Opinion

No, not to listen to the latest Taylor Swift liedjie, or to take pride in the fact that you were out of bed and, after having had coffee with a rusk from Ouma, in the bakkie, all before the Jacaranda breakfast team started their show.

The 14 August issue of Farmer's Weekly is a microcosm of South Africa’s agricultural sector.

First it was drones. Now unmanned helicopters could become the next big thing.

SA has economic opportunities, but tough challenges. For farmers, positives are a sizeable domestic market and top local suppliers, says Wessel Lemmer, senior agricultural economist at Absa.

I had just started writing about South Africa missing out on trade opportunities while its southern hemisphere competitors wasted no time filling the gaps that opened up in international markets (see story on p19, 7 August issue of FW), when my mother called to say it was raining.

A few minor tweaks can always save a lot of time, money and effort. And it’s not just about changing the way we physically do some of the things on our farms, but also the way we use our computers and the Internet.

South Africa’s trout industry has a meaningful socioeconomic role to play in the country’s future, says llan Lax, chairperson of the Federation of SA Flyfishers.

I started writing for Farmer’s Weekly about seven years ago. At that time, I was inclined to follow the school of thought which asserted that smallholder farming was a poverty trap, and that only large-scale, commercial farming could successfully respond to the challenge of feeding a fast-growing, rapidly-urbanising world population, while also coping with climate variability and resource scarcity.

SA’s land reform debacle could destroy everything achieved since 1994, warns communications expert Prof David Venter. He was speaking at the recent Hortgro Science Symposium held near Franschhoek.

New robot technology can debone breasts at a rate of 1 500 chickens per hour.

Speaking on strategy to Eastern Cape farmers, ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe stressed that white commercial farmers were the key to successful transformation. Moreover, rational and positive debate was needed to ensure that everyone benefited.

Instantly available, digital magazines are becoming ever more popular, says Greg Miles.