South Africa

Machinery and tractor exhibits that had been in the planning for nearly a year were getting their final spit and polish this week as mega exhibitors prepared for the gates to open at Nampo Harvest Day on Tuesday, 13 May.

The livestock component at Nampo Harvest Day has, over the years, become one of the highlights at the show, with 27 cattle breeds and 16 sheep, pig and goat breeds taking part in the exhibitions this year.

Farmers, visitors and vendors alike can breathe a sigh of relief as perfect weather conditions are predicted for Nampo, taking place in Bothaville, Free State, from 13 to 16 May.

With Nampo Harvest Day being the biggest agricultural show in the Southern Hemisphere, traffic jams are inevitable as over 80 000 people descend on the narrow country roads around Bothaville in the Free State in May each year. The solution? Fly in, as over 1 000 people do each year.

Financial woes at a state-funded, black-owned farm have resulted in the starvation and culling of thousands of broilers.

Preparations are in full swing for this year’s Nampo Harvest Day, taking place at Nampo Park just outside Bothaville, Free State, from 13 to 16 May. Organisers have released a detailed route advisory for visitors travelling to Nampo Park.

If this year marks your first agricultural pilgrimage to Nampo Harvest Day, read the following tips to ensure that you have an enjoyable experience.

The Limousin Breed’s 50th Anniversary Leading Lady Auction was held during the Bloem Show at the Bloemfontein Showgrounds on 30 April. The leading lady auction is a female animal-only sale.

Breeders, stud herds and stud animals were celebrated at SA Stud Book’s annual National Elite Awards in Bloemfontein, Free State on Monday.

An estimated R1 billion in stock will be making its way to Nampo Park outside Bothaville in the Free State over the next two weeks as exhibitors start setting up for the annual Nampo Harvest Day, which will run from 13 to 16 May this year.

The Jozini Smallholder Farmer Programme aims to empower 100 smallholder farmers in the production of herbs and spices.

The National Treasury announced on Thursday that the VAT rate will not be increased by 0,5% as proposed in the budget in March, but rather kept at 15%.

Around 100 cattle were recently found dead in a camp on a farm in the Grahamstown area in the Eastern Cape, according to Agri Eastern Cape (Agri EC).

Better prices and favourable climatic conditions bode well for wool producers. Wool producers have been under growing financial pressure since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Further heavy rain and cold weather conditions are cause for concern for grain, oilseed and sheep farmers. South Africans can expect heavy rain and cold conditions for the rest of the week, according to the South African Weather Service (SAWS).

This year’s Giant Pumpkin Festival winner, Piet Lotz of Riversdale in the Southern Cape, broke the South African biggest pumpkin record with his first pumpkin that weighed in at 1 062kg, and then bettered the record with his second pumpkin that tipped the scales at 1 120kg.

Many South African farmers are going beyond what is expected from Earth Day, celebrated today across on 22 April.

On 17 April, exactly 363 years ago, the first apples were harvested at the Cape of Good Hope when Dutch Governor Jan van Riebeeck picked two apples, known as Wijnappels, from a young tree in the Company Gardens in Cape Town.

The number of road fatalities over Easter weekend increased 33% from 252 in 2023 to 335 in 2024, while fatal crashes increased 14% from 207 to 236, according to the Road Traffic Management Corporation.

The Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has launched the Electronic Deeds Registration System (eDRS). Although the agriculture sector has welcomed the move to modernise property registration, concerns remain about how smoothly the transition from a manual to an electronic system will unfold.