Crops

German-based agricultural machinery manufacturer CLAAS has announced the launch of two new mower ranges, as well as changes to its line-up of ORBIS row-independent front attachments for the JAGUAR self-propelled forage harvester.

Dr Roelof Botha, economic advisor to the Optimum Investment Group, explains the factors that leads him to believe that 2021 may be a return to greater normality.

The past year has been tumultuous with poor economic growth and rising unemployment. However, the agriculture sector still offers huge opportunities for risk takers, says Theo Venter, an independent political and policy analyst.

The Agricultural Development Agency was launched in February 2020, but is already going full steam ahead to support the black farming sector and improve national food security.

A study commissioned by Agri SA shows that should land expropriation without compensation be pursued, South Africa’s economy will take a drastic turn for the worse.

Do you have a big lawn to mow? Here are a few things to keep in mind before you buy a ride-on mower!

Global warming and climate change are expected to lead to the extinction of various forms of wildlife, as well as severe water shortages and famine, threatening the lives of millions of people. The Rights of Nature movement seeks to change this by ensuring that the environment has access to legal restitution in order to ensure that it not only survives but thrives.

Buyers of orchard and vineyard tractors have a disappointingly limited range from which to choose. Manufacturers, it seems, have not found this an easy segment to supply. But Valtra now offers a solution that appears to be economically sustainable, writes Stehan Cloete.

Digital technology can make food markets more efficient and inclusive. However, according to a recent report, the digital divide places farmers in some of the world’s poorest regions at risk of being left behind.

Very few family farming operations transition effortlessly from one generation to another. The process requires careful planning, hard work and a lot of patience. Annelie Coleman spoke to several experts about the factors that drive success, and found that timeous succession planning, a family constitution, and a willingness to allow new entrants topped the list.

Water-use efficiency is becoming more and more important due to escalating usage costs. Agrico offers irrigation farmers a clever solution.

Agricultural machinery company STEYR, in co-operation with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is developing an ‘intelligent’ tractor wheel equipped with an ultrasonic sensor that ensures optimised tyre pressure at all times and hence reduces compaction.

Africa’s rapidly growing urban food markets offer significant opportunities for the continent’s farmers and agribusinesses. Yet, according to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa’s ‘Africa Agriculture Status Report 2020’, food can often be imported at lower cost from international suppliers. African farmers will have to become globally competitive if they hope to successfully supply growing domestic markets.

A comprehensive and all-inclusive budget is critical to the success of any production operation, according to Anche Suurd, an agricultural economist at NWK. Without this basic financial tool, it is extremely difficult to obtain a clear idea of the actual performance of the business, or sustainably create and build wealth.

The Case IH Axial-Flow 4088 proved its suitability to tough African farming conditions, and specifically to the needs of emerging field crop farmers, during extensive field tests conducted recently on a variety of crops in Kenya. The machine’s rugged simplicity also won it praise.

Dominique Marchand says her recipe for tiramisu was inspired by Table Mountain. This tiramisu needs only a few ingredients, requires no baking and can be made in a jiffy!

Nature is essential for human existence, providing and sustaining the air, freshwater and soils on which we all depend. It also regulates the climate, and provides pollination and pest control. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) ‘Living Planet Report 2020’, while more food and energy than ever before are supplied, overexploitation of plants and animals is increasingly eroding nature’s ability to provide these in the future.

A lazy ‘last-year-plus’ budget is an exercise in futility and bad management, but worse is to enter the new financial year with no budget at all.

Some jobs on the farm are too small to be done using regular farm machinery, but too large to be done by hand. John Deere’s range of turf and utility vehicles are just the right size to perform these smaller tasks.

In a major step towards achieving complete autonomous driving for agricultural machinery, Valtra has joined forces with a telecommunications company to develop technology that enables tractors to be controlled remotely on the 5G network.