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.
Effective management: the key to emu excellence
Following the article“Untapped emu oil well -a lucrative alternative?”published in Farmer's Weekly on 19 October 2006, SA emu farmer Shane Trollope was inundated with more than 300 enquiries about this new and potentially lucrative enterprise. As a result Shane and the SA Emu Association hosted an Emu Information Day on his farm. Lloyd Phillips discovers some valuable management tips for aspirant emu farmers.
