Opinion

The current drought and other difficulties are dominating conversation among South Africa’s red meat producers, but Dr Pieter Prinsloo, second vice-chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation, reminds us of the opportunities.

The good rains that came before Easter were just enough to cover some of South Africa’s parched areas in a thin veil of green, but the relief was fleeting.

Sign on and learn all you need to know at your own pace.

Land reform tops the list of priorities affecting South African agriculture, given the current policy environment in which the sector operates. Dr John Purchase, CEO of the agricultural business chamber, Agbiz, examines current and planned developments in land reform.

This issue celebrates Farmer’s Weekly’s 105th anniversary, as well as some of the agricultural family businesses that have helped to shape the farming sector in South Africa.

Agritourism is by no means a new concept, but it is perhaps a business opportunity that too few South African farmers have seriously considered.

I followed the World Economic Forum’s recent 2016 Annual Meeting in Davos closely because of the main theme of this year’s gathering: The Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Roelof Bezuidenhout summarises a study by American ecologist, Dr John Carter, and five other researchers, who question the holistic management grazing system’s assumptions about grasslands and how they are grazed.

Now is an excellent time for South African products to enter global markets, according to Prof Melville Saayman, director of Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society at North-West University. He explains why the branding of our agricultural products is so important.

As a result of the drought ravaging large parts of Southern Africa, South Africa’s national beef herd has been reduced by almost a third.

With free shipping on many items, Aliexpress helps you to beat the weak rand.

Working for Farmer’s Weekly, I am often asked whether I think there is a future for farming in South Africa.