News

The meat industry is repositioning itself as a meat and genetic material exporter in an attempt to unlock the full financial potential of the industry.

While the 2016 wine grape harvest will be remembered as one of the warmest, driest and most difficult to plan, it might also be regarded as one of good wine quality, according to Erhard Wolf, group manager of grapes and wine supply at brewing and beverage company Distell.

Biltong hunters are undertaking fewer trips and hunting less game, yet spending more doing so, according to the National Profile and Economic Impact of Biltong Hunters in South Africa 2015 report. Gerhard Uys takes a closer look at this R10 billion industry.

The SAPS has identified incidents of crime and violence on farms and small holdings as an emerging priority in the current 2016/2017 financial year and part of their integrated approach towards eradicating crime and criminality in this country.

The Absa-Agri Trends report for April offers an analytical breakdown of livestock and commodity prices.

Farmer’s Weekly takes an in-depth look at what to expect at the Nation in Conversation panel discussion during the Nampo agricultural show.

Free State Agriculture (FSA) and Absa Agribusiness hosted a group of national and provincial media representatives at their first positive news media tour in Harrismith in the Free State on 28 and 29 April.

Two more horses have died from African horse sickness (AHS) in the Western Cape since a young stallion had died of the dreaded sickness last month.

Farmers in Botswana have raised concerns that the price at which the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is buying cattle is being eroded as they now have to feed livestock at high cost, as a result of the drought which has degraded pastures in the country.

Nico Harris, owner of Nguni Vriendschap Boerdery in Melmoth in KwaZulu-Natal, was named the Farmer’s Weekly mentor breeder of the year at the 2016 SA Stud Book Elite awards on Tuesday night (3 May) in Bloemfontein.

We are looking for farmers with two or more years experience in using donkeys, alpacas or dogs to guard their livestock against predators, mainly jackal and caracal.

Rina Belcher of Belnori Boutique Cheesery in Bapsfontein is the first woman whose name will be added to the list of industry stalwarts on the Agri-Expo Honorary Roll.

Wandile Sihlobo, SA Grain economist, discusses South Africa’s grain and wheat import/export markets.

Cuts made to the budget allocation for the agriculture department will have an impact on the ability of state-owned entities to provide critical services to farmers.

The much anticipated amendments to the Poultry Regulations, regarding the brining of poultry meat, were published recently.

Human–wildlife conflict has historically been portrayed as a management problem where solutions lie in technical changes or financial incentives.

Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, director of the Griffon Poison Information Centre and BirdLife South Africa, urged South African livestock farmers to make use of the limited offer to buy jackal-proof fencing at a reduced cost before the offer expires on Saturday 30 April 2016.

Fears have been expressed that the ongoing drought in parts of South Africa is set to hit the country’s honey bee populations, and that in turn will affect agricultural output.

The annual Bathurst Agricultural Show (BAS) held from 1-3 April 2016 provided entertainment for the young and old, including numerous exhibitions, a variety of different stalls, equestrian events and livestock/poultry shows.

The thin green line between conservation and law enforcement in KwaZulu-Natal’s 332 000ha iSimangaliso Wetland Park received a boost recently when 30 young graduates of the department of environmental affairs’ Environmental Protection and Infrastructure Programme (EPIP) joined the park’s existing conservation officers as Environmental Monitors (EM).