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
After a last minute court application to attain a permit, the first ever legal rhino horn sale to be held in South Africa has been delayed until 23 August; however,...
The soya industry is expected to receive a boost of R1 billion per year from the recently imposed Breeding and Technology Levy (BTL).
Expansion of human settlement in rural areas could threaten agricultural potential, according to a recent report released by Wandile Sihlobo, head of economic and agribusiness intelligence at Agbiz.
The most recent quarterly labour force survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) show that employment in agriculture increased by 8,8% over the past year.
The local cotton crop was estimated to double year-on-year while world cotton demand was projected to exceed production in 2015/2016, as world cotton stocks contract for the first time in...
Today, the dairy industry and consumers worldwide are celebrating World Milk Day.
Herenboeren is taking the Netherlands by storm, with city dwellers and urbanites paying farmers to produce food according to their exact specifications. Gerhard Uys spoke to Boudewijn Tooren, a board...
South Africa’s wine industry must shift its emphasis from volume to value and from a production orientation to a market orientation. This is according to Anton Smuts, the newly elected...
Mojalefa Molefe moved from Soweto to Mokgwaneng, Limpopo, to take care of the family's cattle herd after his father's death. In seeking to adopt more modern - and profitable -...
Fresh produce markets are available to all producers. Yet using them optimally requires know-how.
Tsitsikamma dairy farmer, Nigel Lok, has 920 Holsteins producing 25 000ℓ of milk per day, and a total herd of 1 800 cows.
Federico Boglione, the company president of one of the biggest dehydrated milk product suppliers in the world, says the main pillars of success of his Argentinian-based family business, Los Lazos,...
Would you believe it? It seems that butchers keep the trimmings from the beef fillets separate from the actual fillets. Much cheaper than whole fillet, they allow you to prepare...
The standard Anglo-Saxon has great trouble with garlic. He fears social isolation as the inevitable consequence of even one tiny scrap of this marvellous bulb. If you or your friends...
Dear Jonno I plan to build my first home, a bachelorette pad, in three phases and would appreciate your help with its design. Phase 1 A ground floor consisting of...
There are numerous agritourism ideas out there – and many ways of generating income from visitors.
Sheep have been on the menu for over 10 000 years. It follows that there’s one hell of a lot of ways to cook one, either whole or in part....
A large Christmas lunch takes time to prepare. Here, we use standard industrial time and motion methods to speed up production while maintaining quality.
Horses that compete in sports where big, strong muscles are needed will benefit from having this herb in their feed regularly, says Kim Dyson.
The causes of ‘parrot mouth’ in horses are unclear, and treatment can be expensive.
The threat of colic has to be taken seriously as surgery can be extremely expensive, cautions Dr Mac.
The richest one-loft race in the world, the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race is more than just another pigeon race. It's an institution that tests your skill as a...
Aquaculture is a demanding career that requires perseverance and an abiding interest in fish. Unless you have the ‘fish bug’, rather consider running a fish-and-chip shop.
The SA government does not provide adequate support or information to rural people who want to start a fish farm.
In the Farmer’s Weekly of 17 April 2015 there is an article on the new complaint process envisaged for consumers of agricultural products.
I regularly attack politicians and their bedfellows, and highlight the damage they’re causing to SA’s fresh produce markets.
By switching from micro-irrigation to low-flow drip irrigation, macadamia farmer Dawid de Kock has reduced his irrigation water usage by 50%. With the subsequent savings on electricity, fertiliser and labour,...
'Sunlight is the ultimate limiting factor. Water and nutrients will only optimise the limits set by day length.'
Stuart and Grant McMurray are reaping the rewards of essential oil production in Zululand, KZN, after identifying the need for a South African operation that could supply the growing international...
Melons are more sensitive to disease than most other cucurbits. As the diseases that attack melons are generally associated with rainfall and humidity, the fruit is normally grown in low-rainfall...
