Crops

'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.

To many farmers and home gardeners, crop rotation is a holy grail – they’ll never plant the same crop consecutively in the same ground.

There’s nothing worse than not having success with your first crop, so choose one that is cheap and easy to grow. In other words, choose cabbage.

Last week I mentioned that halo blight thrives in cooler conditions and spreads very rapidly in wet ones.

Shortly after Lyell van Rensburg settled on the 3 000ha farm Rietvlei near Graaff-Reinet in the 1980s, Grootfontein Agricultural College recommended she produce aloes instead of roses. She wasn’t convinced. Armed with a degree in biochemistry and genetics, she overcame myriad challenges to transform Rietvlei Roses into an award-winning cut-rose enterprise.

Numerous failings within South Africa's land reform programme, and the uncertainties this is causing, have resulted in no new investment taking place on existing litchi farms.

We look at using pine needles, leaves, lawn clippings, straw, compost and straw manure as mulch.