association "invaded" an unused irrigation scheme in Groblersdal, they still haven't acquired the title deeds promised to them by the then minister of...
Ngunis go commercial
After 25 years of trading and farming in Elliotdale in the former Transkei, Zolani Tyali eventually settled on Brooklyn, a commercial farm near Morgan’s Bay in the Eastern Cape. He...
Power hikes deadhead flower farmer
Once Eskom's poster boy for electrified greenhouse heating, cut-flower farmer David Gates feels he has now been hung out to dry by the state utility. The annual fees he's charged...
Mushrooms: income for the poor
Poverty alleviation and improved food security in KwaZulu-Natal has found an ally in the tasty and sought-after oyster mushroom. With help from the Chinese government, KwaDindi residents are now diversifying...
Get ready for the spekboom revolution
Cape Town-based entrepreneur Wynand Odendaal says spekboom is ready to take the carbon market by storm – and earn some farmers big money. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Extension officer turned emerging farmer
Bone Mokomele is an emerging farmer who served as an extension officer for the agriculture department for more than 10 years. A land restitution beneficiary, he farms wheat near Brits...
Ethanol-from-sugar-beet project in the great Fish River
The planned ethanol-from-sugar-beet project in Cradock looks like it's going ahead. But the farming community has been left divided, with some excited by the prospect of new markets, while others...
Snails put BEE on the fast track
Elezane Industries started as a community development project in 1999 and is now South Africa's first live-snail exporting business. It creates hundreds of jobs while also offering an environmentally friendly...
Variety keeps citrus industry competitive
Etienne Rabe of integrated citrus company Biogold USA believes introducing new citrus varieties that cater to changing consumer demands is key to ensuring the global citrus industry remains competitive. A...
Are you a criminal?
It seems people can come on your land and kill you with impunity these days, but woe betide the farmer who fiddles with a watercourse or indulges in a “listed...
No land for this promising pig farmer
Ivan Cloete started farming with pigs in Blackheath near Cape Town seven years ago.
Low maize price: your options
The current low maize price, with supply greatly exceeding demand, is a problem for most maize farmers. Henry-Ben Rheede, Standard Bank’s agricultural adviser for the northern Free State shares some...
Farming one herd: answer to communal poverty?
Getting communal cattle farming to work has always been difficult, as many farmers refuse to cooperate. But the Vuvha community in Venda has found that sharing resources and managing all...
How to draft a business plan
A business plan will differ according to the size and technical complexity of the business.
Selling seedlings to communal markets
After producing vegetable seedlings for almost 40 years, Dux Meintjes knows how to adapt to market demands. These days, that may mean less reliance on commercial farmers and more attention...
