Budgeting basics: Every successful farm has one
A comprehensive and all-inclusive budget is critical to the success of any production operation, according to Anche Suurd, an agricultural economist at NWK. Without this basic financial tool, it is extremely difficult to obtain a clear idea of the actual performance of the business, or sustainably create and build wealth.
SA’s new online platform for hiring farm equipment
Mechanisation is key to improving food and fibre production. But traditional linkages between companies that lease agricultural machinery and their clients are often problematic. A new online platform promises to take the stress out of hiring and leasing.
‘Go after what you want’ – lessons from a young spinach farmer
Gauteng-based Gugulethu Mahlangu says volunteering for experienced vegetable farmers gave her the confidence to launch her own successful career in farming.
African farmers test-drive CASE IH combines
The Case IH Axial-Flow 4088 proved its suitability to tough African farming conditions, and specifically to the needs of emerging field crop farmers, during extensive field tests conducted recently on a variety of crops in Kenya. The machine’s rugged simplicity also won it praise.
Using allelopathy in a weed management strategy
Cover crop residue leaches allelochemicals, which help control weeds. But to achieve good, prolonged results, you will still need to implement effective weed control.
Making lucerne hay while maximising soil health
Free State irrigation farmer Freek Strauss grows lucerne for the local and export markets. At the same time, the crop improves the soil’s condition, thus increasing the yields of other crops in rotation.
How agriculture can limit Earth’s shocking biodiversity loss – WWF report
Nature is essential for human existence, providing and sustaining the air, freshwater and soils on which we all depend. It also regulates the climate, and provides pollination and pest control. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) ‘Living Planet Report 2020’, while more food and energy than ever before are supplied, overexploitation of plants and animals is increasingly eroding nature’s ability to provide these in the future.
Sustainable game farming in the bushveld
On his 2 500ha game farm near Lephalale in Limpopo, Willem Frost aims to provide local and international hunters with an authentic hunting experience, which promotes the farm’s overall sustainability goals.
Intensive sheep farm achieves 180% per year weaning rate
Sheep production has become a numbers game, with an operation’s profitability being largely dependent on the farmer’s ability to produce large numbers of sheep at low cost. Farm manager Dirk Liebenberg spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how he achieves this goal.
The often-abused business budget
A lazy ‘last-year-plus’ budget is an exercise in futility and bad management, but worse is to enter the new financial year with no budget at all.
A new era for livestock auctions: Going, going, gone online!
Digital technologies are revolutionising auctions, resulting in better exposure for sellers and a broader purchasing base for buyers.
John Deere’s small, but strong utility vehicles
Some jobs on the farm are too small to be done using regular farm machinery, but too large to be done by hand. John Deere’s range of turf and utility vehicles are just the right size to perform these smaller tasks.
