Farming Basics

The International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) aims to promote the development and improvement of performance recording and evaluation of livestock. Annelie Coleman spoke to ICAR president Uffe Lauritsen.

Stanley Karombo talks to Gail Day of the FMF about its project to convert 33 000 council-owned urban plots to full freehold title. If the government adopted a similar approach, Day says, it could inject about R3 billion into SA’s economy.

The Buys brothers of Vrede en Lust near Paarl entered the wine industry 18 years ago. After establishing their own wine brand, they developed one of the most successful direct marketing initiatives in the industry.

During the dispute between South Africa and the EU about the perceived threat that citrus black spot might be spread through exported fruit, the first 2014 consignments left our shores in mid-March.

From humble beginnings ZZ2 has grown into a multi-million rand business. Nan Smith visited the company’s HQ to find out what lies at the heart of ZZ2’s success.

Greenport Holland International (GHI), comprising 50 Dutch horticultural businesses, has formed as partnership with SA companies and stakeholders in the industry. Called the RSA-NED platform, it seeks to develop a successful SA horticultural sector. GHI’s Harm Mater talks to Nan Smith.

Hanlie Snyman from the Institute for Disability Innovation (IDI) in the Northern Cape explains the need for Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) awareness, support, prevention, as well as skills training programmes for pregnant women.

A new pilot project seeks to help farmers manage communal land grazing more efficiently. Nerpo CEO Dr Langelihle Simela speaks to Stanley Karombo.

Illovo’s Ubombo mill in Swaziland is a showcase of successful electricity co-generation from bagasse. It has increased sugar production in that country and demonstrated that the process is affordable and sustainable.

The new youth wage subsidy, correctly called the Employment Tax Incentive Act, came into law on 1 January. Theo Boshoff, legal advisor to AgriSA, spoke to Nan Smith about it.

Mike Cordes reviews the role of packaging in the fresh produce sector, and more specifically, its importance at consumer level.

‘Jackal narratives and predator control in the Karoo’ is the title of a working paper by Prof Beatrice Conradie of the Sustainable Societies Unit at UCT, and researcher Prof Nicoli Nattrass of the UCT school of economics.

Agricultural co-operative Buffalo City Organic Producers (BCOP) has gone from producing organic vegetables in back gardens to harvesting 10t tomatoes per month hydroponically. This has won them a provincial award. Grant Hollins spoke to BCOP vice-chairperson Nomonde Ndarana.

Balgowan poultry farmer Rodney Smith picked an unconventional approach when it came to upgrading his egg packhouse to meet stringent food safety standards.

Many small-stock farmers fear that escalating losses to predators will eventually ruin them. Roelof Bezuidenhout spoke to Harry Prinsloo, chairperson of the Predation Management Forum, about steps being taken to prevent a catastrophe.

After only six months at the helm of Africa’s biggest sugar company, Illovo’s managing director, Gavin Dalgleish (48), already has a big vision for growing his company further. He talks to Lloyd Phillips about biofuels, transformation and expanding into Africa.

South African farmers have long been encouraged to add value to their products for improved profit and control. One farmer that has taken this to heart is bringing home the bacon.

The list of audits to which SA producers are expected to adhere continues to grow – a situation given impetus by the farm worker unrest in the Western Cape in late 2012. Last year saw the introduction of the Sustainability Initiative of South Africa (Siza), and recently the Milieukeur Certification Scheme was launched in this country.

The proposed Durban Dig-Out Port (DDOP) is essential to ensure the future relevance of the Durban Port, which is fast running out of capacity to meet demand, says programme director Marc Descoins.

Simon Roche, general manager of Organic Beef, says consumers are prepared to pay as much as R220/kg for the free-range grass-fed beef he imports from Botswana.