Denene Erasmus
Denene hails from a sugar cane farm in Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal, but after school she relocated to the Cape Winelands to study, for many years, at the University of Stellenbosch. She worked as a journalist for Farmer’s Weekly since 2009 and in 2015 moved to Johannesburg as Deputy editor for the magazine. In 2016 she was appointed editor, and at the end of 2021, she stepped down from her position to pursue her journalism career.
Mboweni heeds industry calls to save the Land Bank
In a statement, which clearly outlined the perilous state of South Africa’s national finances, made worse by the economic strive that resulted from the national lockdown to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, there was some good news for the farming sector.
Dear readers,
I love swimming in the ocean and even as a child I would swim out far behind the breaking waves to where the water was calm. Sometimes, though, I misjudge my own ability and the power of the waves, and I have had a few narrow escapes.
World’s fastest tractor at LAMMA 2020
The 38th LAMMA show, one of the UK’s top agricultural machinery, equipment and technology expos, took place near Birmingham from 7 to 8 January. It featured a special display of the world’s fastest tractor, the JCB’s Fastrac Two.
Breeding for optimal efficiency yields greener dairy herds
A recent report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that the global dairy industry is already part of the solution to address climate change. However, dairy farmers need to accelerate their current efforts by continuing to improve production efficiency.
COVID-19 lessons for agriculture
As the South African economy limps its way through the various lockdown levels, all of which are aimed at slowing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection rate, we’re getting to learn more about the fragile links that enable the various sectors to trade and operate.
Covid-19 support for farmers with a turnover of R1m or less
Smallholder and communal farmers with an annual turnover of between R20 000 and R1 million will be able to apply for financial support grants from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) from Wednesday, 8 April.
Essential Covid-19 lockdown regulations for farmers
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (agriculture department) has made it clear that the agriculture and food sector value chain, which is responsible for food security, has been declared as essential.
A world without farmers
For many of my generation, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which is bringing everyday life to a grinding halt, will be one of the most enduring and disruptive experiences of our lifetime.
Farmer’s Weekly goes online for duration of SA lockdown
Today we start our 21-day national lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus virus (COVID-19) in South Africa.
The Carbon Trust honours Keenan
Keenan has been recognised by the Carbon Trust for offering livestock farmers feed mixer machinery and software solutions that can help them reduce their on-farm carbon footprint, while enhancing production and profitability.
SA agriculture in recession for second year in a row
South Africa’s agriculture sector has experienced two consecutive years of recession due, in large part, to the widespread drought on the production of field and certain horticulture crops.
SA is holding the rest of Africa back
While still considered by many foreign investors as the ‘gateway into Africa’, South Africa’s dismal economic performance has been a drag on the rest of the continent, which, in 2019, was home to six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies, namely Rwanda, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Tanzania and Benin.
Budget hints at plans to reverse SA ports’ efficiency decline
The risk posed by failures and inefficiencies at South Africa’s main ports to the country’s economy, particularly the damage this was doing to export competitiveness, was acknowledged in the Budget Review, tabled by National Treasury alongside the 2020 Budget that was delivered by Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni in Parliament on Wednesday.
Agriculture and rural development gets 1,4% of Mboweni’s budget
Despite the announcement of real spending cuts during the tabling of the 2020 Budget by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in Parliament on Wednesday, South Africa was not “in an austerity situation”.
Autonomous tractor market on the move
The growing scarcity of farm labour due to factors such as urbanisation will see an increase in the demand for self-driving farm equipment. In response to this, John Deere recently unveiled its latest autonomous concept tractor, an all-electric model.
How much will you give to save SA?
For the last year or so, I have often thought about what occurred in South Korea in 1997 and 1998 when the country faced economic ruin due to the impact of the Asian economic crisis.
The real cost of progress
Over the past couple of decades, we have enjoyed plenty of benefits because of the progress made in farming. More people than ever before are now able to access sufficient food that can help them live longer and healthier lives.
Mercedes-Benz X-Class double-cab review
Mercedes-Benz’s X-Class double cabs are perfect for city-based CEOs who dream of one day retiring to the family farm, or for those mega farmers who find themselves spending more time in the boardroom than on the farm. Denene Erasmus carefully test drove one.
The writing’s on the (Twitter) wall
If you had hoped to start the year off on a positive note by doing something good for your health and well-being, giving up social media for January might have been a much better option than giving up drink. (This would also have been a much better option for the local wine industry, which reportedly suffered a 23% reduction in wine exports, as well as a decline in local sales.)
Land reform: speak up now!
Two important pieces of draft legislation that will shape the way that land reform in South Africa will be implemented were published recently, and are currently open for public comment.
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