Table of contents for 29 April 2016 in Farmer's Weekly

Last week, I wrote about the crucial role that the development of rural infrastructure plays in creating the type of living environment that would attract young people to a career in farming. Since farming operations are located mostly within rural economies, it seems logical to assume that growth and development of the agricultural sector would be a catalyst for rural development. However, research carried out by the University of the Western Cape’s Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) has shown that there is not necessarily a direct correlation between agricultural development and inclusive rural economic growth and job creation. What matters is the manner in which agricultural development is achieved. A policy brief titled, ‘Can Agriculture contribute to Inclusive Rural Economies? Findings from Southern Africa’, by Andries du…

Kgotso Moleko plays right-wing for SA Premier Division soccer team, Kaizer Chiefs, based in Johannesburg. During off-pitch periods, Kgotso (26), farms in the rural Morago Trust area near Thaba ’Nchu in the Free State. “I want to be a full-time farmer – I love it with all my heart,” he says. Kgotso owns a 1 200ha farm on which he plants 350ha to sunflower and runs Merino sheep and Bonsmara cattle. He frequently travels to the farm to monitor the progress of his crops and animals. Matter of fact In the article ‘Research into high-density grazing’ by Dr Heidi Hawkins (FW, 15 April), an omission was made in the text. Instead of reading: “the assumption that increasing hoof action has been disproved”, it should have read: “the assumption that increasing…

Despite farmers’ and road users’ ongoing pleas for the Department of Road and Transport to maintain cattle grids, the Eastern Cape’s provincial administration simply ignores the problem, citing lack of funds. Two years ago, a grid [pictured] located in the eastern Karoo’s Steytlerville district was badly damaged. After repeated complaints over a six-month period, the department eventually repaired it for R15 000. Less than a year later, the grid is falling apart again due to shoddy workmanship and the use of poor materials. Regional farmers say that this is not an isolated case, and that they cannot understand how the Department of Public Works can simply ignore the dangers posed by these dilapidated structures. Additionally, no warning signs are erected to warn unsuspecting motorists of the hazard ahead. The grids’…

Planting forecasts for crop farmers in the Overberg and other parts of the Southern Cape appear to be favourable. Although the region’s official planting season has yet to begin, some farmers have already started planting pastures for their livestock. Canola has also been planted by some growers. According to Johan Lusse, grain services manager at Overberg Agri, large-scale commercial plantings would start at the beginning of May. The region’s planting forecast was good, with rainfall close to average. The western part of the Southern Cape had received more rain than the east, but this this was normal. “Generally, the rain starts falling earlier in the west than in the east,” Lusse said. The past season was the fourth consecutive year that the Overberg had been blessed with a good harvest,…

The US agriculture sector is facing its worst economic environment in eight years. According to a report by the US Department of Agriculture, the current production season would be the least profitable since 1997. Reuters reported that in an attempt to save costs, farmers were buying cheaper inputs and using less fertiliser. In the longer term, however, poor crop protection and less resilient seed significantly increased the risk of crop failure and could cause maize and soya bean yield to decline by at least 20% in unfavourable climatic conditions. The US is the world’s top soya bean and maize producer, and a major exporter of these commodities. A decline in output would thus have a negative impact on global markets.…

The Performing Animal Protection Amendment Bill, recently released for public comment, could impede the livestock industry, according to Leon de Beer, general manager of the National Wool Growers’ Association. De Beer said that the bill had defined ‘performing animal’ as a ‘captive animal’, such as a circus animal. But the definition had been amended to include “equine, bovine, sheep, goat, pig, fowl, ostrich, dog, cat or other domestic animal or bird, or any wild animal or wild bird in captivity or under the control of a person.” While the organisation was in favour of animal welfare, the amendments would encumber the industry’s shows, auctions and exhibitions by resulting in additional administrative work and costs, he said. However, De Beer welcomed the fact that licences to exhibit animals would now be…

