Caxton Magazines

Variety plays a huge role when determining optimal cucurbit spacing.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

All the recent business failures happened in an era when corporate governance was almost a household term. Why?
Issue date : 28 November 2008

The weaker and volatile rand holds both good and bad news for farmers.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

Producing 20% more maize on 25% less land, is South Africa's only real agricultural innovation in the past 25 years, says Professor Nick Vink of the University of Stellenbosch, with our top three agricultural exports still being the same as a hundred years ago. This worrying reality can only be addressed through massive investment and innovation in the industry. And with soya bean and sunflower imports for poultry feed contributing significantly to the distortion of our balance of trade - the Achilles heel of the economy - such investment can't come a minute too soon.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

Grain SA's Developing Farmer of the Year, Labious Manoto, not only produces maize and sunflower on a respectable 1 000ha, he also runs 180 commercial cattle and 200 sheep. Starting off on communal land back in the 1970s, he has some stern advice for the state about the problems experienced by black farmers. Annelie Coleman reports.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

The cow Eversar Agnes ninth CNN 0030 is the Farmer's Weekly-ARC Best Elite Sussex Cow for 2008, but her owner Chris Nel is breeding champions by the dozen. Wayne Southwood visited the farm to talk to him about his cattle.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

A visit to South Africa of a descendant of a British soldier who was killed in the Anglo Boer War has rekindled interest in one of the lesser known but equally important battles - the Battle of Doornkraal. John Powell from Yorkshire recently went to Bothaville in the Free State to find the grave of his great uncle, Major Welch. Annelie Coleman accompanied him and tells his story with pictures.
Issue date : 28 November 2008

The high diversity of dwarf-leaf succulents is the most distinctive characteristic of the Succulent Karoo, with vygies being the most numerous and prominent, writes Cameron McMaster.?
Issue date : 21 November 2008

South Africa is RIGHT up there with China and India in terms of air pollution.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

While on a film-shoot in the Kalahari, Abré J Steyn discovers there are more adventures associated with filming mongoose than merely recording their interesting lives.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY drugs (NSAIDs) have been used to enable injured horses to compete.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

The complexities of spacing go well beyond weed competition, weather and nutrition.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

Many global investors are seeing agriculture right now as a blue chip investment.'
Issue date : 21 November 2008

Best known for his work on crop rotation, Dr Mark Hardy from the Western Cape's Department of Agriculture was recently voted scientist of the year by Grain SA. With years of experience, Hardy notes with concern that research into soil health, especially in the winter rainfall regions, is still in its infancy.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

The Department of Agriculture recently proposed new plans to deal with high food inflation. Higher tariffs could play a role, but the other plans seem unrealistic.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

South Africa should wake up to opportunities posed by China and India, which may soon constitute more than two-thirds of the world economy, says political analyst Daniel Silke. Urbanisation is turning them into huge markets for South African exports. Meanwhile, China's investment in Africa is hitting billions of dollar a year and, for better or worse, it's coming without the political conditions attached to Western aid.
Issue date: 21 November 2008

Schalk Stapelberg, Grain SA's top grain farmer for 2008, distinguished himself by the efficiency with which he manages his diverse 2 820ha four-farm maize, soya bean and dairy enterprise. His secret is computer programmes he either modifies or writes himself, that sift the vital data he needs to make clear decisions. Lloyd Phillips reports.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

Grace Moraitje, Wilhelmina Bingwa and Sara Legoshe from Modderrivier in the Northern Cape won the province's Female Farmer of the Year 2008 Competition in the category for Top Food Producer: National Markets. They have established themselves as successful crop farmers and put their success down to their love of the land, hard work and helping hands. Now they have a future and can secure a decent living for themselves and their children, all the while contributing to food security and combating poverty, writes Annelie Coleman.
Issue date: 21 November 2008

The fourth International Conference on Silicon in Agriculture in Port Edward attracted 120 top international scientists and agronomists. Their 60 papers and 32 posters covered a wide range of crops, from rice and sugarcane to forest trees and ornamentals. Robyn Joubert reports on a selection of papers hand-picked by the chairperson of the organising committee, Prof Mark Laing of the University of KZN.
Issue date : 21 November 2008

With the business climate expected to remain tough during the weeks before the Christmas recess, it's no surprise to see a further decline in the market, with the Merino indicator softening by 3,4% to close at R42,64/kg (clean).
Issue date: 21 November 2008