Inhaltsverzeichnis für 27 November 2020 in Farmer's Weekly

The COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns may not have had a major impact on food production per se, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had an impact on people’s ability to access food. As a new report published by Bowmans in collaboration with Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Complex Systems in Transition has shown, for millions of households across Africa the underlying causes of food insecurity, such as inequality, conflict and climate impacts, remain and have been exacerbated by job losses and inadequate social protection measures due to the pandemic. The report, titled ‘Food systems in Africa: Bringing COVID-19 response in line with Africa’s unique food challenges’, found that almost 150 million Africans were projected to lose part or all of their income as a result of the economic effect of…

South Africa is expected to achieve another record-breaking grain crop in the 2020/2021 season, with the agriculture sector expected to increase momentum in the next few months, due to an increasingly positive weather outlook and overall production conditions for the summer rainfall regions. There is also investment and/or capital injection in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation systems and grain storage facilities in anticipation of these larger harvests. Furthermore, the growing use of genetically modified crops will likely improve yields for South African farmers. As such, South Africa’s food processing sector is poised for growth in response to a number of factors, including the record-breaking winter and summer crops of 2020/2021. Other factors include the country’s changing demographics, consumers’ evolving preference for branded items, a modernising retail sector, growing consumer acceptance…

The report on the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Amendment (ULTRA) Bill has been adopted by the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and the Bill will now be referred to the National Assembly in Parliament. The Bill is intended to amend the Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act of 1991 to provide for applications for land tenure rights to be converted into ownership; to provide for the notice of informing interested persons of an application to convert land tenure rights into ownership; and to provide an opportunity for interested persons to object to the conversion of land tenure rights into ownership. It also intended to provide for the institution of inquiries to assist in the determination of land tenure rights; to provide for the application to…

South Africa’s commercial egg farmers have been urged to adhere to statutory regulations with regard to sizing and other quality aspects of the products that they market to consumers. This followed recent complaints from consumers about eggs they had bought not meeting the minimum weights for the size of eggs advertised on the product labels. Mogala Mamabolo, general manager of the Egg Organisation of the South African Poultry Association, told Farmer’s Weekly that it was important for egg producers to adhere to statutory size and quality regulations so that consumers could be assured of the quality of the eggs that they were buying. ‘UNBRANDED EGGS COULD POSE FOOD SAFETY RISKS’ He referred egg producers to the Agricultural Products Standards Act No. 119 of 1990, administered by the Department of Agriculture,…

A major cattle business in Australia, Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), has announced that the remainder of the company has been bought out by a UK investor alongside the existing CPC management team. Guy Hands and his family reportedly paid AU$500 million (almost R5,7 billion) for the business, which claimed to be Australia’s largest cattle company. It included 3,2 million hectares of land with a carrying capacity of about 300 000 head of cattle, including vertical integration into two feedlots in Indonesia, according to Farm Weekly in Australia. “CPC is a high-quality, well-run business with a strong position in a large and growing industry, and close proximity to major beef-consuming markets,” Hands said. “Even in Australia, where beef industry standards are among the highest in the world, CPC stands apart for…

A total of 8 163 bales were on offer at the 12th sale of the 2020/2021 wool season, of which 96,2% were sold. The market indicator increased 7,9% to close on R157,17/kg. According to Cape Wools, there was improved market sentiment and strong competition for fine Merino fleece wools on offer, with nearly 70% of the offering testing 20 microns or finer. There was also stronger competition for the Responsible Wool Standard-certified wool, which made up 28,4% of the Merino wool on offer, and 18,6% of all wool sold. However, the largest week-on-week price increase of 10,9% was in the 21-micron segment. According to Cape Wools, the major buyers were Modiano SA (2 128 bales), Lempriere SA (1 895), Standard Wool SA (1 202) and Stucken & Co (1 077).…

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (NSPCA) efforts to achieve a permanent ban on all livestock exports from South Africa by sea have been dealt another blow. Most recently, the Grahamstown High Court ordered the NSPCA to pay export company Al Mawashi’s legal fees incurred in its fight to have its livestock transport ship Al Messilah, then moored in East London harbour, released from court-ordered detention. Acting Judge AJ Dukada ruled that High Court Judge, GH Bloem, had erred in his July 2020 order granting the NSPCA permission to attach the Al Messilah as security for R850 000 in potential costs orders that the NSPCA expected to achieve against Al Mawashi in its fight to interdict the Kuwait-headquartered company from exporting a third shipment…

