Farm attacks leave two dead

Two brutal farm attacks have taken place within five days of each other. In the first incident, Underberg forester Dan Knight (55) was beaten to death on 17 October, then Vryheid dairy farmer Willem Weites (78) was shot two times on 21 October.

September 2013 tractor and combine sales

According to the SA Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA), retail sales of agricultural equipment during September2013 were as follows:

Rain brings relief

Showers with rain of up to 50mm have been reported in the Free State over the weekend. Some 50mm was measured in Koppies, 40mm in Bloemfontein, 30mm in Bultfontein and 20mm in Wesselsbron.

Agri writers honour farmers

The Agricultural Writers Association, northern branch, has announced its farmer, agriculturalist and new entrant to commercial farming of the year for 2013.

Funny fowls cause a flurry

A batch of 14 ‘punk’ chickens have become celebrities in KwaZulu-Natal after hatching from supermarket eggs.

KZN’s Wildlife Rancher of the Year

Samuel Kgonono has been named the KwaZulu-Natal’s Wildlife Rancher of the Year for 2013 by the KZN chamber of Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA).

New call centre to assist farmers

A call centre to answer farmers’ questions and help them with agriculture-related queries has been launched by SA Agri.

Bad water management stalls progress

Poor management of irrigation schemes is hindering expansion and economic development.

Still no clarity on OIE animal health recommendations

Representatives of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are due to revisit SA this month to assess the progress on managing animal health issues here.

Farmers asked to help identify worm

It turns out the outbreak of worms in the Mokopane area in Limpopo and Rayton in eastern Gauteng during September and October 2013, was not army worm, but another kind of worm.

More irrigation farming needed

South Africa’s employment growth and economic momentum could be at stake if irrigation farms are not expanded.

Isolated outbreaks of army worm reported

Outbreaks of army worm have been reported in the Mokopane area in Limpopo and Rayton in eastern Gauteng.

Oliphant spotlights agriculture in the Western Cape

Fresh from a child labour seminar in Brazil, labour minister Mildred Oliphant is to join teams of inspectors during the week-long blitz farm inspections in the Western Cape region of Citrusdal on Thursday, 17 October.

Farmers asked to help with tick map

Cattle, sheep and goat farmers have been asked by parasitologists at Stellenbosch University (SU) to help update a map on tick distribution and establish whether and where four types of disease-carrying ticks in particular are found in the Western and Northern Cape.