The third crop estimate for the 2015/2016 production year for cotton has confirmed predictions in previous reports indicating that the local cotton crop yield will be 44% smaller than in the previous season. According to Cotton SA, the total crop for the 2016/2017 production year would amount to 53 379 lint bales (10,7 million tons). Cotton SA secretary and head of promotions, Koot Louw, told Farmer’s Weekly that the decline in production had been caused mainly by the drought, which had affected both dryland and irrigated cotton producers. “The cotton gins have inspectors who visit the farmers who supply them every month, [and] the information they gather is then sent to Cotton SA. The estimate is [thus] very accurate,” Louw said. According to the crop estimate report, the local cotton…

A total of 31 dairy farmers in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands recently became joint owners of a brand-new 15 000m² Dairy Day milk processing, marketing and distribution facility at Tweedie. Dairy Day has the capacity to process 600 000l of raw milk a day, all of which will be supplied by the 31 farmers. While the latter jointly own 85% of the shares in Dairy Day, each will have a shareholding in direct relation to the number of litres they have committed to supplying the dairy processor. The remaining 15% of the shares belong to a farm workers’ trust, with the beneficiaries being the workers of the shareholding farmers. At full production, Dairy Day will produce sterilised milk, maas, yoghurt, cream and dairy blends, among other products. Speaking at the opening…

Certain beneficial bacteria can boost a plant’s defences against pathogen attacks by producing hormones. Danish researchers have discovered how one such system works. Hormones are organic chemicals produced by organisms or applied from outside them. Plants produce three classes of hormones that control plant physiology: auxins (which induce root formation and cell elongation), cytokinins (which control synthesis of proteins for cell division, root elongation and shoot buds) and gibberellins (which control shoot elongation, seed dormancy, germination and flowering). Beneficial bacteria mediate biocontrol of diseases by interfering with the pathogen, or strengthening the plant’s defence mechanisms. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen investigated Pseudomonas syringae, a pathogen that attacks tomatoes and various tree and fruit species, and a related but beneficial species, P. fluorescence, which produces a plant cytokinin hormone, the…

SAVING ENERGY IS MUCH CHEAPER THAN GENERATING ENERGY Recently, Eskom announced that it had succeeded in synchronising Unit 4 at Ingula – South Africa’s brand-new pump storage scheme – to the national grid. This was accompanied by the usual fanfare. Ingula, however, is a net user of energy, and does not provide any baseload power. It takes advantage of the cheaper energy available at night to pump water from the lower dam to the higher dam. During peak times, this water is used to generate electricity, hence the moniker, ‘pump storage scheme.’ In my opinion, pump storage schemes are used for load shifting, and should not be seen as generation. This got me thinking about the cost of energy. A report recently published by the American Association for an Energy…

‘YOU CAN’T PUT ANYTHING IN THE SOIL WITHOUT A READY MARKET’ When Fan Olivier bought his farm Houdconstant in Porterville valley in 2000, he decided to restructure it and make it more efficient. Today, he runs 15 separate farming and related activities on 180ha of the 570ha farm. Much of the farm consists of a mountain which is not arable, but the land in use is made up of various soil types and has a good water supply. “When we bought the farm, it produced wine grapes, citrus and vegetables,” Fan recalls. One of his main objectives when he started out was to move away from the traditional approach of using chemical fertilisers and pesticides to more organic methods. “I wanted to balance the soil and build it up with…

In the previous issue, I wrote about justice being done when a market agent, Vian Coleske, was sent to prison for fraud affecting producers and others. Justice was eventually served. But there’s a flip side. To commit his crimes, a fraudster such as Coleske usually needs an accomplice or somebody who ‘looks the other way.’ With Coleske, there were rumours for years that he was up to no good. Is it possible that not one farmer whom Coleske represented had any idea of his underhand practices? Did no farmer realise something was wrong – either with the price received or the payment? Did no farmer question the legality of what was happening? Perhaps Coleske was so slick that nobody suspected anything. But surely somebody, somewhere, at some time must have…

THE DISEASE CAN BE DETECTED IN FOALS AS YOUNG AS FOUR MONTHS I love watching a beautifully schooled horse move across a dressage arena, or a happy endurance horse crossing a finishing line with a lightness in its step. What I do not love, is seeing a horse in pain. One cause of discomfort in horses is osteochondritis dissecans (OD). It is thought that OD is caused by a malfunction of endochondral ossification, which results in a disturbance in the production of cartilage and the bone supporting it. The cartilage and subchondral bone are not evenly laid down and weaker than areas that have developed normally. When the animal moves, the pressure placed on the poorly developed sections damages the normally developed tissue. Imagine a wall. The foundation is the…

