Blood, sweat & tears by koos coetzee

Chances are good the Reserve Bank will increase interest rates again in June. Farmers would do well to use this year's higher income to reduce their debt.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Pannar plans another 50 years of quality

The SA-based Pannar Group celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Having grown into an internationally recognised, quality commercial seed producer and supplier of other agri-inputs, Pannar is already planning ahead for the next 50 years. MD Deon van Rooyen, reviews past highlights and gives his take on the future of his company.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Swartland Canola Farmer of the year

Dirk Lesch is the 2007 Swartland Canola Farmer of the Year with an average yield of 2,32t/ha and the best gross margins of R5 957/ha on his farm, 12km outside Malmesbury. Wouter Kriel writes.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Inspiration to new farmers – Jacob Mphafudi

North West province cattleman Jacob Leburu Mphafudi rebounded after his first herd was wiped out by poison leaf, to become the 2007 Pick 'n Pay/Landbouweekblad Emerging Breeder of the Year. He now farms with 750 cows on two separate farms and holds a series of awards for conservation as well as his quality cattle, writes Peter Mashala.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Shareholders build the African dream

Veterinarian Ulf Tubbesing and business partner Miena Mans have pledged their 10 000ha farm Ongos to develop a 50 000ha, privately held conservation area bordering Windhoek, Namibia, introducing wild game species and reversing bush encroachment. Now Ulf is starting an innovative shareholding initiative to finance the next step of his endeavour. Servaas van den Bosch reports.
Issue date: 06 June 2008

Animal husbandry in overdrive

Sky-rocketing input costs are forcing the livestock industry to adapt to different practices. Genetic technology takes the lead, creating more efficient breeds that will likely replace old breeds, while feedlots will be forced to use breeds maturing even earlier. Prof Frikkie Neser of the University of the Free State's Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences has investigated this phenomenon, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Umtiza Farmers’ Corp, the farmer-friendly centres

After years as an independent agriculture and forestry contractor in the former homelands of the Eastern Cape, Orrock Robertsen was taken aback by Umtiza - a company offering farmers access to supplies, resources and support. Orrock explains.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Smoothing rockies’ road

Alien fish and human-wrought habitat changes are threatening the Eastern Cape rocky, an almost extinct member of the rare labyrinth fish family endemic to just six Eastern Cape river systems. Mike Burgess spoke to Jim Cambray and Greg Briggs, on the frontlines of the fight to save this unique species.
Issue date: 06 June 2008

The salt of the earth

Without good drainage, irrigation farming is threatened by soil salinisation. But in areas where it's needed most, drainage may only be affordable with government assistance. Roelof Bezuidenhout spoke to Dr Jack Armour.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Hard work pays off for Karoo farmworker

Koos Meiring from the farm Diepkloof in Barandas has won the Klein Karoo's Farm Worker of the Year Competition.
Issue date:06 June 2008

Something’s rotten in Philadelphia

There's a bad smell hanging over the Koeberg area in the Western Cape where human waste is being used as compost by some farmers in the Philadelphia district, breeding flies and, some claim, poisoning local water supplies. While farmers and the waste management company say everything is being done according to the book, Wouter Kriel investigates and finds there may be merit in some of the complaints.
Issue date : 06 June 2008

Potato hectarage expected to decline further

The drastic increases in producer input costs will result in even fewer potatoes being planted this year.
Issue date:06 June 2008

Website lures city slickers to the platteland

A country recruitment website is offering urbanites an alternative to life in the fast lane.
Issue date: 06 June 2008

The Expropriation Bill roadshow carries little weight

Organised agriculture and human rights organisations have raised their concern that the provincial public hearings for the proposed Expropriation Bill, which seeks to replace the Act of 1975, are being manipulated by the Department of Public Works to facilitate the speedy passing of the Bill through parliament.
Issue date: 06 June 2008

Maize surplus set to leave SA shores

"The maize price has to increase from its current R1 800/t to R3 000/t for farmers to remain profitable," said Abie van der Walt, chairperson of Agri Africa Trust.
Issue date: 06 June 2008

Caveman cooking – meat on twigs

Intuition tells me that roasting bits of meat on twigs is probably one of the oldest cooking methods in existence. My wife Jenny, who is probably one of the best cooks in the entire world including Outer Space, occasionally makes kebabs on fresh rosemary branches - the effect is delicious! But for all of us aspiring chefs, let me suggest you give this very fine marinade a go.

Fight early blight right from the first round ARC’s do-it-yourself biogas manu

The Agricultural Research Council's (ARC) Institute for Agricultural Engineering has manuals available for the design, building and operations of biogas equipment, updated in January 2008.
Issue date: 30 May 2008

Fight early blight right from the first round

Early blight (Alternaria solani) is one of the most well-known tomato diseases and one of the easiest to identify. It produces concentric spots of about 10mm on leaves and stems, which is why it's also called target spot. When it occurs on stems, the rings become elongated.
Issue date: 30 May 2008

Two things people want more than sex & money

'Managers who build winning teams are highly sensitive to success and less sensitive to failure. They are quick to compliment and slow to criticise.
Issue date: 30 May 2008

The champion fancier Cassie Matthee

In his pigeon career of over 37 YEARS, Cassie Matthee has been crowned Club Champion no less than 27 times and won the Point's League Union Championships 12 times. has also won the long-distance points champion trophy in 30 of his 37 years of pigeon racing.

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