Crops

"With onions, in the early stages, you need just enough nitrogen to keep the colour of the leaves right."

"Sustainability requires us to adapt to, and adopt, new values and trading practices."

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 production in the region, and how on-farm processing helped him develop a valuable niche market.

'You can't feed all those people with platinum, gold or computer chips.'

I am sure that anyone who grows onions has experienced bolting at some time or another if you haven't you're probably losing some of the crop's potential.

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 farmer a step above the rest.

'Every farmer wants higher prices, but higher compared to which benchmark?' asks Mike Cordes.

'With sets you'll get a perfect stand regardless of the weather and be able to harvest earlier.'

Many vegetable crops fail due to a lack of nitrogen. Side dressing is a safe way of ensuring that plants get enough of this element, says Bill Kerr.

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 Phillips.

'The Chinese eat an average 440kg of vegetables per capita a year against a world average of 200kg.'

'Sunlight is the ultimate limiting factor. Water and nutrients will only optimise the limits set by day length.'

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.

'Transplant shock will make the plants bulb at a small size, or go into hibernation.'

'Anybody can deliver to a market at any time - be it one unit or thousands.'

'Stick to what you know and make changes gradually over a few seasons,' writes Bill Kerr.

'Five buyers for an entire industry simply doesn't add up in a free market scenario,' writes Mike Cordes.

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, solid mentoring and the support of Grain SA. Not content with resting on his laurels, Koos plans to expand his business and become an independent commercial farmer, as Annelie Coleman found out when she visited him.

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 introduced a colourful alternative in tulips.

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 lay a solid foundation for the future.