Opinion

Demand for healthy protein has put game meat on the menu. It’s leaner than domestic livestock meat and has other health benefits, says Dr Maretha van der Merwe, consultant to WRSA.

Do you think it’s at all possible to take emotion out of the agriculture equation?

At a recent symposium on the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops, Dr Pieter Mulder, deputy agricultural minister, asked that views on the technology be based on sound scientific facts and not emotion.

Rearing high-value game animals under intensive conditions has both pros and cons, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

Spring has arrived in more ways than one! After the recent Agri North West congress I feel as if commercial agriculture is moving into a spring time of its own, despite all the negatives farmers have to face on a daily basis. And that’s all because of the spirit of renewal I noticed among delegates, especially the younger ones.

South Africa is expected to lose its self-sufficiency in food within a decade. Environmental advisor and author Dr Anthony Turton recently laid out his expectations.

The SA beef sector must improve production efficiencies to remain viable, according to former FNB agricultural advisor Jan de Jong. Speaking at a Brangus Information Day in KwaZulu-Natal, he pointed out that beef prices have remained unchanged since 2007. Compiled by Lloyd Phillips.

South Africa’s sugar industry has finally been given the go-ahead to submit formal proposals on their plans to produce renewable energy on a large scale. The SA Sugar Association’s Dr Marilyn Govender tells us what might be in store.

Without first determining a country’s carrying capacity, it’s no use in speaking enthusiastically about ‘growth’ and a ‘sustainable future’, says Ritchie Morris.

Increased emphasis will be placed on the reduction of methane gas emissions from livestock in the future, according to Prof Michiel Scholtz, ARC Specialist Researcher: Applied Animal Breeding. He says that livestock production both contributes to the problem and suffers from the effects.

I call upon our farming community, commercial or otherwise, not to spend any sleepless nights on the Malemas of our country.

Basing a business strategy on long-term economic forecasts is about as safe as using tea leaves and crystal balls, says Theo Vorster, CEO of Galileo Capital.