Farming for the next generation
Diversification and crop rotation keep Petrus van der Walt busy 12 months of the year. But the bottom line has been worth the effort for this 2011 Limpopo Farmer of...
Honeybush Tea: a taste of success
SA’s honeybush industry holds great potential. Thanks to careful selection, Van Zyl and Mona Joubert of Bredasdorp have good plant material, putting them ahead of the game.
The finest grapes in the Hex River Valley
Edward Taylor, winner of this year’s Hex Valley Table Grape Association’s Block Competition, produced Red Flame seedless grapes with good colour and berry size by employing strict bunch management practices...
Switching to no-till – how it’s done
Henk Conradie adopted no-till practices four years ago on the nine farms he manages in Mpumalanga. He tells Peter Hittersay how he converted to this system and why it has...
Maximum yield with rainfed soya beans
A wise farmer adapts his production methods to his farm’s environment. Gerhard Keeve, an award-winning soya bean producer, shares his approach to obtaining the maximum yield under rainfed conditions with...
Growing maize in the Swartland
By early 2012, the maize price had nearly doubled year-on-year, with serious implications for livestock farmers who buy in large quantities of maize for feed. Western Cape dairy farmers, already...
Maize trials: Western region
The ARC-Grain Crops Institute recently published its annual report on the 2010/2011 and the multi-seasonal results going back to 2008/2009 for the national cultivar trials for maize.
New plum delights farmers & markets
The South African-developed African Delight plum cultivar has been enthusiastically welcomed by farmers and consumers, and promises to become the country’s third most-planted variety within five years. Denene Erasmus spoke...
Balanced soil, top vegetables
Agri Gauteng's 2011 Young Farmer of the Year Richard de Freitas (28) was honoured for his role in the family farm, which produces cabbage, carrots, lettuce and beetroot. Annelie Coleman...
Sheep out, olives in
Since 2000, Craig Rippon has established almost 7 000 olive trees on his family's former sheep farm. Mike Burgess visited Springvale Olive Estate to find out why Craig pioneered olive...
A risky business, but it can be done
Farming has its fair share of risk, but Groblersdal farmer George Barnard has found ways around this to maximise profit. Contract farming, new technology and careful irrigation have put this...
Secret to farming success: Close family ties
The Nohari family of the Tongaat area in KwaZulu-Natal has been farming succesfully for five generations. They share some of the highs and lows of fresh produce farming with Lloyd...
Managing a ley pasture for best returns
A ley pasture gives tired soil a chance to recuperate. It also offers economic benefits, explains rangeland scientist and land reclamation specialist, Dr Wayne Truter.
From farm worker to award-winning farmer
Koos Mthimkulu, Grain SA's 2011 Developing Farmer of the Year, started off as a farm worker and is today a successful grain producer. He ascribes his achievement to hard work,...
Turning to tulips
The mountainous district of Barkly East in Eastern Cape is best known for its livestock and lucerne, but as Mike Burgess discovered, farmer Piet Steyn has broken with tradition and...
Sugar mill breathes hope into Pongola
Since buying Pongola Mill in 2009, TSB Sugar Holdings has made considerable investments in the mill and its staff and is developing its relationship with growers. This strategy promises to...
Roses from the Karoo
Shortly after Lyell van Rensburg settled on the 3 000ha farm Rietvlei near Graaff-Reinet in the 1980s, Grootfontein Agricultural College recommended she produce aloes instead of roses. She wasn’t convinced. Armed...
Types of mulches – part 2
We look at using pine needles, leaves, lawn clippings, straw, compost and straw manure as mulch.
All-year citrus for the customer
The Van der Merwes of ALG Estates recently received the National Agricultural Writers 2010 Farmer of the Year Award. After the deregulation of agriculture, brothers All and Gerrit started marketing...
Revitalising local chicory
Imported, inferior-quality chicory has severly hurt local production. Almost half South Africa's producers left the industry in the last few years, causing a huge drop in production. But Chicory SA's...