Dear Jonno My husband and I open our Farmer’s Weekly to your ‘Hillbilly Homes’ column before paging to any of the other interesting topics. We have been watching the TV programme ‘Treehouse Masters’, and can’t believe how many different and beautiful designs of tree houses people come up with. So we decided to ask you, Jonno, if you could come up with something to suit our needs. We have a beautiful half-acre size dam close to our house. Sadly, this is only half full due to the drought, though the local wild game and birdlife frequent the dam all day long. They need water and insect life to survive. Attached is a photo of the site on the sloping terrain overlooking the dam, with views of the Drakensberg to the…

THE SWORD AND THE PEN by Allister Sparks (Jonathan Ball, R300) From the 1940s onwards, reporters have seen journalism as the ‘first draft of history’ – and often a pretty ‘rough’ draft at that. Sparks began his career in the 1950s, reporting on the entrenchment of apartheid. In 1977, he became editor of the Rand Daily Mail, which had broken the Muldergate scandal and would expose the real circumstances of Steve Biko’s death. His intriguing preface, opening ‘I was born on the frontier’, sets the scene for his working life at the frontiers of journalism, politics and world-shaking events. Part personal memoir, part professional retrospect, with nostalgia mingling with Sparks’s characteristically trenchant and clear-sighted commentary, this is well worth a read. SELLING APARTHEID by Ron Nixon…

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & EXPOS 9 TO 12 MAY South African Society of Dairy Technology (SASDT) Symposium. Gateway Hotel, Umhlanga. Email Yvonne Steyn at yvonne@sampro.co.za. 9 TO 13 MAY World Brangus Congress, Thaba ’Nchu, Free State. Visit www.brangus.org.za. 24 TO 25 MAY Inaugural Ukulinga Howard Davis Memorial Symposium, Ukulinga Research Farm, Pietermaritzburg. Phone Dr Gareth Lagerwall on 033 260 5177, or email lagerwall@ukzn.ac.za. 31 MAY TO 3 JUNE Hortgro Science Technical Symposium, Allée Bleue, Simondium. Visit www.hortgroscience.co.za/hortgro-sciencetechnical-symposium-2016. COURSES & TRAINING 10 MAY One-Day Practical Home Gardener, Beula Park, Meadowdale. Phone Neill Jackson on 082 407 6774, or email him at neill@foundationsforfarming.org. 11 MAY Cow and Calf, Bloemfontein. Phone Peter Milton on 083 630 8868, or visit www.petermilton.co.za. 12 TO 13 MAY Commercial Gourmet Mushroom Cultivation, Johannesburg. Phone Adriaan Smit on 082…

South African wool prices traded 2,5% lower, while the Australian market improved slightly. “The market held its own despite a stronger rand,” said James de Jager of CMW. The price for long wool of 18,7 microns fell 2% while 19-micron to 21-micron wool sold just 1,5% lower. Wool of 22 microns to 23 microns traded unchanged from the previous auction, although there was more resistance for medium and especially short wool. “Global wool production is at a 70-year low, yet still outperforms most competing commodities,” said De Jager. China bought 70% of both the Australian and South African clips. Chinese demand was falling due to its economic slowdown, although stronger demand from Europe was now possible and should support price increases. “The industry is worried about the number of wool-processing…

Government’s focus on employment equity, black economic empowerment [BEE] and land reform benefits only a minority, according to a report by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR). The report, based on a national survey of 2 245 people, of whom 1 757 were black, 203 were coloured, 63 were Indian and 223 were white, found that 85% of South Africans felt that they were not benefiting from these policies. Dr Anthea Jeffery, IRR policy head, said that only 16,6% of the black respondents agreed that affirmative action in employment had benefited them personally. In addition, only one in 10 felt that they had benefited directly from BEE, while 87% of the respondents strongly endorsed the merit principle, which demands that the best candidate is employed, regardless of race.…

