Sheep & Goats

The Bergplaas Merino stud in the highlands of the north Eastern Cape was established in 1936 by Frikkie Nel and is today managed by his grandson, Stefan. Mike Burgess visited the farm, Prospect, to better understand how Merinos have sustained and defined the Nel family for almost 80 years.

When Ross Rayner started farming near Adelaide six years ago, he purchased several hardy Xhosa Lob-eared goats, an Indigenous Veld Goat ecotype. Producing quality kapaters off the veld has defined Ross’s pioneering farming venture. Mike Burgess reports.

The Dormer, one of the most popular mutton sheep breeds in SA today, has an interesting history.

Well-known Merino stud breeder Eddie Prinsloo has diversified into Dormer sheep and is getting excellent results with this dual-purpose breed.

Most of South Africa’s livestock reportedly occur in communal areas, but few generate income.

This year, Hilson Shuman produced his 60th wool clip. He is as passionate about his Merinos as he was in 1952 when the death of his father, Ken, put him in charge of the farm Grey Craig near Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. Mike Burgess reports.

A health setback for Alastair Catto, and Marianne Joos’s longing for goat milk cheese produced in Switzerland, brought this duo together in a partnership that would see them raking up cheese awards for their Goat Peter dairy. Lindi van Rooyen spoke to them about producing goat milk cheese for the most discerning palate.

As many extensive farmers in the Karoo know, raising lambs successfully can be an enormous challenge. Farmer Flippie Loock from the Middelburg district knew he had to find an alternative, so eight years ago he started farming with Savannah goats. Heather Dugmore visited him.

Malekaleke Maila farms with Pedi sheep on communal land in Limpopo. Unable to run his flock near his village, he is forced to spend each week away from home. Yet, through careful management, he earns a reasonable living and is paying for his children’s studies. Peter Mashala spoke to him.

The South African Karakul industry was all but decimated in the 1980s and 1990s. Jaco Visser visited Karakul stud breeder Johan Moller in the Kalahari to find out about the industry’s resurgence and the high demand for Swakara pelts.

Near Graaff-Reinet, on the farm Wellwood, one of the oldest and most respected Merino studs in the country, five generations of Rubidge sons have consistently bred outstanding Merino sheep. Heather Dugmore talks to Robert Rubidge.

an Lottering and Andries Mopiley’s Angora goat farming enterprise in Prince Albert shows that an agricultural empowerment project can succeed driven by motivated beneficiaries and mentored by the industry’s experts. Denene Erasmus reports.