Grain SA Developing Grain Producer finalists for 2008 Isaac Khutso built his farming operation with funding from his back-up business and strong mentorship. He farms on 165ha of owned land and 68ha rented land planted to maize. He plants serradella between maize rows, ensuring feed for his 40 cows and 135 sheep and has also enhanced his herd’s genetics with Bonsmara bulls. Mike Burgess writes.
Sixty-eight-year-old Isaac Khuto from Ficksburg, eastern Free State, has always had a desire to work for himself. Isaac grew up on a commercial farm in the Ficksburg area on which his uncle worked. As a teenager, he left the farm to attend school and then to find work in Ficksburg.
By 1978, he had a secure job as a driver at a local furniture store, but he was never destined to be an employee and began selling vegetables into nearby Lesotho over weekends. He then quit his regular job, continued to trade with vegetables and also started transporting Lesotho miners back and forth from Welkom. Keen to diversify, he then bought a house with three rooms, built on two more and charged R5 a night for overnight accommodation. By 1994, he had increased his furnished rooms to 30 and incorporated a shebeen by cleverly reinvesting profits and taking manageable loans.
Diversifying and avoiding debt
Four years later, with the backing of his Ficksburg businesses, Isaac decided to expand his subsistence agricultural venture of a few cattle on the town’s commonage into something more substantial. Characteristically terrified of debt, he vowed to only buy land he could afford in cash. “I bought only one portion of a farm called Diyatalana and all the equipment second-hand,” he says. Today, Isaac owns 165ha and rents another 68ha. From this total, he produces mainly wheat and maize on 130ha, along with some serradella.
In the interest of spreading his risk, he also runs 40 cows and 135 sheep on the remainder of the land while using the residue of his maize and wheat crops to support his stock. In the 2007/08 season he achieved an average yield of 3,5t/ha of wheat from 79ha, but his maize suffered hail damage. However, Isaac had played it safe by insuring his crops and therefore his loss. He admits, though, that his Ficksburg businesses have always been a critical safety net to offset the risks of erratic turnover and the associated cash flow problems.
“Having a business on the side is important. There is no quick money to be made in agriculture, especially when you start out and you’re not making money, you’re just putting in. Also, you only have income once every six months or every year,” he explains.
The value of knowledge and support
Isaac stresses that money is never more important than knowledge and therefore made a point of involving himself in all Grain SA’s training programmes. He has also gladly accepted advice from surrounding commercial farmers and he says he was astonished by how keen they were to help him. He fondly remembers how Jan de Villiers first assisted him in the late 1990s – with expertise, finance and machinery.
When De Villiers left the area, his neighbour Fanie Pienaar was quick to take over, constantly supporting and advising Isaac on how to improve production. This, says Isaac, was critical to his transformation from beginner farmer to nationally recognised emerging farmer. Pienaar convinced him to grow serradella between rows of maize as supplementary feed for his livestock once the maize was harvested, and to get Bonsmara bulls to improve the genetics of his small herd of beef cattle. “Whenever I need any support, I can ask Fanie,” says Isaac. “He helps me a lot.”
Battling theft and retaining independence
Regrettably, theft threatens to erode Isaac’s future – his heaviest loss was 40 sheep in one night. He explains that such stock losses, combined with the continual theft of ripening maize has serious implications for his sustainability, especially because of the police’s inability to curb crime in the district.
But, despite these challenges, he believes as long as he manages his farming enterprise carefully, a future does exist for him – but on his terms. He tells how Land Affairs wanted him and a group of resident workers on a nearby farm to begin a venture – an opportunity he declined. “Although the land would be basically free, I want to farm alone. I want to be the boss. If Land Affairs could help me go at it alone I’d accept, but if not, I’ll rather lease land,” he says.
Contact Isaac Khuto on 073 226 1249. Like most farmers on the Free State/Lesotho border, Isaac is struggling with crime. Read more in our feature on page 37. |fw
