Ongoing court case of Mooi River farm murders
Families of the Sherwood Farm murder victims will not soon see justice done to the murderers, as one has been released and another’s trial has been postponed until June.
Bad roads threaten rural communities
Angry farmers, rural shopkeepers and taxi drivers are so gatvol about the state of roads in the Cathcart and Stutterheim regions of the Eastern Cape they’ve begun repairing the roads themselves. Mike Burgess reports.
Louis Trichardt farmers create bravery cross
On 28 May 2011, Louis Trichardt farmer Jan Louw returned after dark to his farm Nooitgedacht with his partner Colleen Liddle and her son Ferdie Landman.
Saving the Mulanje cedar
Malawi’s national tree, the famous Mulanje cedar, is facing extinction due to political corruption, illegal woodcutting and bad management in the past. The Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust is working hard to save the tree – but it could be fighting a losing battle. Sean Christie investigates.
KwaSani fights the scourge of stock theft
With local police untrained and under-equipped, commercial and communal livestock farmers in KZN’s KwaSani area feel abandoned by the government and are coming together to deal with this ever-present menace. Lloyd Phillips reports.
Marlow Agricultural High School bears fruit
One of the country’s leading agricultural schools Marlow, near Cradock in Eastern Cape, was founded in 1931 – with nine students – to support the traditional wool and mohair industries of the Karoo. The school offers a unique education on a 3 300ha commercial farm on the banks of the Great Fish River. Mike Burgess reports.
Oakdale Agricultural High School
A proud history of training young farmers.
Farming at an early age
Grade 10 Michaelhouse pupil, Michael Mandy, has shown great initiative at an early age, and has been earning money from his agricultural pursuits since the age of eight. Robyn Joubert finds out more.
Introducing farm band, Plassmoord
You won’t find the agricultural district of Koedoesrand on many maps, and the folks who live and farm there like it that way. Sean Christie chanced upon a Koedoesrand garage band consisting of brothers (and farmers), Will (31) and Chris Coetsee (33), and documentary cameraman-cum-farmer Gideon Swart (47). They explain why they called the band ‘Plaasmoord’.
Meet our cover girl
She drives a tractor. Runs a game lodge. Has an excellent eye for hunting and a couple of trophies to prove it. And enjoys cooking and fashion. Our Farmer’s Weekly cover girl, Meggan King, is not only beautiful but multi-talented too. Heather Dugmore spoke to her.
Rural security: what’s the plan?
The fight against rural crime depends heavily on close, ongoing co-operation between farmers and the police, as set out in the National Rural Security Plan. Sean Christie explores whether this is happening.
What happens when farmers’ wives make a plan
The Eastern Cape is 'frontier country'. It breeds gritty do-it-yourself and don’t-give-up independence. And that’s the spirit behind the thriving Farmers’ Country School in the little town of Bedford, where more than 60 pupils are receiving a rich educational experience. Humphrey Tyler reports.