The western Free State farming communities affected by the recent devastating veldfires were urgently requesting that donors and potential donors of animal feed stagger these over the next three or four months, Dr Jack Armour, Free State Agriculture’s (FSA) operations manager said. Meanwhile, donations of livestock from South Africa’s commercial and stud breeders were streaming into the Afrikaner Cattle Breeders’ Society of South Africa’s Sponsor a Heifer initiative, according to Werner Boshoff, the coordinator of the project. He said this included beef cattle, sheep and goats. “The distribution of the livestock started in the third week of November, and we plan to complete this before the beginning of December. “The distribution is taking place in collaboration with local farmers’ associations, but are not limited to members of these associations.” FEED…

The ongoing drought in the western parts of South Africa underpins the fact that infrequent rainfall was the most important climatic factor affecting extensive livestock production in South Africa. This pertained not only to the irregular rainfall patterns between seasons, but also during seasons. One of the biggest mistakes producers could make was to plan for the long term based solely on longterm rainfall statistics or carrying capacity, according to independent meteorologist, Johan van den Berg. “Careful planning is of critical importance. The reality is that conditions of drought, or below-average rainfall, are the norm, and wetter periods are the [exception],” he told Farmer’s Weekly. In a paper submitted for a recent farmers’ day near Bloemfontein, Van den Berg said the times between dry and wet periods in South Africa…

The smartphone has shrunk our world, brought us closer to friends and family, hugely increased our access to knowledge, and provided a tool to increase our productivity. But there are negatives to this remarkable device. As time spent online has gone up, so have anxiety, depression and suicide rates, particularly among the young. Childline (the telephone counselling service for children) reports that in the UK, more children than ever are receiving counselling for loneliness due to parents being distracted by smartphones. When parents are present but their attention is elsewhere, the message to the child is, “My phone is more important than you are.” Prof Sherry Turkle, a US-based expert in social connectivity, says: “When we replace or interrupt face-to-face conversation with electronic communication, the quality of our interaction, and…

In the mid-1990s, Lizette Kloppers, a former landscaper, planted cocktail tomatoes in a tunnel on her family farm Rooikrans, on the outskirts of Worcester in the Western Cape. “I started to experiment with tomatoes for family consumption and shared the surplus with friends,” she recalls. At the time, she was reading one of Margaret Roberts’s books on herbs, and came across the concept of companion planting. “This is based on the principle that certain plants can attract or repel insects or provide beneficial support to other plants. The book suggests that tomato and basil are a good match for companion planting, so I decided to give it a try.” She replaced two rows of tomatoes with basil. “I knew nothing about herbs and, as the basil started growing taller and…

Pruning is carried out to: • Direct or control growth, and to obtain the desired tree shape and size; • Encourage flower and fruit production to maximise the yield of high-quality fruit; • Make the task of harvesting easier; • Obtain the desired leaf-to-fruit ratio; • Make maximum use of sunlight and enable good air movement through the tree. Sunlight is essential for obtaining high yield and good fruit quality. Insufficient sunlight will result in dieback of the fruiting branches; • Rejuvenate the tree by removing dead or excessive wood or shoots; • Enable spraying and cultural practices to be applied more effectively; • Extend the production period. The production season of guava trees can be controlled by the timing of pruning. If pruning is carried out later in the…

RAPPORT by Emily Alison & Laurence Alison (Vermilion, R340) It’s hard to resist a book whose blurb begins: “We all have to deal with difficult people.” Many of us, on reading this, will looking back ruefully on work confrontations that we could have handled better, or else we’ll look anxiously ahead to family get-togethers over Christmas. The Alisons, who are expert forensic psychologists, describe four ways to ‘read’ people, and their case studies and advice ring with years of experience in dealing with criminals and even school groups. They take a lively and down-to-earth approach, and insist on the power of words, co-operation and even capitulation. Rather than freezing out or isolating people, they urge engaging with respect. If you think that’s easier said than done, read their…

Only 26,3% of the R138,5 million drought-relief funding that was made available to seven provinces through the National Disaster Management Centre earlier this year, to alleviate the adverse impact of the drought, has been spent. This was according to a presentation by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s climate change and disaster management director, Dr Ikalafeng Kgakatsi. He updated Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development on the impact of the drought on the agriculture sector, and the implementation of drought relief in affected provinces. These provinces included the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West, the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and the Northern Cape. So far only about R36,4 million of what had been allocated had been used for the drilling and equipping of boreholes,…

