Caxton Magazines

IT SEEMS THAT EVERY YEAR THE EXHIBITORS AT NAMPO CATER FOR A WIDER VARIETY OF FARMERS, growing a greater assortment of crops, some of which require very specialised equipment. There was also a greater selection of general-purpose tractors and implements at the show.

Growing salad crops in hydroponic systems boosts production and creates a year-round supply. However, the system is capital-intensive and requires careful monitoring. Glenneis Erasmus spoke to hydroponic lettuce producers Duncan and Karen Napier about the pros and cons.

Sub-Saharan African agriculture is in a crisis. Declining yields, impoverished soils and massive soil erosion are common problems in rural areas. Peter Hittersay attended the FAO Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division's recent two-day regional conservation agriculture (CA) workshop, and reports on the urgent change in agricultural practices required and the CA solutions mooted.

The mention of hunting brings to mind pictures of men with guns posing proudly amid a sea of animal carcasses. But the truth is somewhat different. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports on a study that found that often being merely outdoors is a greater consideration than actually killing animals.

It was in 2006, the driest year Australian sheep farmers have ever experienced, that the SA Dohne Merino came into its own, delivering excellent lamb crops and wool clips. Former South African Dohne Merino breed director Cameron McMaster gives a first-hand account of the phenomenal success of this South African breed in Australia.

Farmer's Weekly's efforts to get to the bottom of the Qamata irrigation scheme's failure to rise from the ashes, despite millions of rand being lavished on its revival, have raised more disturbing questions than answers - including why Eastern Cape MEC Gugile Nkwinti appears reluctant to heed an auditor's recommendation for a forensic probe into the scheme's finances. Stephan Hofstätter investigates the root of the rot.

Alongside natural vegetation, insects and small mammals, birds are the most underrated and underdeveloped resource in agricultural tourism on farms and game ranches. With skill and imagination and very little input, this resource can contribute significantly to the income of an enterprise.

Texas is widely known as some of the best cattle country in the world. It evokes images of whooping and hollering cowboys on horseback herding vast herds of Longhorn cattle across trackless terrain, and the art of roping and branding calves without the benefit of a crush.

South African ostrich products might soon be exported to Russia. Anton Kruger, CEO of the South African Ostrich ­Chamber, recently went on a trade mission to Moscow on behalf of the ostrich industry as part of an initiative of the Department of Trade and ­Industry to create new market opportunities for South ­African products.

The hunting community has been divided since minister of environmental affairs and tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk outlawed the hunting of captive-bred large predators earlier this year. Issue date 15 June 2007

One of the highlights of the 2007 Nampo livestock section was the ­Romagnola, an Italian beef cattle breed, which made its debut at this prestigious agricultural show.

While there was no lack of participants willing to test their strength at the three-day Farmer's Weekly Strongman Competition at this year's Royal Show held in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, they all failed to prevail against the might of the massive and muscular men that Farmer's Weekly had sent to challenge the show's many visitors and exhibitors.
Issue date 15 June 2007

The South African red meat ­industry has been shot into the global spotlight after the top lamb carcass at the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, was sold on ­auction for a whopping R3 000/kg to a Durban butchery owner.
Issue date 15 June 2007

Solving the country's ­agrilogistics problems has been likened to taming a dinosaur. The Departments of Agriculture and Transport, along with various agriculture and logistics stakeholders, recently held a workshop to discuss the status of agrilogistics in SA. Issue date 15 June 2007

TWO OF THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY'S top leaders have announced that they will be leaving the sector. Issue date 15 June 2007

If your municipality ignores the FIRST “bad service delivery” billboard you've erected, you simply put up another one. Issue date 15 June 2007

THE GENERAL FEELING AMONG THE EXHIBITORS AT THE 2007 NAMPO HARVEST DAY SHOW WAS that business was good. Issue date 15 June 2007

Fish River Valley farmers have heard wild promises before that growing sugar beet would save them from relying on maize and lucerne crops prone to price volatility and ostrich exports vulnerable to bird flu outbreaks. To date there's been little progress in establishing a beet industry, leaving many understandably sceptical. But Sugar Beet SA's new biofuels plan could well win over the doubters if the price is right, writes Stephan Hofstätter. Issue date 15 June 2007

Wim Scholtz, a 34-year-old farmer from the Vryburg district, has been nominated as the North West finalist for the 2007 Toyota Young Farmer of the Year competition. Wilma den Hartigh visited him on his farm to find out what has contributed to his success.

New dynamic recommendations for row width and planting density in Western Cape conservation tillage systems have been developed by key players in agriculture, including Dr Mark Hardy (Western Cape Department of Agriculture), Prof André Agenbag (Department of Agronomy, University of Stellenbosch) and numerous producers who hosted trials over the past five seasons. John Tolmay, the project leader and also senior researcher at the ARC Small Grains Institute, Bethlehem, summarises these guidelines. Issue date 8 June 2007