A number of Eastern Cape farmers have lost cattle worth millions of rands through a fraudulent grazing scheme run by a fellow farmer. Shaun Cockin, who farmed in the districts of Komga and Cathcart, gave other farmers permission to graze their cattle on his farms. He committed suicide in September last year after being confronted by one of the farmers, Dave Osborne from Queenstown. It was revealed in the Grahamstown High Court that Cockin had promised to divide the cattle’s progeny equally between the owner of the cattle and Cockin Partners. But this had never happened, according to Judge Jeremy Pickering. Instead of allowing the cattle to graze and reproduce, Cockin had sold them off. Osborne had 1 800 head of cattle grazing on various farms owned by Cockin, but…

According to AllAfrica.com, Rwanda’s Federation of Beekeepers’ Cooperatives was at risk of losing the European Union’s (EU) honey export market, as new EU supply demands required a year-round supply of honey. Rwanda harvests honey only in July, August and September. In 2015, Rwanda produced 3 750t of honey. Anselme Nzabonimpa, president of the cooperative, said that to produce enough honey to meet the EU’s expectations, Rwanda’s beekeepers would have to harvest more than 5 000t of honey a year.…

SA avocados could soon be exported to the US, if the local industry could demonstrate that its mitigation measures would prevent pests from entering the US through imports. Derek Donkin, CEO of the SA Subtropical Growers’ Association, said the industry had been trying to export to the US for years. “This is positive news for the industry. It’s a large market and we want to be there,” he said. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had released a draft pest risk assessment for SA avocados, in which the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said it had identified seven quarantine pests that could occur through imports. These were the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), mango fruit fly (C. cosyra), Natal fruit fly (C. rosa) and false codling moth…

Young Africans were “looking at everything but farming,” according to Dalitso Mbewe, a Zambian farmer and representative of the PAN African Youth Council. “Historically, Africa has been a farming continent and the reason we’re not producing enough food or earning a decent income from farming is because of the way in which we farm,” he said. Mbewe was one of the participants in a discussion on ‘Youth in Agriculture’ during Massey Ferguson’s recent Vision of the Future event held at AGCO’s Future Farm in Lusaka, Zambia. Ireland-based Alan Jagoe, president of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) and another discussion participant, said that only 7% of farmers in the European Union (EU) were younger than 35. According to him, young farmers in Europe faced several challenges: access to land…

THERE ARE WORRYING SIGNS THAT CONSUMERS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE HIGHER PRICES In the third quarter of 2015, the global economy grew by 3,5%. This dropped to 1,9% in the fourth quarter. Weaker economic conditions in China, India and Russia resulted in a sharp decrease in growth in developing economies. Slower growth in the US and Japan resulted in slower growth in developed markets. In the Euro area, growth slowed down slightly towards the end of 2015. According to the European Central Bank, the downside risk to growth in the Euro area has increased. Weaker conditions in emerging markets, increased market volatility and geopolitical risk are the main reasons for the pessimistic outlook. Developing economies are also not expected to perform well. In China, growth moderated to…

What led you to become iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority’s CEO? My father, Dr Nolly Zaloumis, was passionate about wetland ducks, and as a youngster he took me all over Africa in pursuit of his passion. I grew to love wild places and was intrigued by the indigenous knowledge systems and the spirits of the people who shaped them. Of all the places my father took me, I connected most deeply with iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Years later, while on a project for my university studies, I returned to the area, and rekindled that connection. I lived and worked with local communities at Kosi Bay at the height of apartheid’s forced removals. I experienced a paradigm shift: a view of conservation from the other side of the fence informed by 800 years…

THREE-WAY CROSSBREEDING REDUCES THE RISK OF INTRODUCING VENEREAL DISEASE INTO A HERD The Schefermann family has been farming beef cattle in South Africa for four consecutive generations. So, when the decision was made to change from the more conventional two-way crossbreeding system to a three-way system for the farm’s commercial beef enterprise, it was based on sound knowledge and principles gathered first-hand over many decades. Alford Farms, a 1 294ha mixed farming business in KwaZulu-Natal, is run by Neville Schefermann, who bought the farm from his father Trevor in 2014. However, Neville had been running the farm himself since 2012. Situated near Vryheid, the farm consists of 148ha commercial white maize, 14ha yellow silage maize, 609ha sourveld natural grazing, 108ha kikuyu pasture for grazing and forage, 20ha Eragrostis curvula pasture…