The recent widespread rain across the summer grain production regions of South Africa bodes well for the 2020/2021 production season. This was according to Derek Mathews, Grain SA chairperson, who told Farmer’s Weekly that the current planting conditions were much more favourable than those in the 2019/2020 season. “Last year, grain producers had to start planting in soils with very low soil moisture levels. The good rainfall received so far in 2020 has made it possible for them to prepare the grain fields timeously. Also, this year the soil moisture levels are considerably higher than last year,” he said. The optimum planting season for the western parts of the summer grain production region lasted from mid-November until about the end of December. The current favourable conditions made it possible for…

SUDAN The US Agency for International Development will provide the World Food Programme (WFP) with US$20 million (about R311 million) to purchase wheat for Sudan to alleviate shortages in the East African country. This followed the US announcement in October that it would rescind Sudan’s 27-year-old listing as a state sponsor of terrorism, which had restricted Sudan’s economic links, and prevented it from receiving financial assistance. JAPAN A single, 20kg crate of 100 Japanese mandarin oranges recently sold for US$9 600 (about R149 000) at the first auction of satsuma mandarin oranges. The high bid was considered “a very celebratory price” to mark the beginning of Japan’s mikan season, according to a representative of the Nishiuwa agricultural association. “Since the quality of the fruit of each year is evaluated at…

‘OUT OF THE BOX INNOVATION WILL ENSURE GROWTH’ The Western Cape Department of Agriculture recently showcased 14 new innovations and technologies at its WOW Day held at the department’s offices in Elsenburg. The event highlighted novel approaches to improve service delivery to the agriculture sector in the Western Cape. According to the department, it aimed to create jobs, ensure safety, and promote the dignity and wellbeing of all agricultural stakeholders through these new innovations and technologies. The innovations ranged from a new interactive digital platform aimed at improving rural safety across the province, to a comprehensive web-based agricultural statistics portal designed to assist farmers with business planning and decision-making for their operations. The virtual event made use of innovative and technologically advanced video screenings for speaker presentations. In his opening…

The row between United Exports and Rossouw Boerdery was exacerbated when a 26t blueberry shipment produced and exported by Rossouw Boerdery under its sub-divisions Rosle and Ross Berries, was confiscated in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands by the European Union Customs Authority. United Exports reportedly claimed that the blueberries had been unlawfully exported, since only it had the right to sell this licenced cultivar. Rossouw Boerdery had 100ha planted to OZblu blueberries, a variety licenced to United Exports. Charles Rossouw, director of Rosle, however, ended the contract with United Exports in May this year, after the company refused to supply the farm with additional planting material that had already been agreed on. The latest incident was, however, the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, with Rossouw claiming…

As a farmer (and consumer), you may have noticed that the local potato price has skyrocketed, due mainly to unfavourable weather in traditional potato-growing areas. So now is the ideal time to grow this crop. Another good reason for doing so is that potatoes are not as perishable and do not spoil as easily as other popular vegetables, such as tomatoes. And unlike crops such as cabbages, which need to be marketed when ready, potatoes can be kept for some time in the soil without perishing. DIY DRIP IRRIGATION Potatoes can be watered effectively using drip irrigation. This method uses far less water than does spraying, as there is little evaporation and the water is directed straight at the plant, not blown away by the wind. If you want to…

Kluitjieskraal Jersey Stud has established itself as one of South Africa’s top Jersey studs, and has a string of SA Stud Book Elite awards to prove it. The Schoonwinkel family, who owns the stud, has been farming Jerseys on its mixed farms near Swellendam in the Western Cape, and selling its milk to a nearby cheese factory, for many years. As the family had always kept thorough records of each animal, the Schoonwinkels decided to register the herd as a stud in 2007. “Doing this made sense, as it enabled us to make better-informed breeding decisions by giving us access to more genetic information. ‘Our aim is to get a mixture of the best qualities of sire and dam, so as to improve milk product ion traits ’ “This is…

Sinelizwi Fakade is a commercial grain farmer in Ugie in the Eastern Cape. He produces maize, sunflower, sorghum and soya bean on the 1 200ha farm Rocky Park. Fakade is a founding member and chairperson of the Ukhanyo Farmer Development (UFD) programme, an independent non-profit organisation. The UFD was formed by 36 young people who were graduates of Grain SA’s development programme. Before embarking on his farming journey, Fakade was a provincial coordinator at Grain SA. “With our combined experience and skills, the UFD founders decided to start a youth-owned and women-led independent entity that [aims] to address the challenges that prohibit black farmers from reaching commercial status in the Eastern Cape. “The UFD enables subsistence and emerging farmers, women, youth and co-operatives to access markets, finance, infrastructure development and…

