What you should know about the carbon market
Across the world businesses are committing to countering global warming through carbon reduction or carbon offset programmes. Big retailers such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer have made it clear...
Diatoms: biomonitors for wetlands
Using these simple, central organisms, biologists are developing a new way of monitoring the ecological health of wetlands that can work in conjunction with existing tests. Chris Nel reports. Issue...
Distributors appointed for Atespar implements
GMG Power SA of Isando has been appointed the sole distributor for the full range of Atespar implements Issue date 31 August 2007
Keeping it in the family: managing successful succession
Unique, emotional issues attach to a family-run farm, especially when succession is in question. How has the extended Collett family, which has owned farms in Fish River for four generations,...
Reviving the Afrikaner breed
Infusing Bonsmara genetics into the Afrikaner through a goal-directed breeding initiative boosts its fertility and meat quality, making this traditional breed competitive once more. Dr Richter Jordaan spoke to Susan...
General shoeing
The main purpose of the foot is to reduce concussion and promote circulation, and the hard outer wall is required to protect the sensitive internal structures Issue date 31 August...
Thumbs up for ‘old regime’ support structures
Molefe Mokoene of the National African Farmers' Union (Nafu) says learning from past successes and providing adequate support to all farmers across racial and economic lines is the only way...
Land Affairs: its own worst enemy
According to Dr Theo de Jager, chairperson of Agri SA's Land Affairs Committee, the Department of Land Affairs has stalled its own efforts at land reform, and the process has...
Datadots: advanced microscopic anti-theft identification
Theft is a fact of life, but these tiny dots can significantly reduce the risk of your property being stolen - and boost your chances of recovering it if it...
Superb veggies with no-till
No-till has taken root all around the world, transforming dust bowls into productive land and making cropping practical and economical in areas formally useless for conventional tillage. No-till is getting...
A home of their own on the land they love
Tension over workers' housing is a recurring nightmare for farmers, but Eric Starke is not only accommodating his workers, he's giving them the opportunity to buy their own homes, on...
Bridging the gap between farmers and retail prices
'Farmers produce commodities … [they] will have to take control of their products outside the farmgate.' Issue date 31 August 2007
Know your enemy: fruit flies in the Western Cape
The Western Cape is dominated by two types of fruit fly, the Mediterranean fruit fly and the Natal fruit fly, which predominates in Stellenbosch Issue date 31 August 2007
Bye-bye, Louis: baiting fruit flies
“For every 10 male fruit flies in a trap, there are up to 400 females, 40 000 eggs, 8 000 larvae and 2 000 pupae - that's 50 000 flies...
New grazing capacity norms coming
Researchers and other interested parties should get involved in the process of drawing up new national norms for the grazing capacity of the country's natural pastures, Bongani Ngwenyama of the...
New nuclear power sites investigated
It's premature for farmers in the St Francis Bay area west of Port Elizabeth to worry about the possible effects of a nuclear power plant on markets for their products...
Cattle supplements reduce methane emissions
A key challenge for agriculture is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Issue date 31 August 2007
Worrying drop in Cape parrot numbers
'Numbers are under threat from … illegal capture and trade, and diseases.' Issue date 31 August 2007
Slaughtered endangered tortoise avenged
The KwaZulu-Natal killers of a critically endangered Seychelles tortoise have had various sentences handed down to them by a Pietermaritzburg court for their efforts Issue date 31 August 2007
