A fourth-generation Western Cape farmer says canola has become a central part of his crop rotation strategy, helping to improve soil health and manage persistent weed pressure in a wheat-based production system. Koos Blanckenberg says his family’s farming roots date back to 1914, with the formal business established in the 1960s.
“JH Blanckenberg Proprietary Limited started in the 1960s, but the Blanckenberg family started on Klipheuwel Plaas in 1914. Our family has now been on the farm for 112 years,” he says.
The operation is located between Philadelphia and Malmesbury in the Western Cape and uses its own land with additional hectares rented for production. While the enterprise also includes a dairy component, Blanckenberg says wheat and canola remain the core focus of the grain farming system.
Rotation and weed control
Blanckenberg says canola was introduced to improve crop rotation and address weed pressure in continuous grain systems.
“We planted canola for the first time in 1998. Oat silage is a grass and wheat is also a grass, while canola is a broadleaf crop. The main reason we started planting canola was to improve weed control, especially ryegrass, because you are limited in the chemicals you can use in oats and wheat,” he says.
He adds that the crop quickly became an important rotational tool. “Canola gave us a very good option within our crop rotation system as it allowed us to bring in a broadleaf crop, making it much easier to control ryegrass and other unwanted weeds,” he says.
Beyond weed control, he says canola has also contributed considerably to soil health.
“To balance your soil, you need not only grass roots, but also broadleaf roots. Having canola in rotation gives you a much more balanced soil profile and helps improve soil health,” he says.
Precision farming reshaping decisions
Blanckenberg says technology has significantly changed the way the farm operates, particularly in grain and canola production.
“We are now able to identify and correct specific problem areas in the soil instead of applying products across an entire field,” he says.
He adds that precision tools such as GPS auto-steer and soil sampling have improved efficiency, but farmers must carefully assess whether investments deliver real returns.
“The important question is which technology is going to pay for itself and which technology will improve profitability and productivity,” he says.
Scale, he adds, has become increasingly important in modern farming systems.
“You have to scale up if you want to remain in the industry, and you have to make your assets work harder,” he says.
Global shocks tightening margins
Blanckenberg says global disruptions over recent years have contributed to volatility in both input costs and commodity prices.
“It is amazing how events happening elsewhere in the world have an effect on us at farm level every single day,” he says.
While commodity prices initially increased during recent global shocks, he says margins have since come under pressure.
“Our wheat prices came down by 21%, while our input costs only came down by about 10%,” he says.
This imbalance has made cash flow management increasingly difficult. “Your salary bill still needs to increase every year by between 4% and 6%. How do you increase salaries when grain prices have fallen by 21%? It becomes very difficult to manage cash flow and keep the business sustainable.”
Blanckenberg says previous profits were reinvested into land, machinery and soil improvement to strengthen long-term resilience.
“We reinvested capital back into the business by acquiring land, investing in technology, buying the right machinery and improving our soil health to ensure everything remained in good condition,” he says.
However, he warns that current conditions put grain producers under pressure.
“Previously, our direct input break-even point was around 2,2t/ha to 2,3t/ha. With fertiliser and diesel prices increasing, that point has now moved up to around 3,3t/ha,” he says.
With recent seasons delivering below-average yields, he says profitability remains constrained.
“The profitability outlook for grain production, including canola, is currently not looking good. It is a very difficult situation,” he says.
What makes canola succeed
Blanckenberg says that while canola has become an important part of his rotation system, achieving consistent yields depends on getting the fundamentals right, starting with soil and input management.
“You need to have good soil health and the correct pH status and phosphorus and potassium levels, as well as nitrogen applications. All of those things play a role, but you cannot fix one and ignore the others. Everything needs to be balanced, and then you have a chance to get a proper harvest,” he says.
He adds that fertiliser planning and crop protection strategies must be integrated rather than treated separately. “First achieve soil health, then balance your soil, and have a proper management plan for fertiliser and herbicides,” he says.
Another critical factor, he notes, is seed selection, particularly in a market where South Africa remains reliant on imported canola genetics.
“There are very good seeds available in the world, but we’ve had problems with availability in certain years. You must make sure you plant a variety that is tested and proven in your area. You cannot plant a new variety that has not been tried and tested locally,” he says.
