News

Pointing out shortfalls in an employee’s work requires sensitivity for the process to be effective.

In a first for South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (KZN DARD) recently launched the Agricultural Graduates Placement Programme (AGPP).

The latest commodities outlook released by Agbiz indicated that South Africa’s soya bean harvest will be lower this season.

Multinational agricultural companies have the capacity and expertise to provide African countries with the inputs needed to grow farming operations – even in challenging climatic conditions, according to DuPont Pioneer president Paul E Schickler.

A table grape farmer from the Hex River Valley, Jacques Beukes, has been named the 2016 Western Cape Young Farmer of the Year.

The drought that has been ravaging large parts of South Africa and which has placed many farmers at risk of financial distress, could soon be declared a national disaster, after the National Assembly agreed to adopt a motion posed by DA MP Annette Steyn.

The National Assembly in Parliament has approved the Expropriation Bill and it is now awaiting assent from President Jacob Zuma.

So you’re somewhere in the Bronx and a big deal is going down with your fellow mafiosi. Never mind the details. The big issue is: what are you eating? The serious bets are on spaghetti and meatballs in a highly seasoned tomato sauce. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.

Drought-related issues dominated this month’s Ruminant Veterinary Association of South Africa (RuVASA) disease report.

South African fruit exporters have just over a month left to prepare themselves for a new international requirement concerning the weighing of shipping containers.

The National Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) will release its fifth production forecast on Thursday 26 May.

The question of tax and tithing recently came up and the answer is likely to interest many readers.

South Africa’s ban on the trade in rhino horn has been lifted, despite a Supreme Court of Appeal application against the ruling by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA).

The manager of commercial fuels at Engen, Mike Stead, presented the Agri SA Drought Relief Fund with a cheque for R1 million at the recent 2016 Nampo Harvest Day, to assist farmers in areas that have been affected by the drought.

The results of the 4th Shiraz SA Wine Challenge were recently announced during an award ceremony held at Rhebokskloof in Paarl.

Willem de Chavonnes Vrugt, a commercial farmer from Setlagole in North West, argues that agricultural transformation is essential for the sustainability of the sector. He stresses, however, that government’s current land reform and transformation policies have no hope of succeeding.

Through innovation, producers were better-able to survive the current drought than previous droughts. This was according to Wessel Lemmer, senior agricultural economist at Absa, who spoke to Farmer’s Weekly at the Nampo Harvest Day.

Government policies, failed policies and issues surrounding policies were explored at this year’s Nation in Conversation dialogue at Nampo.

This superb side-dish is a cinch to make. Baked in the oven, it leaves the rest of the kitchen free for whatever delights you are planning to add to the menu. Like an inch-thick sirloin steak per diner, for example. Alternatively, served on its own, it makes a tasty, satisfying light meal for four.

South Africa’s farmers, through the country’s network of fresh produce markets, should be supplying more vegetables to countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.