South Africa

The ambitious 2018 XTractor Expedition aims to drive four McCormick X7 and X8 series tractors, on 16 BKT tyres, over 6 000km across South Africa.

Arson is suspected of being the cause of a raging inferno that gutted an Eastern Cape citrus packhouse on Monday, 7 May.

A study comparing the cost of meat in more than 50 countries and the number of hours at minimum wage to be worked to afford various cuts in each location, showed South African beef per kilogram was about 40% cheaper than the world average.

In an effort to address the problem of hunger and malnutrition faced by many, Food Lover's Market has launched a month-long in-store campaign through which they want to provide one million meals to vulnerable South Africans.

The organisers of Nampo, one of the largest agricultural exhibitions in South Africa, say the premises near Bothaville in the Free State are already a hive of activity as exhibitors begin setting up for the annual show, which runs from May 15 to 18.

The South African government should first tackle the illicit trade in tobacco products before considering implementing legislation intended to severely restrict the marketing and use of legitimate tobacco products in the country, says the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA).

High soil acidity in parts of the Free State are a concern, according to attendees at the recent Fertiliser Association of Southern Africa (FERTASA) annual congress.

Farmers will likely harvest 12,82 million tons of maize in 2018, which is nearly 3% higher than the previous estimate, released in March.

Part of the solution to land reform and transformation lay with agricultural commodity organisations, Agri SA president Dan Kriek said at the recent launch of the Agri SA 2018 Transformation Report in Pretoria.

Mike Mlengana said he could not wait to get back to work after a high court ruling found his suspension as Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to be unlawful.

The R610 000 that was raised at the annual VKB agribusiness Annual Golf Day was vital to ensure the Free State Agriculture (FSA) VKB Safety Desk could continue to offer ongoing service to the province’s agricultural sector.

Livestock producers in the Western Cape are facing numerous challenges around fodder flow, say industry experts.

South Africa is regarded as the leading macadamia nut producer in the world, producing 44 610t nut in shell (NIS) in 2017.

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services has welcomed a commitment by Public Protector (PP) Busisiwe Mkwhebane to take a closer look at the involvement of politicians in the Vrede dairy farm scandal.

Zeder Investments Limited has experienced a tough financial year, with its sum-of-parts value per share decreasing 8% to R7,85, and total underlying investment portfolio declining from R15,2 billion to R14,2 billion for the period ended 28 February 2018, the company has announced in a statement.

It is believed that large-scale purchases by the South African government were what contributed to the dramatic increase in the country’s tractor sales during March 2018.

Red meat prices in South Africa have increased at the highest rate of all food products year-on-year, despite a marked slowdown in food inflation, according to a statement by Statistics SA.

Money intended to establish a Veterinary Science Faculty at The University of Fort Hare (UFH) in Alice in the Eastern Cape could be better spent on Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), or the Faculty of Veterinary Science (Onderstepoort) at the University of Pretoria.

The North West Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development (READ) has alerted farmers about a possible outbreak of fall armyworm (FAW) in the province.

Northern Cape farmers in drought affected districts of the province were overjoyed to finally start receiving financial aid from government to help them weather the dry times.