Business

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 government won't let the group buy the leased land it's been farming on. Heather Dugmore visited them.

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 on becoming a commercial farmer in the hope of leaving a legacy for his children. Peter Mashala visited him.

The pig farmer can ensure maximum survival by understanding and meeting the piglets' needs.

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.

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, Niklaas helped his widow run the farm. When Jan’s son JP grew up he helped Niklaas buy his own farm, where he won through to become one of SA’s top 20 rooibos producers.

The Limpopo agriculture department brought in two small-scale chicken farmers to take over a failed land reform project.

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 came into being in 2002 and has gone from strength to strength, producing grapes, pecan nuts and lucerne. Willem Block, one of the directors, says it’s all due to prayer, cooperation, communication and strict financial discipline.

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, he told Annelie Coleman, when she visited his farm Verblyden in the Free State.

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 and absorb atmospheric carbon. Alan Harman investigates.

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 about his success with mechanisation and economy of scale.

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.

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 programmes don't take timeliness in agricultural production into account.

'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. Heather Dugmore finds out how this giant step for conservation in South Africa carries a range of other benefits for farmers.

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.

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 a go of it, despite struggling to compete against larger enterprises. Peter Mashala visited him on his plot in Soshanguve.

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 often irrigated.

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 south to the Canadian border in the north. The job takes dedication, as machinery is expensive and rain can hold up crew, who sometimes work for up to 18 hours straight.

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.

is a serious poultry disease and can affect any kind of poultry operation, from backyard production to large commercial poultry farms.

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 reports.