The digital sharing economy: a cheaper way to mechanise
The cost of farm machinery is a major challenge for small-scale and commercial farmers. Nick Hoffman, general manager at Linebooker, and Jehiel Oliver, creator of Hello Tractor, explain how new digital platforms are being used to source equipment with ease.
The basics of subdividing
The assistance of a land surveyor is key to ensuring lawful procedure. Altus Strydom, chairperson of the South African Geomatics Institute, spoke to Gerhard Uys.
Determining wheat yield
It’s important to adapt and revise your management strategies as the cropping environment, yield potential, commodity prices and input costs change.
Litchis & avos: using precision farming to improve yields
Demand for litchis and avocados has soared and encouraged producers to embrace precision farming methods. Stephan Schoeman, owner of Soetkalmoes Consultation in Nelspruit, an advisory service for the tree crops industry, tells Gerhard Uys how these practices are improving yield and crop quality.
Smart Farming in South Africa
A South African farmer was amongst a number of producers selected by the German Agricultural Society to highlight the success that smart farming can achieve.
Vietnamese pho: Looks like soup, tastes like heaven
A friend of mine recently returned from Hanoi, bringing with him happy memories of pho, an aromatic, beef stock-based noodle soup made with beef or chicken, and chillies. He came for dinner the other night, and we set to work creating a local version of this famous Vietnamese dish.
Farming & conservation go hand-in-hand on Swartland farm
Bartholomeus Klip in the Swartland region in the Western Cape has been owned by the Parker family since 1935, and is a successful, diversified enterprise. Livestock, crops and game are farmed on a large scale, with most of the land allocated to conservation.
Why can’t that cow stand up?
A number of diseases and conditions can result in cattle and other ruminants being unable to stand up.
Farming without government support
In many countries, farmers are supported in various ways by government. South Africa’s real competition lies not in these largely inefficient farming systems, but in other unsubsidised countries such as Australia, Chile and New Zealand.
The libertarian’s views on taxes
Libertarians have some interesting theories about taxation, and it all starts with the non-aggression principle.
Climate change data cannot be faked
Now that all the most crucial changes on South Africa’s political landscape have come to pass, we can turn our attention for a moment to those challenges that will not only impact the social and financial welfare of South Africans, but the existence of all life on earth.
Single-step genomics: a game changer for livestock breeding
The Single Step method makes it possible to include genomic information in BLUP breeding values. This has put SA Stud Book at the forefront of genomic methodology, says Dr Japie van der Westhuizen, SA Stud Book CEO.