Serves four to six 30ml oil 1 onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 15ml fresh ginger, finely grated 15ml curry paste 400g portabellini mushrooms, halved 1 x 410g tin chopped tomatoes 2 x 410g tins brown lentils, drained 45ml plain yoghurt or thick cream 30ml fresh coriander, chopped 1. Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion and garlic for five to seven minutes. 2. Add the ginger, curry paste and mushrooms and cook for another three to four minutes. 3. Stir in the tomatoes and lentils and allow to simmer for five minutes. Top with yoghurt or cream and coriander. 4. Serve with rice or naan, raita and/or toasted coconut.…

DJI recently released the Agras T16, a replacement for the Agras MG1, which set the benchmark for drone crop sprayers. The T16 is no mere facelift, however; it offers numerous improvements on its predecessor. The payload capacity has been doubled to an impressive takeoff weight of 40kg at sea level. The tank capacity, too, has been increased, and is now 16l. FEWER ROTORS, BUT BETTER DOWNFORCE The T16 is equipped with six rotors rather than the eight of the MG1, an improvement achieved by designing larger rotors. These spin at a slower speed, increasing flight efficiency while decreasing propellor noise. Despite fewer, slower rotors, the overall downforce has been increased, which helps distribute the chemical even better than before. The spray width is 6m. Flight accuracy has also improved, thanks…

Earlier this year, the Brookings Institution provided a disconcerting view of sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) circumstances, when Jennifer Blanke noted that “COVID-19 exacerbated the negative effect of locust swarms in the Horn of Africa, regional insecurity and conflict, climate-change-related droughts and flooding, all of which already collectively destroyed crops and the livelihoods of millions of African smallholder farmers”. With the year being largely dominated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would seem that now would be an opportune time to reflect on what is known and not known about the pandemic. The global economy has opened up and countries have adapted, somewhat, to the reality of the pandemic’s effect on social culture, which includes wearing masks and social distancing. We know that generally, the global economy is headed for…

The UK and various European countries, such as France, Germany and Italy, have banned, or are discouraging all but essential travel for November, as they move back into COVID-19-related lockdowns. However, Werner van Rooyen, operational manager of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Forum, said the move towards more stringent measures should not have a large impact on fruit and vegetable exports in general, as fruit sales and demand had so far remained relatively stable despite lockdowns around the world. The reduced availability of flights could, however, have a negative impact or require more careful planning when it came to the exporting of some stone fruit varieties. Van Rooyen said most of the challenges associated with the first, hard lockdown period had been addressed, with countries learning from past mistakes and introducing…

Sweden is the latest country to raise its risk level for avian influenza (bird flu), after outbreaks were reported elsewhere in Europe and Russia. Earlier this month, France placed parts of the country on high alert, while Denmark raised its bird flu risk level to high after outbreaks in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK. The high alert level required poultry farms to keep animals indoors, or install protective netting to prevent contact with wild birds that spread the disease. Authorities in the Netherlands, Europe’s largest exporter of chicken meat and eggs, ordered the culling of over 200 000 chickens, after the highly pathogenic virus was identified on several farms since late October. At the same time, UK authorities also ordered the culling of 13 000 birds on a farm…

South Africa’s new alternative winter grain trust, the South African Winter Cereal Industry Trust (SAWCIT), has been well received and supported by local producers, and promises to play an invaluable role in the quest for sustainability and profitability in the future. This was according to Jannie de Villiers, CEO of Grain SA, who said the trust was established by the winter grain value chain after a decision was taken earlier in 2020 not to continue as part of the South African Winter Cereal Trust, which was formed during the phasing-out process of the Wheat Board (a statutory institution under the Marketing Act of 1968), decades ago. “The industry decided to form a new entity that could continue to serve local producers, as well as the value chain without government involvement,”…

The latest annual financial results of Sappi Limited were severely negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s wide-ranging effects. This included the company having to take downtime equivalent to more than 1,1 million tons of production in an effort to match supply to strained demand during much of the period 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2020, according to a statement by the company. Sappi’s financial lowlights for the period included a 20% drop in total sales revenue to US$4,61 billion (about R74,82 billion); a 45% drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to US$378 million (R6,13 billion); and a 164% decline in profit to a US$135 million (R2,2 billion) loss. Sappi’s shareholders were also hard hit as a result, with headline earnings per share for the period…

With global citrus production on the increase and consumption remaining stagnant, the World Citrus Organisation (WCO) has called for cohesion in the industry to increase sales volumes and overcome challenges prohibiting further growth. The recent Global Citrus Congress, hosted by the WCO, revealed that there was still much that needed to be done to grow the sector and keep demand ahead of supply. Eric Imbert, manager of market news at the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), expressed concern about a sideways drift in the volume of citrus traded on most markets and across most citrus categories. He highlighted the need to develop effective solutions to reactivate consumption in the face of significant production increases in some parts of the world, and stagnant demand in key markets such…