The chairperson opens the meeting. If it is quorate (attended by a ‘quorum’, the minimum number of members required to make the decisions of the meeting binding), the meeting can proceed. The minutes of the previous meeting may be read at the meeting or ‘taken as read’ (in this case, members were required to have read the minutes before the meeting). The chairperson asks if all present agree that the minutes are correct. If everyone agrees, the minutes are approved and signed by the chairperson. If something is deemed incorrect, it is discussed and corrected before the minutes are approved. Following this, the chairperson addresses the items on the agenda. Most meetings proceed as follows: • The chairperson presides over the meeting, remaining as objective as possible; • Before a…

With an eye on boosting productivity through mechanisation, agricultural equipment supplier Rovic Leers has identified the three most important areas in pecan production as harvesting, spraying and tree structure management. Pecans have become so valuable that it is crucial to prevent losses through poor collection. Preventing a 5% crop loss can mean an improvement of up to R600 000 in revenue per annum in a 50ha orchard producing 3t/ha. 1 SHAKING THE TREES The shaking process needs to be quick and effective, with none of the crop left hanging in the tree. It should also avoid damage to the crop caused by driving over nuts left on the ground. Accordingly, the COE M7 Mono Boom Shaker has been designed for pecan trees up to 16m tall, and can strip them…

IT’S WORTH KNOWING THE TYPE OF FAULT THAT CAN OCCUR Many gearboxes have straight-cut gears on the first and reverse gear, and helical-cut gears on the higher ratios. These gearboxes make a natural whining noise in first and reverse. Rear axles have helical-cut gears that are normally very quiet, but in my youth noisy rear axles were very common. This is less common today, mainly because most cars are now front-wheel-driven, with the noise shifted to the front where engine noise masks gear noise. Research has shown that one of the leading causes of rear axle failure is the dirt that almost inevitably enters the axle when the dirty filler plug is removed and a careless mechanic pushes a filler nozzle into the opening, scraping a layer of dirt into…

‘CALL TO ME, AND I WILL ANSWER YOU, AND SHOW YOU GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS’ I have a picture in my mind of an old-fashioned set of scales. One side is heaped with trials; the other side, creating balance, holds consolations and comforts. “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ,” says 2 Corinthians 1:5. In other words, the Lord has promised you and me, as Christians, that the more tribulations we go through, the greater the comfort He will give to us. When we are at our most downhearted, that is when our Lord Jesus is closest to us. Great hearts are made through great troubles. In fact, I have yet to meet a man who is worth his salt who…

I recently took my DJI Phantom 3 Pro drone to a farmer’s day in Komga to demonstrate its capabilities. A few farmers took the controls, and one commented on how easy it was to fly, thanks in part to the operator’s having a live video feed on a tablet or smartphone. Another worthwhile feature is that when the controls are left untouched, the drone will simply hover. GPS software enables it to keep its exact position, automatically compensating for the prevailing wind. Before take-off, the drone records its position and saves this as the ‘home point’. You also set a fail-safe altitude, such as 40m. This is the altitude at which the drone will return home, avoiding obstacles like tall buildings and trees. In flight, if the signal is lost…

THE ‘VOLUNTARY’ DECISION WAS REALLY MADE AT KNIFE-POINT Organic citrus growers have been made scapegoats in attempts to rid South Africa of European import restrictions. For three consecutive years, the EU has used the innocent citrus fungus, black spot, as a reason to constrain imports from South Africa. The measures were taken for so-called phytosanitary reasons, but it is obvious that the EU really wants to protect Spanish growers from their largest competitor. The South African industry now wants to sacrifice its organic growers in a desperate attempt to get the issue under control, in spite of the fact that there is no justification to put the blame on organic growers. Black spot is a fungus that is harmless to people and causes tiny black spots on the peel of…

The Egg Organisation of the South African Poultry Association (Sapa) recently sent out a letter in which it cautioned that, should member support not pick up soon, Sapa may have to dissolve the organisation. Robin Barnsley, chairperson of the Egg Organisation, told Farmer’s Weekly that although he did not believe the organisation would be dissolved, it might have to undergo certain changes if support did not pick up. The letter would serve as a wake-up call for the industry, according to him. “Producers are perhaps not aware of the fact that numbers are dwindling and how this is affecting the organisation. Since the letter was sent out, many of the larger producers have indicated that they did not regard it as important to have an organisation like ours to represent…

Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa has declared the Mountain Zebra-Camdeboo Corridor a Protected Environment. Located between the Camdeboo (in Graaff-Reinet) and Mountain Zebra (in Cradock) national parks in the Eastern Cape, the corridor is a transition zone between four biomes – grassland, savanna, Nama Karoo and thicket – and includes six major vegetation types poorly conserved elsewhere in South Africa. The Corridor Project, which gave rise to the Mountain Zebra-Camdeboo Protected Environment (MZCPE), is run by SANParks and the Wilderness Foundation with funding from the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund. The project aims to ultimately link the two national parks “to create a single conservation area over 120km in length and including up to 520 000ha of land under conservation, to be accomplished in the main by public and private…

Statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have shown that organic food production is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US. Domestic operations increased by 12% from 2014 to 2015, a 300% increase since the USDA’s initial release of such statistics in 2002. US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said that consumer demand for organic products was the main driver of the expansion. Sales figures supported his opinion, as the retail value of organic products stood at US$39 billion (R566 billion). In South Africa, consumer demand for organic products is also growing. Heinrich Schultz, managing director of OrganiMark, a company linking African producers with high-value local and global markets, told Farmer’s Weekly recently that consumers who purchased organic food were willing to pay a premium for such products.…

South Africa has been permitted to export 15 horticultural products, including pome fruit, stone fruit, citrus fruit and table grapes, to Indonesia via the Port of Jakarta. The decision of the IAAQ (Indonesia’s Agency for Agricultural Quarantine) to grant South Africa’s Food Safety Regulatory System a ‘country of recognition’ status would substantially advance South Africa’s horticultural exports to Asia, according to horticulture industry knowledge group, Hortgro. Anton Rabe, executive director at Hortgro, said that South Africa’s ‘country of recognition’ status had been pending since 2003. “We now have it, while a number of our competitors are still struggling. The market will have to be developed over time and could potentially be worth about R250 million over the next three to four years,” Rabe said. The agreement would simplify the import…

The farming revolution taking place in Africa needed mechanisation, according to Dr Rob Smith, AGCO senior vice-president and general manager for Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME). According to Smith, only 4% of farmers in Africa had significantly mechanised their operations. He was speaking at the Vision of the Future farm mechanisation event held at the AGCO Future Farm in Lusaka, Zambia recently. AGCO also officially opened its state-of-the-art training facility on the farm, the first of its kind in Africa. The goal was to train 1 000 mechanics at the facility, said Nuradin Osman, AGCO director of operations for Africa and the Middle East. Thierry Lhotte, Massey Ferguson’s vice-president of marketing for EAME, said that the AGCO Future Farm created an opportunity for the company to demonstrate what…

For hydroponic farming to be profitable, close attention must be paid to crop management and water-use efficiency. The good news is that tunnel farmers can improve these aspects of production without extensive capital outlay, according to Herbert Stolker, a consultant for Dutch hydroponic advisory company, Delphy. Stolker, who specialises in tomato, pepper and cucumber production, was a speaker at the recent Undercover Farming Conference and Expo in Johannesburg. RECIRCULATING SYSTEMS Water availability is a concern for the undercover farming industry worldwide, and Stolker advises farmers to implement suitable water management strategies as soon as possible. Water recirculating systems are cost-effective and efficient, and such a system can reduce water use in a greenhouse, as well as cut fertiliser bills by between 30% and 40%. Delphy conducted studies that showed that…

A DONATION IS ALWAYS CAPITAL, AND CAPITAL IS TAX-FREE According to Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, a tax deduction is allowed for a donation to a public benefit organisation (PBO) that meets certain criteria, as long as the donation is limited to 10% of the taxable income, excluding certain types of income per Section 18A(1)(c)(B). A PBO, as defined in Section 30, must be a non-profit company under the Company’s Act, a trust or an association of persons. Its main aim must be the carrying out of one or more public benefit activities, where the activities are undertaken with philanthropic or altruistic intent and do not benefit (directly or indirectly) the financial self-interest or any fiduciary (director or trustee) or employee, otherwise than by the provision of reasonable…

