Farming for the next generation
Diversification and crop rotation keep Petrus van der Walt busy 12 months of the year. But the bottom line has been worth the effort for this 2011 Limpopo Farmer of the Year. He tells Lindi van Rooyen about sustainable farming and handing over the business to his children.
Markets and jobs
There’s been a lot of hype in the media recently about creating employment opportunities in SA. However, seldom is anything said about the role of agriculture in creating jobs.
Why agents should attend farmers’ days
Most good market agents make sure they attend as many farmers’ days as possible.
Honeybush Tea: a taste of success
SA’s honeybush industry holds great potential. Thanks to careful selection, Van Zyl and Mona Joubert of Bredasdorp have good plant material, putting them ahead of the game.
Marketing milk
How to do more to promote the benefits of milk to the public – and thereby improve profits all round.
Communication is essential
The huge distances between producers and markets. Perishable products. Tough competition. The lack of understanding of markets and marketing by many producers.
Square versus round plugs
In addition to seedling hardness, there’s also the matter of seedling size, which, of course, depends on the size of the cell – or plug – in the seedling tray.
The liming miracle
The results speak for themselves and it’s not for nothing that lime can be called the soil’s ‘antacid’.
The finest grapes in the Hex River Valley
Edward Taylor, winner of this year’s Hex Valley Table Grape Association’s Block Competition, produced Red Flame seedless grapes with good colour and berry size by employing strict bunch management practices and using new spray application technology. Edward, a member of the ASV Boerdery group, tells Denene Erasmus how he did it.
Switching to no-till – how it’s done
Henk Conradie adopted no-till practices four years ago on the nine farms he manages in Mpumalanga. He tells Peter Hittersay how he converted to this system and why it has benefited the operation.
Give credit where it’s due
Since it opened six or seven years ago, I have had a love-hate relationship with the Kei Fresh Produce Market (KFPM) in Mthatha, Eastern Cape.
How to harden seedlings
Seedlings need to be hardened to enable the plants to survive in the new environment where they are planted. But, as you will see, hardening has another advantage.
