Annelie Coleman
Annelie Coleman represents Farmer’s Weekly in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape.
Agriculture is in her blood. She grew up on a maize farm in the Wesselsbron district where her brother is still continuing with the family business.
Annelie is passionate about the area she works in and calls it ‘God’s own country’. She’s particularly interested in beef cattle farming, especially with the indigenous African breeds.
‘A mammoth task to inoculate 14 million cattle across South Africa’
It was clear that the attendees at the foot-and-mouth disease information day held recently in Bothaville realised the crisis that had resulted from the widespread outbreaks of the disease, said Dr John Purchase, former CEO of Agbiz and facilitator of the event.
Flood-ravaged KwaZulu-Natal braces for more heavy rainfall
More rain is expected over the flood-ravaged coastline of KwaZulu-Natal from Friday (15 April) to Wednesday (20 April).
SA citrus exports set to increase despite ongoing challenges
For the first time since South Africa’s single-channel marketing system for agricultural commodities was abolished in the 1990s, citrus fruit was exported from the Port of Maputo in Mozambique on Monday, 11 April.
Wet weather expected to continue across SA in the medium term
The present rainy conditions over most of South Africa can be expected to continue until May, with a dry spell expected from about June to November, particularly over the central to western parts of the country.
FMD outbreaks ‘could ruin SA’s red meat industry’
South African livestock producers who are unwilling to implement sustainable and thorough biosecurity measures on their farms are irresponsible, according to James Faber, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation.
Agri sector job creation lauded amid increasing cost pressure
The growing importance of the agriculture sector as an employer in South Africa has again been reiterated by Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) employment figures for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021.
‘SA is sitting on a water-pollution time bomb’
South Africa is sitting on a time bomb as far the contamination of its water resources, and groundwater in particular, is concerned. This was according to Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, operations and stewardship manager at CropLife South Africa.
Namibia bans cattle movement after lung sickness outbreak
A complete ban on the movement cattle has come into immediate effect in four areas in the Kavango West Region of Namibia following an outbreak of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.
New research findings could protect Namibia’s kudus from rabies
Rabies has killed thousands of kudus in Namibia since the 1970s, but years of research into methods to combat the often-devastating outbreaks have now yielded positive results.
Road-tripping and birdwatching in SA
Long drives across South Africa offer perfect opportunities for birdwatching, says Muller Janse van Rensburg, who lives in Bethlehem in the Free State. Since he and his family discovered the pastime, their annual holiday has become even more exciting and enjoyable.
‘Alarming upswing in green maize theft threatens food security’
The theft of green maize cobs in the Free State has escalated to such an extent that food security in the province is under threat.
Urgent financial support needed to fight Northern Cape locusts
Agri Northern Cape is appealing for financial support of its aerial locust extermination team to prevent the brown locust swarms currently prevalent across the Northern Cape reaching the crop production areas along the Vaal and Orange rivers, the Free State, and North West.
Namibia’s agri sector on the rebound, despite Swakara losses
While most agricultural industries in Namibia achieved positive results in 2021, international trade restrictions imposed in an attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severely negative impact on the country’s Swakara industry.
Agri shows to return to local calendar this year
Grain SA is going ahead with arrangements for the 2022 Nampo Harvest Day while it awaits the outcome of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s undertaking to lift the state of emergency, instituted in 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Teaching children about the crucial roles of insects in nature
Prof Johnnie van den Berg, an entomologist at North-West University, is passionate about insects and their critical contribution they make to the environment by pollinating plants and dispersing seeds. He is equally committed to teaching preschool children about the importance of insects.
Urgent action needed to fight locusts across large parts of SA
The enormous swarms of brown locusts currently in evidence across the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape need to be eradicated as soon as possible to prevent further damage to the provinces’ farmland.
Sexed semen: a game changer for Damara stud
Using sexed semen in an artificial insemination programme carries a 90% assurance that the surrogate animal will deliver offspring of the desired sex. Annelie Coleman spoke to Damara farmer Stan Burger and embryo-flushing expert Dr Fanie Steyn about the technical process and how to prepare the surrogate ewes.
Call for Free State farmers to pay for road repairs met with dismay
Farmers in the Free State are in a catch-22 situation following a call by the Free State provincial government for the province’s farming sector to repair the ever-deteriorating provincial road network at their own cost.
Small livestock farmers in the Free State ‘besieged’ by thieves
Farmers in the Phuthaditjhaba district of the Free State are left at the mercy of stock thieves, with little or no support from the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Former Tongaat Hulett executives released on bail in fraud case
A culture of deference and a lack of challenging authority at Tongaat Hulett Limited (THL) resulted in employees following instructions without questioning the basis for accounting practices, according to an investigation by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
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