Precision farming pays off for KZN potato producer
Growing and marketing potatoes for maximum profit can be complex, as there is a narrow window for obtaining the highest prices. To ensure his business gets its timing right, GoldenGrow...
Lettuce: Meet the salad kings of SA
Dew Crisp started out as a hydroponic farming operation near Johannesburg in the early 1980s and has since grown to become one of South Africa's leading producers of value-added salad...
Striving for optimal maize yields
Bernard Rabé of Rabé Boerdery in the Fochville area in North West runs a grain-focused operation on dryland. He aims to achieve the highest possible yield by following variable fertiliser...
Limpopo farmer gives indigenous okra a boost
Part-time farmer Tsakani Mhlongo is the founder and owner of SwaTsakani Farming in Tzaneen, Limpopo, which produces vegetables such as okra, tomatoes and spinach, as well as broilers. She is...
Young farmer’s 7t/ha soya bean crop proves power of agtech
As the TAU SA Young Farmer of the Year 2020, Danie Bester epitomises the ideal modern farmer: energetic, curious, tech-savvy and connected to his peers globally. While his precision farming...
Getting a silage maize crop into the bunker chop-chop
In terms of its cost-benefit ratio, silage maize is arguably the best-value stored green feed for milk production systems in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. However, to maximise the nutritional quality and...
Vegan demand presents new opportunities for marginal sugar farmers
North American yellow field peas could be a lifeline for struggling sugar cane farmers. As an ingredient in tasty meat-replacement products, the future of this relatively unknown crop looks bright....
Climate-proof, no-till crop production in the maize triangle
Cocky Mokoka has been farming since 2007, but only started incorporating conservation agriculture principles to improve his soil in 2015. He spoke to Pieter Dempsey about the practices he implements...
New pumpkin variety set to make inroads into high-end market
The demand for convenient meals and easy-to-prepare vegetables is opening up marketing opportunities for the Hokkaido pumpkin, a newcomer to South Africa. Small, and with an edible peel, the variety...
Helping small-scale farmers reach commercial status
Sinelizwi Fakade is a successful grain farmer in the Eastern Cape, but it is his passion for helping small-scale and subsistence farmers improve production that makes him particularly compelling, says...
Chillies: a hot crop if you know what you’re doing
Diversifying with chillies has enabled Klein Karoo stone fruit farmer JD van Deventer to increase cash flow, use orchard space more efficiently, and mitigate the climate- and market-related risks associated...
Maize growing tips from a top new commercial farmer
Paulus Mosia from Edenville, Free State, a finalist for the 2019 Grain SA/ABSA/JohnDeere Financial New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year award, says that by using better inputs and improving...
