Field Crops

Quality beer needs quality barley and there’s not enough of it in South Africa. RD Erasmus, well-known Western Cape barley producer, spoke to Jacques Claassen about how he has optimised his farming practices and geared his production towards improving quality and yield.

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.

Irrigating in the correct quantities and at the right frequency are key to greater production in a hydroponic greenhouse system. Greenhouse specialist Martin von Holdt shared his knowledge on the ideal irrigation strategy with Lindi van Rooyen.

This year, top honours in the Hex Valley Table Grape Association Block Competition went to Hannes du Toit, who successfully manipulated the tricky and relatively new Sugrasixteen grape variety to produce a good quality, high yield crop with big berries. Denene Erasmus reports.

Willie Nel, recipient of Rooibos Limited’s Producer of the Year Award, says sustainable rooibos production depends on a rotation cycle that will ensure consistently good quality yields. Denene Erasmus reports.

Cactus pear cladode production is a good enterprise for farmers in semi-arid and arid parts of South Africa. It requires little input costs and is highly sought after as animal feed. Supplier Danie van Tonder can hardly keep up with the demand. Annelie Coleman reports.

Only a small amount of hops is needed to make beer, about 40g of the dried product for every 100l, but beer would just not be the same without it. SAB Hop Farms near George grow this essential ingredient in one of South Africa’s favourite drinks.

From humble beginnings, Walter Williams has grown a business that today has three farms as well as a fruit packing business in the Ceres Valley. He spoke to Denene Erasmus about his early days as a farmer and his tried-and-tested production techniques.

On top of the Piketberg, Advanced Potato Propagation propagates mini-tubers in specially adapted greenhouses. Jay Ferreira speaks to APP’s manager, Ferdi Breytenbach.

The eastern Free State’s apple orchards are doing well with a small edge in marketing time over the more established orchards of the Western Cape. Lloyd Phillips talks to Charles Smith of Fyvie Farming.

Janie Cilliers became a farmer out of necessity, but soon fell in love with it. And, after much hard toil, seven years down the line JC Trading in Brits has grown from four tunnels to 29, delivering nearly 25 000 cucumbers a week. Lindi van Rooyen reports.

In the drive to mine the wealth of Mpumalanga, many productive farms have been turned into open cast mines while others wait to be dug up. Investing in soil which is soon to be mined presents some challenges to the farmer. Lindi van Rooyen visited Ivan Enslin to see how an appropriate soil management plan can save money and optimise yield.