Caxton Magazines
Steak pie
Never judge a book by its cover, or a pie by its pastry. You never know what delicacies lie hidden beneath the dish’s crispy exterior. If it’s succulent texture and rich aroma you’re after, read on.
Preventing zoonosis
Controlling the spread of diseases to humans is generally easy, as most of the measures are grounded in common sense, writes Paul Donovan.
FF+ to motivate for rural safety police reservists
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) is scheduled to hold a meeting with Minister of Police Nathi Nhleko to highlight its concerns about the scourge of farm attacks and farm murders.
Meat classification – Time to enter the 21st century
South Africa’s meat classification system is outdated and must be changed, says Professor Frikkie Neser.
Feeding pen problems
Rounding off lambs under intensive conditions requires sound management, especially of aspects such as disease prevention and housing.
Caution urged about foreign-owned landownership
The wildlife ranching and game management industry was well-positioned to benefit rural communities, create jobs and bring about land reform as long as the free market system was in place, said Barry York of Wildlife Ranching SA, at a recent Land Reform Indaba.
Innovation called for in SA’s stud cattle breeding sector
SA’s stud cattle breeding societies and breeders needed to realise that commercial cattle breeders were their most important clients and position themselves accordingly, said to Prof Frikkie Neser, animal scientist at the University of the Free State.
ARC maize trials Part 1: short-growing cultivars
The ARC-Grain Crops Institute recently published its 2013/2014 National Maize Cultivar Trials results as well as the multi-seasonal results dating back to 2008/2009. Farmer’s Weekly reports on the results for short-growing season hybrids.
Flying high for 150 years
With R1 million in combined prize money expected, this is one race you
can’t afford to miss, says Thomas Smit.
Criminals are holding SA to ransom
Once again left in the dark, courtesy of cable thieves, I used my laptop’s remaining battery power to read up on the impact of crime on South Africa’s economy.
Introducing the mighty Kubota M7
Kubota introduces the highly anticipated M7-Series Tractor Line – Kubota's mid-range tractor entry into the commercial livestock and row-crop production markets.
Dealing with laminitis
A crippling lameness, this condition can strike suddenly, and may prove deadly, warns Dr Mac.
Combating clubroot in cabbage
Clubroot is an extremely serious disease; if it gets into your lands, it can destroy the entire crop.
Price discovery at the markets
Many small-scale and other farmers seem to believe the only way to sell their fruit or vegetables is directly to a supermarket or wholesale buyer.
Teamwork: essence of the Dutch co-op
Co-operatives play an important role in the Netherlands. Currently, South Africa and the Dutch are working together to develop co-ops for the beneficiaries of land reform. Jacques Claassen recently visited a dairy co-op in the province of North Holland and assesses it as a business model.
Starting with onions – Part 4
Bill Kerr explains how and when to harvest this crop, how to cure the onions, and how to pack them.
Wine harvest 4% down, but quality outstanding
South Africa’s 2015 wine harvest was expected to conclude at the end of this month with 75% of the grapes already harvested by mid-March.
Ladismith Cheese factory fire probed
Ladismith Cheese executives are still counting their losses following a fire that allegedly completely destroyed the stock, cheese and butter stores at the Western Cape factory recently.
Preserving the indigenous Mbuzi veld goat
With the advent of industrial agriculture, Southern Africa’s indigenous goat breeds faced extinction. However, some farmers such as Hilton Sanders of RH Ranching Mbuzi Stud, are dedicated to ensuring that these ecotypes remain relevant, and they are doing so profitably.
More on species and strains
What characteristics are sought for improvement in a strain development programme? How far beyond simple growth improvement must one go?
