KwaZulu-Natal’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Africa’s largest estuarine system, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The uMfolozi River, long artifically separated from the lake, is again flowing into it, restoring the...
Greg Butler, Australian conservation agriculturalist, recently spoke to SA farmers about smart production strategies and innovation in a competitive farming environment. Jacques Claassen reports from the Conservation Agriculture Western Cape...
Leopard populations are at risk across their range. Research conducted by the Limpopo Leopard Project has resulted in an adaptive management system for leopard conservation. Carnivore ecologist, Ross Pitman, spoke...
Plough for more
Sustainable farming in South Africa has been given a boost by Nedbank which announced that it would invest R8,3 million in the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa’s (WWF-SA)...
The 2014/2015 Senwes financial results showed that agricultural companies had to do business in a volatile environment characterised by two contrasting agricultural cycles.
Despite challenging times ahead as well as long range forecasts showing below normal expected rainfall for South Africa, the drought will still not be declared a national disaster.
With the high unemployment rate in South Africa, government has implemented the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) to encourage businesses to employ more youngsters.
The Private Rhino Owners’ Association (PROA) is pleading with government to fast-track an application to have the moratorium on the legal trade in rhino horns from South Africa lifted.
Caxton CTP Publishers and Printers has joined Eskom’s energy efficiency campaign, 49M, in an effort to reduce energy consumption.
A fruit-manufacturing business at Piket-Bo-Berg in the Western Cape has created a market for rejected produce by turning it into jam, chutney and similar products. Jeandré van der Walt spoke...
The Onverwacht community, with support from Food and Trees for Africa, an international NGO, has opted for a more sustainable solution than RDP housing to improve their lives. Peter Mashala...
Consumers worldwide are increasingly demanding varied flavours and health benefits from tea. Meeting this demand is what German-based Teehaus Shila excels at. Lloyd Phillips spoke to deputy manager Arpan Chatterjee...
Former minister of agriculture Dr Kraai van Niekerk’s honeybee hobby, which he started after quitting politics in 2009, has grown into a fully-fledged farming enterprise. It is now among the...
The Boer goat can help to make emerging farmers successful, and they also have a large local and foreign stud market.
Small-town agricultural schools often struggle in today’s educational climate, characterised by departmental underfunding. But Winterberg Agricultural High School has maintained its high standards, and developed its farm into a self-sufficient...
As the tigerfish is our premier inland gamefish and because its numbers are dwindling, Abré J Steyn feels strongly about the art of catch-and-release. But with this fish, successful release...
Jonno helps design a cottage on a private complex near the Kruger Park.
Dear Jonno Thank you for the initial sketches you sent me for my idea of a u-shaped lodge building. Here is my plan for moving the thatched area of the...
Recently, two game farm owners – from Limpopo and Mpumalanga respectively – asked me to design two-bedroom, self-catering accommodation units for hunters and off-season visitors to their farms.
Despite the disapproval of health-conscious buddies, I find it hard to resist satisfying my sweet tooth. Usually I do so with ice cream, but opted for some hot pudding, full...
This is a story about love, loss and a magnificent obsession. It is not for the faint-hearted, nor those easily moved to tears. If you can handle it, read on:...
Building a relationship of trust and respect from day one will be a life-changing experience for you and your foal, says Kim Dyson.
Cow longevity is crucial to optimal productivity in beef cattle production, says Anette Theunissen, an animal scientist based at the Vaalharts Research Station.
During the drought of 2006, Paul Bester, head of ZZ2’s transformation initiative was approached by civil engineer Element Mashai and his partner Elvis Ramolo, who owned a herd outside Polokwane....
It is crucial to mate super breeders to super racers in order to preserve a gene pool, writes Thomas Smit.
Badly managed bulls are costing the national beef herd dearly, with disease and financial consequences that cattlemen will feel for years to come. Susan Botes investigates the re-emergence of STDs.
Adri Claassen, abalone farmer extraordinaire, talks to Denene Erasmus about farming these sought after sea delicacies.
With an estimated R1 billion spent on expanding and building new soya bean processing facilities, the South African soya industry is poised to unlock value for farmers and processors.
A senior manager at a large market said to me the other day that market managers (MMs) “need to get out of their fancy offices and on to the market...
South African kiwi fruit growers can lift yields by following best management practices, as well as by exploring new high-yielding gold varieties. Robyn Joubert reports.
Producing tomatoes is expensive and can make or break a farmer. If you plan to grow this crop, first do your homework and investigate its economic viability.
Senescence is the aging of fruit and vegetables until final decay, when they have to be discarded.
Christo Smit, a former researcher at the Agricultural Research Council, is working on developing a sustainable biofuel industry from the diesel tree.
