Crops

Government proposes to interfere in property sales, but the South African constitution makes no legal provision for it to override landowners' rights. In fact, it forbids it.

Recruiting and selecting staff members isn't rocket science, but thorough planning is needed to make the right decision.

A new colonialism is on the rise, as governments and private companies grab land across Africa to feed and fuel demand in their own countries. They say their projects will alleviate poverty, but things aren't so simple, says the NGO coalition Friends of the Earth, which campaigns for sustainable, just societies and environmental protection.

Budgeting is knowing how much money goes in and out of your business, and cash flow shows when this will occur, writes Susan Pletts.

It's a tall order, but why not take the politics out of farm labour and concentrate on what will actually work, asks journalist and farmer Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Working without a budget is like swimming in a rough sea with no life saver – you’re sure to drown, writes Susan Pletts.

We all know it's the people who make the difference between a good and bad business. So why do so many employers make such a mess of their recruitment process?

Recently there’s been a lot of buzz about the illegal practices of “off-market fresh produce agents”. But they can only function with farmers’ support, and it’s up to farmers to help the Agricultural Produce Agents Council (APAC) stamp out these activities, says the APAC’s Lizel Pretorius.

The sugar industry is under pressure to reduce cane burning before harvesting – creating new possibilities for cane residue to cogenerate electricity. Joe Spencer reports.

Measuring your land will tell you how much of a crop you can plant and how much livestock you can keep, writes Susan Pletts.

As an ally of the commercial farming sector, Prof Mohammed Karaan’s election to President Zuma’s National Planning Committee gave renewed hope to commercial agriculture in South Africa. Addressing the inaugural congress of the Young Farmer’s Forum in Rawsonville in the Western Cape, Prof Karaan outlined the global issues that will shape the future of farming.

We can't escape maths, so learn to love it, because it's something you can't do without when it comes to running your business successfully, writes Susan Pletts.

When a business is sold, the shareholders and guarantors of the company's debts have to make sure the debts are settled.
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A job advert may be aimed at the job seeker, but it also provides an insight into the competence, attitude and ways of a business and its management. And the picture isn't always pleasant.

Wonderful opportunities are often disguised as insurmountable problems. Take the low maize prices and the fact that many producers are facing bankruptcy. There's an elegant and simple way out of this seemingly dire predicament - buying maize instead of planting it will benefit all farmers, big or small, says Jozeph du Plessis, maize farmer and chairperson of the Schweizer-Reneke District Agricultural Union.

Bankers and people involved in finance use many fancy words, and knowing what they mean is necessary if you want to make money, writes Susan Pletts.

Many emerging farmers struggle when working out how much to charge for their produce to cover costs and make some money too. Susan Plett's lends a hand.

An important part of your business plan is describing where and how the product produced on the farm is to be sold and the prices that will be achieved.

The newly released South African Income Tax Amendment Bill contains highly innovative material to deal with existing restrictive rules.

Behaviour changes attitude, and the powerful tool of sport, with its magic of creating common vision and purpose, brings this about.