Opinion

When I look at the latest technological trends and developments in agriculture, I can’t help but wonder to what extent farming in the future will be done by remote control.

Here's a look at the pros and cons of wind energy.

In a letter published in a previous issue of Farmer’s Weekly, former ANC MP Salam Abram expressed concern about the current land reform process. He expanded on this viewpoint at the recent TAU SA congress in Pretoria.

Gwede Mantashe’s comments at the recent Afasa congress regarding the media, and Farmer’s Weekly specifically, left me flabbergasted.

Retired judge, Antonie Gildenhuys, who served in the Land Claims Court for 15 years, explains the difference between expropriation and deprivation, and the principle of ‘just and equitable’ compensation. He says the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights needs more resources.

Last week saw South Africa’s two largest agricultural farmer unions hold their annual conferences, virtually back to back and at the same venue.

It’s no secret that most new entrants to poultry farming go bankrupt. Jan Grobbelaar, training director at Dumela Poultry Solutions, discusses common errors and how to avoid them.

The economic effects of contagious, incurable, fatal diseases are well known. During the avian flu epidemic in Asia about 10 years ago, restaurants were empty, and foreign investors and travellers avoided the region.

Cyril Ramaphosa’s reprimand of farmers in the Boland must have come as a shock. Wasn’t Ramaphosa supposed to be ‘a champion for commercial farmers’?

If you look into a city-sky, you’ll probably see a plane or a helicopter once in a while. Fast forward to a few years from now, city slickers will be very likely to see some spider-like vehicles hovering up there, serving as security cameras or delivery vehicles.

Craig Roberts, CEO of DHL Supply Chain MEA, says effective supply chain integration is vital to boost Southern Africa’s agriculture exports to the EU.

Role players in the SA livestock production sector have a decisive role to play in the prevention of stock theft. This was according to the National Stock Theft Prevention Forum chairperson Jaco Maré, who spoke at the 2014 RPO congress in Bloemfontein.

A proposed wind farm on the Sneeuberg will imperil the iconic endangered blue crane, many bird species and the entire local ecosystem, warns the Nama Karoo Foundation’s Marina Beal.

Ouboet – I find it exceedingly difficult to wrap my head around the fact that veld fires have destroyed more than 400 000ha in the Free State so far this year.

Much more research is required to understand the effect of fire on Africa’s savannas, according to Prof Winston Trollope, a fire ecologist and Working on Fire International associate. Trollope’s recommendations, contained in the Grassland Society of Southern Africa’s 2014 congress publication, centre on the use of fire as a management tool for livestock production and wildlife management.

Thank goodness we’ve eventually come to the end of the 2014 congress season.

The EU’s threat to ban South African citrus should serve as a wake-up call for all parties involved, says Zhann Meyer, Africa Head, Global Commodity Finance at Nedbank Capital.

Michael Lyne, associate professor at New Zealand’s Lincoln University and honorary professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, recently presented the 2014 FR Tomlinson Memorial Lecture to the Agricultural Economics Association of SA. Here are excerpts pertaining to land reform.

Minister Nkwinti’s radical 50:50 land reform proposal will put food security at risk and lead to increases in prices, interest rates and inflation, according to Grain SA chairperson Louw Steytler.

Boet, you know how much I dread the annual congress season! But so far this year I’ve been very impressed by the standard of the agricultural congresses.