Animals

With armchair pigeon racing, all the work is done for you. You just have to breed the youngsters you enter, writes Thomas Smit.

Puleng Ndlovu left a career in aviation to start farming with Brangus cattle on a land reform farm. He strongly feels that emerging farmers should align themselves with successful commercial farmers. Peter Mashala spoke to him.

A provincial ordinance – yes, there are some of those left – dating back to 1985 is the chagrin of mining companies with exploration plans in the Western Cape.

Wool production cannot be achieved without flock security. Farmer BP Greyling has successfully targeted crime and predators in Wakkerstroom to keep his farming running smoothly.

A horse that refuses to be caught so you can ride it is no fun. But there are ways of breaking this bad habit, writes Kim Dyson.

There’s no secret formula when it comes to selecting winners, but there are some guidelines worth following, writes Thomas Smit.

A worrying trend is taking hold in South Africa – the importation of processed agricultural products.

Dr Mac discusses how to make sure your horse’s legs are ‘straight’ and how to identify and deal with ‘crooked legs’.

Champion fancier Chris Van Jaarsveldt talks to Thomas Smit.

Flexibility is key to breeding cows and managing livestock guardian dogs on his mountain sourveld farm, David Stern tells Heather Dugmore.

Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) and African wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica) populations are under threat from diminishing prey bases, degraded habitats, persecution, disease and hybridisation. To better understand Africa’s smallest cats, Mike Burgess visited Marion Holmes and Dr Mircea Pfleiderer near Cradock in Eastern Cape.

Fanciers who understand the psychology of bonding with racing pigeons will be able to use this as a secret weapon in a master breeder’s programme and during races.

Now that your horse is home, the wonderful journey of discovery can begin.

Barry King of Bottelgat Brangus is the father of Farmer’s Weekly cover girl Meggan King. In 2010 he and his son Llwelleyn won the Brangus Breeder of the Year award and in 2011 the herd achieved the best Brangus intercalving period in South Africa with an average of 378 days. Heather Dugmore visited their farm.

The weekend’s newspapers were littered with political stories dealing with the ruling party’s leadership battle.

Elize van Greunen supplies quails and pickled quail eggs to a niche market.

It’s no longer possible to be competitive in South African pigeon racing without world-class quality pigeon stock, but there are ways of acquiring this without breaking the bank, says Thomas Smit.

The threat of colic has to be taken seriously as surgery can be extremely expensive, cautions Dr Mac.

Finding niche milk markets has allowed this small-scale dairyman to operate a thriving business at a time when many small producers are being forced out of business. Robyn Joubert reports.

SA National Parks (SANParks), which is responsible for managing SA’s conservation treasures, came under criticism from organised agriculture recently.