He adds that variety choice ultimately ties back to profitability. “You need to choose seed that has the ability to be profitable,” he says.
Timing and weather
Blanckenberg says timing your planting is one of the most difficult decisions in canola production, especially in a variable rainfall system. “In our trials, we’ve seen that canola should ideally be planted in April. It needs to germinate and emerge as early as possible,” he says.
However, he explains that rainfall patterns often complicate decision-making. “The Swartland is a very difficult area because in most years, we don’t get sufficient rain in April,” he says.
This creates a narrow and high-risk planting window where farmers must constantly balance soil moisture, weather forecasts and operational readiness. “One of the most difficult things is deciding on the right time to plant canola,” he says.
Blanckenberg explains the risk of planting into marginal moisture conditions.
“If you plant canola in a dry situation and you get 5mm or 8mm of rain, some of the seed will germinate and some will not. Then you end up with an uneven stand and problems in the field,” he says.
Waiting too long, however, carries its own risks. “If you decide to wait for proper rain, say 25mm, which often only comes in May, your germination is too late, and that has a negative impact on production potential,” he says.
As a result, he says, canola planting is often a balancing act between risk and opportunity.
“You have to be ready to plant from around 10 April. It is very difficult to plan for as the weather can change, and you have to adapt,” he says.
He adds that experience and soil knowledge play a major role in decision-making. “You need to know your soil very well and be able to adapt what you are doing according to conditions,” he says.
Managing residues and establishing a clean start
Blanckenberg says successful crop establishment also depends on how well farmers manage crop residues and prepare fields ahead of planting.
“You must make sure that whatever you plant into, the material or stubble left in the field can be handled properly by the planter; the stubble must not be too much,” he says.
In some cases, additional preparation such as fertiliser adjustments or mechanical intervention may be required before planting to ensure uniform emergence. “There is a lot you can do before going into the field to make sure planting will be smooth and everything will be right from the start,” he says.
Experience guiding outcomes
Reflecting on recent seasons, Blanckenberg says timing decisions ultimately determine success more than any single input. He recalls that in the 2025 planting season, early rainfall allowed for good establishment. “We started planting around 10 April in 2025. We had good rain from the 12th to the 14th, so we planted just after that and had good germination,” he says.
That season went on to deliver a strong harvest in 2025, reinforcing the importance of aligning planting decisions with rainfall events.
“It shows how important it is to adapt. Weather can change quickly, and you have to be ready to move when the opportunity is there,” he says.
Common mistakes in canola establishment
Blanckenberg says one of the biggest challenges in canola production is that new entrants often underestimate how precise the system needs to be, particularly during establishment. He adds that some farmers treat canola too similarly to wheat, without accounting for its more sensitive early growth stage.
“There were farmers who didn’t give enough thought to the small things when planting canola. They thought it was the same as wheat and that you could just go in there and do it,” he says.
He explains that early crop monitoring is critical, especially during germination, when the crop is most vulnerable. “You need to visit your fields more regularly, especially in the beginning during germination,” he says.
A range of pests can also quickly affect establishment if not monitored closely.
“You can have worms; you can have snails; you can have lice. There are a lot of things that can happen in canola that normally don’t happen in wheat,” he says.
Because of this, he says some farmers who rushed into canola without adapting their management approach struggled to achieve consistent results. “We’ve seen people jump into canola, but they didn’t give enough attention to the small details, and then they were not successful,” he says.
Start small and master the system
Blanckenberg advises that farmers entering canola production should prioritise learning before scaling up. “I would say somebody going into canola needs to do their homework. Go and visit a farmer who has been in the business for a long time,” he says.
He adds that trusted technical support is important, but must be carefully selected.
“There are advisers in the chemical industry. Some of them are good, while some of them are not that good. You need to find the right person to work with,” he says.
Importantly, he warns against large-scale planting before gaining experience of local conditions.
“If you want to go into canola on a large scale, start small with between 20ha and 50ha and learn the system,” he says.
Build confidence through experience
Blanckenberg says canola production requires persistence, especially when early seasons are challenging. “You must stick with it and realise that if you fall off, you need to get back on the horse or stay on,” he says.
He adds that success in canola is not immediate and requires a willingness to learn from early mistakes rather than exit the system too quickly.
“It’s not something you can just go into without understanding it properly,” he says.
