Caxton Magazines
The gospel of conservation agriculture
Faced with poverty and hunger at his remote mission in the Lesotho mountains, Rev August Basson realised providing food for the soul alone wouldn't sustain his flock for long. Conservation agriculture proved to be the answer to his payers. He tells Peter Hittersay how his teachings are improving lives.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
A tale of two coltson an African adventure
Ross Millin had a dream - to introduce new genetic material that would rejuvenate the South African Saddle Horse industry. It took time, patience and ingenuity, but the plan is at last coming to fruition. Louise de Wet reports.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Great tasting premiums from grass-fed beef
A niche market is growing for grass-fed beef amongst consumers. An entrepreneurial couple in the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands is tapping into this, with their all-natural beef fetching around R20/kg more than grain-fed beef at R69,98/kg.Lloyd Phillips reports.
Issue date: 24 April 2009
Issue date: 24 April 2009
Managing lions on small reserves
The reintroduction of large predators is becoming an increasingly popular ecotourism strategy on small reserves, but ranchers should note that just a few lions can kill a lot of prey animals every year. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
A green revolution launched at ZZ2
One of South Africa's largest farming operations, ZZ2, needed dramatic production changes to stay sustainable. They formulated natuurboerdery, which gave them all the benefits of organic farming without a major fall in production. Glenneis Erasmus reports on how this approach is starting to pay off.
A tale of two coltson an African adventure
Ross Millin had a dream - to introduce new genetic material that would rejuvenate the South African Saddle Horse industry. It took time, patience and ingenuity, but the plan is at last coming to fruition. Louise de Wet reports.
Issue date: 24 April 2009
Issue date: 24 April 2009
The most important melon diseases
Melons are notoriously susceptible to a fairly wide range of diseases and for this reason, areas with safer climatic conditions are usually selected for production. But sufficient varieties in a class are needed to select a suitable powdery mildew-resistant one.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
The tail wagging the dog
On our fresh produce markets, most of the agencies operating there pay their salespeople on a commission basis.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Retail sector may surprise us
There are clear indications that retail sales and food demand will improve despite the current financial crisis.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
‘Protect the Karoo lamb brand!’
Tell anyone about a juicy Karoo lamb chop and they will know what you are talking about. But, argues Prof Johann Kirsten, Karoo farmers run the danger of losing control over this potentially premium brand. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
What the desert needs
The Karoo Development Foundation will need buy-in from farmers if it is to solve the region's biggest problems - creating enough decent jobs for its marginalised communities without destroying its soul or natural resources, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Issue date : 24 April 2009
Sterkfontein Kalahari Red
Installing irigation and oversowing the mixed grass pasture with clover has enabled Zelda Brits to increase the Sterkfontein Kalahari Re goat Stud by one-third in a year - to 325 animals on just 6,5ha.
Issue date: 17 April 2009
Issue date: 17 April 2009
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Congo farming information session at the end of April
The first information session about farming opportunities in the Republic of Congo will take place on 29 April.
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Monsanto’s pollination investigation is well on track
The first phase of the investigation into the pollination problems in three Monsanto white-maize hybrid seed cultivars has been completed, according to Kobus Lindique, MD of Monsanto sub-Saharan Africa. The issue was a traditional seed-production technique used with hybrid breeding.
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Taxpayers union wants to ‘privatise’ sewerage works
The National TaxPayers Union (NTPU) intends to take over dysfunctional sewerage works from municipalities and run them privately. NTPU chairperson Jaap Kelder said sewerage works aren't being managed effectively and sewerage is being pumped into rivers at an alarming rate.
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Court papers filed on Free State border case
Free State Agriculture (Agri Free State) has handed an application against 14 respondents in the Bloemfontein High Court over the collapse of law and order on the Lesotho border. The documents will be served shortly on the president and a number of government departments.
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Snubbed farmers might still get market value
Farmers who were forced to accept below-market related prices for land sold to the state for restitution might still get the chance to be fully compensated.
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Bee disease threat
It's unclear how a highly contagious brood disease entered South Africa, but it could devastate commercial and hobby apiarists, and farmers depending on bees for pollination. Haylee Robbins reports.
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Minister defies law in eviction drive
On 8 April, land and agriculture minister Lulama Xingwana "reposessed" a second farm in Gauteng as part of her "use it or lose it" campaign, through which she's replacing "unproductive" land reform beneficiaries with groups of women she believes will do a better job. Peter Mashala reports.
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Dramatic surge in Zim land grabs
Farmers' rights group Justice for Agriculture (JAG) has evidence of a dramatic upsurge in farm invasions since the formation of Zimbabwe's unity government, between Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in February.
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