Caxton Magazines
Cotton production set to double
Cotton production is expected to double this year, amid higher prices due to a weaker rand.
Red meat producers are cautiously optimistic
Large-scale red meat exports from Namibia and Botswana have scaled down, which is likely to push weaner prices up.
Never too old to be a top farmer
Grain SA/Absa Developing Grain Producer of the Year for 2013, Maurice Boki, is proof that age should never be considered a barrier to successful farming.
What does climate change hold for SA?
Global warming can be slowed if governments agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says Dr Bob Scholes, ecologist at the CSIR’s Natural Resources and Environment Division.
Councils: where is the democracy?
Traditional councils will never change until the government actively urges communities to vote.
Empowerment projects: successful & sustainable
Transformation through share-equity schemes seems the best way of empowering people.
SA grain value chain positive about 2014
Current decreases in global prices for both maize and soya bean are being offset by the weakening of the rand and increased production volumes locally, promising the grain value chain another good year, according to Standard Bank’s head of Agribusiness, Nico Groenewald.
Agritechnica highlights
Recently back from Agritechnica in Germany, Joe Spencer highlights the ‘best of the biggest’ at the exhibition.
Peace, space, & a mountain stream
I had a call from a previous client who had bought an old farmhouse in the foothills of the Drakensberg. The farm was being sectionalised and he wanted a house built on one of the sectioned-off sites.
Know your crop pests: White cabbage butterfly
The butterfly is large and strong-flying with a wingspan of 5,5cm. Both sexes are creamy-white, with a black head, thorax and abdomen.
Injecting pigs the correct way
As a pig farmer, you need to know how to inject vaccines, dewormers and other medicines, says Prof Cheryl McCrindle.
Predicting beef prices
Try this site for strategies to improve your overall profitability, says Greg Miles.
Fresh produce markets – choose wisely
Last week, I wrote about how a group of visiting UK potato farmers said that we in South Africa needed to preserve our commission markets system.
A year of extraordinary weather
It has been a year of unusual weather in many parts of South Africa. The SA Weather Service in June predicted unusual temperatures and rainfall across SA for the winter.
Commercial success for small-scale cattleman
Starting with just 10 Bonsmaras, ARC National Emerging Beef Farmer for 2013 Moses Zengetwa today has a herd of 120 highly productive Bonsmara-type cows and heifers. Mike Burgess visited him on his farm near Elliot.
Other carrot problems
Carrots are not attacked by many pests, apart from eelworm. Nonetheless, there are a few pests that can prove a problem.
Appealing a sequestration
The following case illustrates the limits of the tax authority’s powers in winding up proceedings.
Profit through precision farming
The father and son team of Pauciflora Farming in Arlington attribute their success to precision farming and reduced tillage. Dirk and Herman van Rensburg were finalists in the 2013 Grain SA Syngenta Grain Producer of the Year competition.
Horses – how to treat sore eyes
Any condition involving the eye is potentially serious and requires
a vet, says Kim Dyson.
Agriculture in 2013: Stock farmers losing millions to theft
On 22 February, Farmer’s Weekly reported that a farmers’ union in the Eastern Cape requested a government subsidy, as they could not afford to pay for a branding certificate to mark their animals.