REMOTE SENSING ALLOWS FARMERS TO BENCHMARK ORCHARD PERFORMANCE Brother-and-sister team, Paul and Karin Cluver of De Rust Estate near Elgin in the Western Cape, are renowned not only for top quality fruit and wine, but for a novel approach to production. Paul, who is managing director, and Karin, the production manager, utilise a range of the latest technological innovations on their farm, which consists of 140ha of apples and pears, and 80ha of vineyards. EYE IN THE SKY Paul’s favourite gadget is his DJI Phantom 2 drone. While this model is not equipped with infrared imaging that allows advanced functions such as monitoring plant growth, it does allow Paul to survey inaccessible areas on the farm. He recently used it to fly along the length of the power lines to…

BACTERIAL SOFT ROT MAY NOT BE SPOTTED UNTIL THE LEAVES ARE REMOVED There are two fairly common bacterial diseases of lettuce that most lettuce growers will come across from time to time: • Bacterial spot Xanthomonas campestris is mainly a problem in late summer, as cooler conditions favour the development of this disease. The optimum temperature is 22°C to 23°C, and it takes just one cool rainy spell to cause an outbreak. Bacterial spot manifests as water-soaked lesions on mainly older leaves. These develop into irregular brown to dark-brown blotches or spots with a lighter border. The level of infection will depend on the persistence of favourable weather. In most cases, it affects lettuce quality more than it restricts growth. Trim off the unsightly leaves when preparing lettuce for pre-packs. When…

Foul breath in dogs is almost always linked to a health problem, which becomes increasingly worse over the years if left untreated. While there are other less-common causes of halitosis, the main medical conditions leading to bad breath are: • Periodontal disease (affecting the teeth and gums); • Gastrointestinal diseases (affecting the digestive system); • Diabetes; • Metabolic diseases (such as can be found in the kidneys and which can cause toxicity in the blood). START TEETH BRUSHING IN PUPPYHOOD This week we will look at one of the most preventable conditions, which can start early in a dog’s life: periodontal disease. This is a particularly dangerous condition, because it may not only lead to further issues such as changes in temperament (due to constant pain) and emaciation (due to…

To make mafia-style spaghetti and meatballs, you will need: 400g minced beef 200g minced port 2 cans of whole tomatoes 50g capers 10 cloves garlic (not an error) 1 egg 2 slices bread 2 medium onions 30ml olive oil 1 cup parsley 50g freshly ground parmesan ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 teaspoons salt 60ml chicken stock 500g spaghetti or spaghettini Peel and finely chop the garlic and the two onions. Drain, then coarsely chop, the capers. Finely chop the parsley, which will be shared between the meatball mixture and the final garnish. Drop the bread into a bowl, then add the chicken stock. Leave the bread to soak for five minutes, then squeeze it with a potato masher and chuck out the used liquid. Mash the wet bread…

In her book Healthy Happy Eating – For All Blood Types, Sue Visser discusses how our blood types are believed to affect our diets and general health. Apparently, people with blood type A do best on a diet that is rich in fruit, vegetables and grains, and not too much meat or protein. The former is better digested, providing a sense of well-being. Meat, by contrast, needs strong stomach acid for proper digestion, which is not the case for those with type A blood. If they do eat fatty meat, they should supplement with vitamins C, B6 and B3. It is claimed that to boost their immune system, blood Type As need Vitamin C and B complex as well as zinc, chrome, selenium, calcium and magnesium on a regular basis.…

Agri-tourism became the subject of discussion between neighbour Jan and I over morning coffee on my stoep. Our farms are too far from our nearest village to offer bed and breakfast accommodation for passing tourists. In any case, just about every residential home in the village is now offering this service, without much success. The only attraction our village offers is the museum, now in disrepair since the curator gave up the ghost some time ago. Township residents flood the main street begging for handouts of money or food, some belligerently – certainly not an attraction to passing tourists. Many years ago, it was a bustling village, with banks, hotels, shops galore, a pharmacy and a doctor’s surgery. It all disappeared when a new, national road was built to bypass…