Protect livestock against pneumonia in winter
Livestock producers need to carefully manage their cattle herds and sheep flocks during the current cold spell because Pasteurella pneumonia is a real danger without sufficient cover and nutrition, according...
More rain needed to break Western Cape drought
In spite of good rains over the past week and Day Zero being averted in the Cape metropole, Western Cape farmers still need a lot of rain for the drought...
‘SA needs ethical land reform’
To date, discussions about land reform have concentrated on political, economic and legal aspects. While these are essential, they will not be enough.
2018 soya bean crop expected to be largest in SA history
The Crop Estimates Committee’s (CEC) fifth production forecast estimated that the 2018 summer soya bean crop could be the largest in South Africa’s history.
Farmers urged to vaccinate livestock against Rift Valley fever
Animal health practitioners are urging livestock farmers to vaccinate their livestock against Rift Valley fever now, as all signs were pointing to the possibility of a large outbreak in the...
Wildlife welfare laws need updating
South Africa’s laws governing the welfare of wild animals under the ‘physical control of humans’ need to be updated. This is the view of the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER)...
Vergelegen rehabilitates 2 000ha of fynbos
A project that began in 2004 at Vergelegen Wine Estate, Western Cape will be completed by October this year.
Initiative to end dog-to-human rabies by 2030
A collaboration of international partners is aiming to eradicate dog-mediated rabies in humans by 2030.
Ramaphosa asked to intervene in DAFF stand-off
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking him to intervene in an impasse with the director-general of the department, Mike Mlengana.
Agribusiness confidence down, but still positive
South Africa’s agribusiness sector remains generally optimistic about business conditions in the country, according to the latest data.
Mixed reactions to Rural Safety Summit
Reactions to the Rural Safety Summit recently hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Pretoria have ranged from optimism to disillusion.
Agri link in North West irregular expenditure
The ministerial task team appointed to assess the state of governance in North West has reported to Parliament that R413 million in irregular expenditure in the province could be attributed...
Land reform should go back to the drawing board – PLAAS
The current land reform process should be placed on hold and a new process started with the goal of preparing a new White Paper on land reform, which would set...
Warning to small-stock farmers: cold front on the way!
A cold front expected to make landfall in the Western Cape this week has been forecast to bring cold, wet, windy weather that could be devastating to livestock, especially small...
Counting the cost of the ‘Zuma decade’
To contextualise the welfare forgone by South Africans during the past decade in terms of GDP, based on income and jobs lost, it is estimated that the economy would have...
May 2018 tractor sales well above expectations
The 501 tractors sold nationwide during May 2018 were well above Agbiz’s forecast of 444 units. Agbiz reported that, in hindsight, the above-anticipated tractor sales were unsurprising given that May...
R50 million damage to Eastern Cape citrus industry
Initial indications are that the citrus industry in the Eastern Cape lost at least R50 million to labour unrest and consequent damage to packing facilities and infrastructure, according to Hannes...
Smallholder farmers need cooperatives – De Jager
Co-operatives could be a magic wand for smallholders, said the president of the World Farmers’ Organisation, Dr Theo de Jager.
Knock-on effect of record diesel price on grain value chain
The latest 87c/ℓ increase in the wholesale price of diesel will have a significant knock-on effect on the South African grain value chain, according to Corné Louw, a senior economist...
Decrease in agricultural output hits national GDP
A drop of more than 24% in the output of agriculture, forestry and fisheries was the main contributor to a 2,2% quarter-on-quarter decrease in South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP),...