The winners of the annual Cleaver Awards, which recognises the best butcheries in South Africa based on quality, service, hygiene and value for money, were recently announced during a virtual presentation ceremony. According to the executive officer of the South African Feedlot Association (SAFA), Dewald Olivier, about 600 butcheries signed up to register for the event, after which their customers were given the opportunity to vote for them in different categories. He added that feedback received from consumers every year indicated that the majority perceived the Cleaver Awards to be a seal of approval for the industry. The national winners for the different categories were: • Four and more tills: Valsalva Marshall Street, Polokwane (Platinum); Impala Vleis, Brits (Gold); • Up to three tills: Frank’s Meat, Middelburg (Platinum); Frank’s Meat…

Many livestock farms in South Africa suffer from resource damage such as denuded areas with little or no vegetation cover, water erosion, bush encroachment and alien plant invasion, all of which result in water wastage. In these cases, the land cannot be rehabilitated through normal grazing practices; special measures, which fall under ‘radical veld improvement’, are necessary. RESTORATION In bare areas, the topsoil has been removed by wind and water erosion, exposing the rock-hard subsoil with low water infiltration and leaving the soil dry and with few places where seedlings can establish themselves. The first step in the rehabilitation process, therefore, is to restore the soil’s hydrology by breaking the impenetrable topsoil layer to improve water infiltration. There are two ways of doing this, and one’s choice will depend primarily…

Arno Schoonwinkel farms with his father, Jan, and brother, Jaco, on the family’s 3 600ha mixed farming operation. Each is responsible for different aspects of the business, with Arno heading dairy production. Wheat, barley, canola and oats for silage are planted in rotation over five years, depending on the soil quality, production challenges in a specific land, climatic conditions and the market outlook for a crop. This year, they planted plenty of barley, but were caught off-guard by the COVID-19 lockdown, which resulted in South African Breweries ending up with a surplus of beer. Lucerne is grown for five years after the cash crops. The farm also produces maize under irrigation on 45ha, and this is combined with oats to make silage for the cattle. They are considering altering their…

Young guava trees should be well established, growing vigorously, and preferably at least a year old, before they are given any fertiliser. When applying fertiliser, never work it into the soil or apply it against the trunks of the young trees. Instead, spread it evenly about 200mm from the stem to about 500mm outside the drip area of the tree, and follow this with a light, controlled irrigation. The table below indicates the quantity of fertiliser required as the tree grows. • Nitrogen (supplied in the form of LAN) For the first four years, apply LAN in four equal quantities: two weeks before pruning and then at two-monthly intervals. Thereafter apply it as follows: • One-third two weeks before pruning; • One-third four weeks after pruning; • One-third 10 weeks after…

An item in the Produce Marketing Association’s Smartbrief dated 9 October previewed what could develop into a new retail trend – in the US, anyway. Two of the country’s leading retailers are experimenting with the ultimate in fresh produce: growing certain produce, such as tomatoes, in-store in vertical hydroponic units, and allowing customers to pick the produce they wish to buy. Despite floor area in the crowded shopping venues being at a premium, the retailers are making space for the units, saying that they improve the shopping experience. The units are placed within the fresh produce section or installed just outside the store. ‘FARM FRESH’ Retailers have long used the concept of ‘farm fresh’ as a promotional tool. The hydroponic units get as close as possible to meeting that promise.…

Household income is currently under severe pressure in South Africa, and not everyone has the luxury of even a basic medical aid. But despite this, a hospital plan should still be considered, if at all possible. A hospital plan can make all the difference in an emergency or if you have a well-defined ailment that can be treated swiftly: it gives you instant access to the best medical help. But it can also be a great boon if you have an unexplained medical problem, especially if this relates to the digestive system, including liver and gallbladder. THE INSIDE STORY The reason for this is that a doctor is seldom able to diagnose these types of problems accurately from the symptoms or an external assessment; he or she needs to carry…

If you were given R30 million to invest in agriculture, either in new or existing farming activities or in the agriculture value chain, how would you spend it? I would start by paying off debt and then investing in a sheep feedlot in my small town of Vanstadensrus. This feedlot could ultimately expand to offer full value chain services, including an abattoir and a processing and packaging operation. Such a business would create much-needed job opportunities. What is the best advice you have ever been given, and who gave it to you? My father always told me that if people slander you behind your back, the only way in which you should respond is to live in such a way that no one would believe the negative things being said…