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Gilly Scheepers is the unassuming 2012 Grain SA and Syngenta Grain Producer of the Year. Flourishing in rugged terrain across three districts, he attributes his success to hard work and making do with what is available. He speaks to Lindi van Rooyen about inheriting farming skills from his father and humility from his mother.

Let me tell you what true helplessness is. It’s not merely an emotion or a feeling – it’s something palpable, something you can see and smell, and hear.

The global economic outlook has worsened and the risks of a meltdown are high – so now is not the time for high-risk ventures.

The future of biotechnology and the direction it takes is largely dependent on the public’s ability to understand and support the science.

The Mansomini sugar cane co-operative in Glendale Valley is a role model for other small-scale farmers, and has resulted in the revitalisation of the region. Robyn Joubert reports.

Reducing the height of forestry trees through genetic modification has advantages, say US researchers.

Correcting the soil’s pH and conserving its organic matter are key to improving plant response to fertiliser application. Robyn Joubert reports.

This hay is fed to cattle and sheep in Southern Africa, but is it safe for horses?

Steeped in history and rooted in the African soil, the rugged Boran is receiving more and more accolades. Tanzanian Boran breeder Mark Myatt-Taylor tells Lloyd Phillips why.

Higher food prices are on the way, but government can do a lot to mitigate their effect on consumers.

Intense rainfall and hailstorms struck Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal on the weekend of 19 to 21 October, causing fatalities, infrastructure damage and in some cases, crop losses.

The energy minister recently gazetted the mandatory blending of biofuels at minimum concentrations of 5% for biodiesel and 2% to 10% for bio-ethanol. Once outstanding issues are resolved, this should kick-start investment in biofuels, says biofuels agricultural advisor Fanie Brink.