Caxton Magazines

Maize farmers hope to sell their surpluses to the biofuel industry. A study has shown SA's maize belt in North West and the Free State is an ideal location for biofuel plants, because it provides a secure feedstock supply in the vicinity of feedlots and fuel refineries.

' …he has played a part in many important milestones in the local agricultural industry.

Feeling let down by government policing efforts, a group of farmers in rural KwaZulu-Natal have established their own innovative and successful system to fight stock theft between the province and neighbouring Lesotho. Lloyd Phillips braved chilly weather and very rough roads to bring you this report.

'It was estimated that 80 farmers and 8 000 farmworkers in the Midlands were affected.'
Issue date 13 July 2007

At a recent course on biological farming, presented by Nutri-Tech Solutions, Wilma den Hartigh found out about valuable tools used to measure soil pH and brix levels, and plant sap extractors for monitoring plant health, as well as why more farmers are using foliar feeds.

According to environmentalists, researchers and farmers in the area surrounding Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga, dead fish and crocodiles at the dam's inflow are the first signs of a looming tragedy.

It will cost a Limpopo cattle farmer about R12,75/kg to produce a weaner, which will be sold for about R12/kg on average.

In South Africa's rural areas children have alarmingly low levels of vitamin A, which can result in infections, blindness and even death. To combat this critical deficiency, researchers suggest the cultivation of the beta-carotene-enriched, orange-fleshed sweet potato, which is hardy and well adapted to South African conditions, thus making it ideal for cultivation in poor rural areas. Cornelia du Plooy reports.

Notice has been given that A a referendum will occur in a month's time. A growing number of elderly lions, leopards and hyenas have found it increasingly difficult to hunt successfully.

Dieter Sellmeyer of Lynx Wines, a small boutique winery near ­Franschhoek, believes CDs are for the birds - ­metaphorically, not ­literally.

In 2003 Reuter Sorour and Andrew Tilsley, joined later by neighbour Alec Botha, began producing organic-in-conversion milk for Woolworths via their national organic centre for milk production near Bloemfontein, Homsek Dairy. Today Andrew and Alec have reverted to conventional milk production while Reuter remains deeply disillusioned, thanks to what they call a controversial certification process and a battle to receive significant premiums for their milk. Mike Burgess visited the farmers near Ficksburg to hear their side of the story.

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to improve the emotional, and in turn the physical wellness of the animal being treated.

Buks Bradbury was practically born in the pigeon lofts of his father Peter, but only took up the sport later in life.

There are few British culinary experiences more appalling than the so-called ploughman's lunch.

If you remove virus-infected plants and insects at the start of the season, you can start off with a clean slate.

Inducing systemic activated resistance is one of the active defense systems that can protect crops against disease attack. Joel Williams said inducing systemic resistance can be effective in achieving quality without sacrificing yield.

Farmers can pick up plant nutrition deficiencies before they become visible in the field by means of a leaf analysis, says Joel Williams.

The “big four” approach Joel Williams said Zimmer's discovery, known as the “big four” approach, focuses on building maximum sugar production and microbe support.

'The outlook for agricultural product prices remains good; there is little sign of a downturn in demand ...'

The reduction in farm labour is due to globalisation, agricultural competition, the lack of skilled labour, rigid ­employment legislation and ill-timed land tenure laws, says Prof Doreen ­Atkinson, visiting professor at the ­University of the Free State and author of Going for Broke, a new book about the history and plight of farmworkers.