Caxton Magazines
Mycorrhiza: boosting roots
Rising fertiliser costs and growing environmental awareness are forcing farmers across the world to find more environmentally friendly ways to optimise production and fight pests. As well as a fertiliser replacement, the mycorrhiza fungus is a promising biological control method. Dr Venter from Biocult laid out its virtues to Glenneis Erasmus.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Playing golf for better safety & security – the Agri Securitas Golf Day in...
Recently 18 four-balls teed off at the Victoria Country Club in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, to raise money for the managed by SA
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
The meat market and cruel reality
On the eve of a meeting scheduled between minister of environmental affairs Marthinus van Schalkwyk and stakeholders in the red meat industry, Farmer's Weekly correspondent and livestock farmer Roelof Bezuidenhout pleads for a more realistic outlook in the debate around humane meat production and animal welfare.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
US still drives the maize price
According to Beijing Review China has produced a bumper grain harvest for the fifth consecutive year, and reportedly expects a larger surplus this year than its 2007 excess of 50 million tons.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Abattoir grinds to a halt as workers strike
The Triple A Beef abattoir in Cramond KwaZulu-Natal, which processes up to 400 head of cattle every working day, recently came to a complete standstill for roughly two weeks after 200 of its staff were fired for holding an illegal strike.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Agri SA tackle input costs
Rising input costs remain a serious threat to the profitability of South African agriculture and have been identified as a critical performance area by Agri SA's Commodity Chamber.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Farmers to tighten the belt for the next grain season
Crop estimates for summer and winter grains are looking good, with maize up 117,1% from 2006/07 and winter cereals such as wheat up by 16,1% from the 2007 season, according to data released by the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC).
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Unions fume at proposed land claim extension
TAU has strongly rejected acting chief land claims commissioner Blessing Mphela's proposal to extend settling outstanding land claims by another five years, saying the cut-off time of the end of this year must be respected.
Issie date : 15 August 2008
Issie date : 15 August 2008
More towns withhold rates over poor delivery
Farmers in Louis TrichardT and Naboomspruit have expressed their unhappiness with the lack of municipal service delivery by joining the 180 towns in SA which have already withheld rate payments to municipalities and have instead paid them into a trust fund.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Expropriation Bill adoption ‘cancelled’
The adoption for the controversial Expropriation Bill by parliament, scheduled for 1 August, was cancelled with no explanation from the portfolio committee, according to DA land affairs spokesperson Andries Botha, who sits as an alternative member on the portfolio committee.
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Issue date : 15 August 2008
Letter dated 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Who’ll determine land’s true value?
When selling land to the state for land reform, landowners only want accurate, market- related compensation. However, as Agri SA's head of land reform Dr Theo de Jager writes, not only does government refuse to pay out, but selling to the state can take 42 months - a typical private transaction takes eight weeks.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Elements vital to soil
Many fertiliser companies and farmers consider calcium and magnesium as secondary in importance to nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. But according to soil expert Dr Neil Kinsey, these two elements play a primary role in maintaining plant and soil health. Glenneis Erasmus reports.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
A lion in Zion(sberg)
A dispirited community in the Western Cape has been uplifted by a 72-year-old pastor-turned-farmer. Reggie Boesak has introduced apricot, fig and pomegranate farming in Zionsberg, Montagu and created numerous jobs. Wouter Kriel reports.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
To save a rare Zulu sheep
For thousands of years the Zulu sheep, or Izimvu, was a cornerstone of traditional pastoral practices in what later became known as KwaZulu-Natal. However, crossbreeding and fragmentation of its population have put the Izimvu on the endangered list, threatening the loss of a breed perfectly adapted to its environment. Now KZN farmer is looking to save the Izimvu from extinction. Lloyd Phillips reports.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Africa’s scars as seen from space
In a bid to open the world's eyes to the stark realities of human impact on the African landscape, the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) has compiled satellite photos illustrating then and now, says UNEP scientist Dr Ashbindu Singh. Overgrazing and the plundering of mineral reserves degrade water systems and agricultural land, leading to urbanisation, which stresses resources further and does even more damage. Darren Taylor reports.
Issue date 08 August 2008
Issue date 08 August 2008
Soil research by fruit producers
The Deciduous Fruit Producers' Trust is conducting its own research into soil health, and its greatest strength, according to Dr Nigel Cook, is its multidisciplinary approach. Wouter Kriel reports.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Sustainable agriculture guru to lecture in SA again
Graeme Sait of Nutri-Tech Solutions (NTS) in Australia, an internationally recognised expert on sustainable agriculture, will be returning to South Africa in August to present his popular course, the Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
The meat market and cruel reality
On the eve of a meeting scheduled between minister of environmental affairs Marthinus van Schalkwyk and stakeholders in the red meat industry, Farmer's Weekly correspondent and livestock farmer Roelof Bezuidenhout pleads for a more realistic outlook in the debate around humane meat production and animal welfare.
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Simmentaler’s Massman joins the Brahman society
"I speak on behalf of all the Brahman breeders when I say that we're honoured and privileged to have the internationally renowned Namibian-born Peter Massman join our team."
Issue date : 08 August 2008
Issue date : 08 August 2008
