Table of contents for 27-Nov 2015 in Farmer's Weekly

The Big Bang left the universe in a constant state of change, and the climate here on planet Earth is no exception. Over the past few decades, there has been debate about whether our planet’s most recent changes are man-made or part of a natural cycle. Whatever a farmer’s belief on the subject, it would be foolish to not do everything possible to adapt to a changing production environment. However, adaption is not always possible without financial resources, as any struggling small-scale farmer will tell you. History attests to the fact that those who can’t or won’t adapt to change, whether it be to climate, politics or society, will fall by the wayside. Indeed, history is littered with monarchies, cultures and entire species that disappeared because they were not able…

We can’t import water. We can import meat and maize and wheat, but not water. Without water, any agricultural enterprise is a futile exercise. Therefore, a shortage of water could bring any country to its knees. That is why the announcement of water-shedding in the Free State is so distressing, and it won’t be a surprise if other provinces shortly follow suit. The sad part is that South Africa could have prevented this looming disaster through careful management, infrastructure development, and keeping the existing water infrastructure in good working order. An example of a town where a water crisis that could have been prevented is Smithfield. The town’s reservoir was allowed to run dry and by the time the powers that be realised the extent of the problem, the nearby…

Investing in improved agricultural production was vital to the region’s economic transformation and was a long-term solution to achieving food security in Africa. This was according to Adam Mostert, CEO of the Fertiliser Association of Southern Africa (FSSA). Speaking at the recent ‘International priorities and opportunities in soil science and sustainable soil management’ seminar in Pretoria, Mostert said the first thing that stood in the way of good agriculture and food production in Africa was the fact that it was still more difficult to sell a bag of fertiliser to a small-scale farmer than selling a ton to a commercial farmer. “Africa has a vast amount of arable land, but low agricultural productivity and poor soil management is rife,” said Mostert. African soils were not as fertile as some believe,…

Several farms in the Maclear, Queenstown, Somerset East and Elliot districts of the Eastern Cape have been placed under quarantine after the deadly animal disease brucellosis was diagnosed on these farms. There have also been reports from a number of districts in the province of outbreaks of ovine Johne’s disease (OJD), with the latest occurrence in a dairy herd in the Kirkwood district. Francois du Toit, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (RPO) in the Eastern Cape, said that his organisation and the veterinary industry had been warning farmers for a long time to have their herds tested for brucellosis. “No animals from farms that have been tested positive may be marketed, which has an enormous effect on the farmer’s cash flow, and co-operation with the state vet is…

Chile’s agriculture minister, Carlos Furche, has announced that the country aims to double its agriculture and livestock exports over the next decade to between US$30 billion (R430 billion) and US$35 billion (R500 billion), according to news agency Reuters. Chile plans to invest up to US$250 million (R3,6 billion) annually to build 10 new dams, Furche told the news agency. These funds would also be used to repair existing dams. Chile was experiencing lower-than-usual rainfall and repairs would ensure the capture of as much rainwater as possible in its main farming belt. Chile is the world’s top exporter of fresh grapes and blueberries. Last year, it achieved record exports of fruit, livestock, wine and salmon valued at about US$16 billion (R230 billion). The country is already a signatory to the Trans-Pacific…

Consumers should ready themselves for the impact of the drought on their pockets. The 2014 South African Food Cost Review by the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) revealed concerning trends about the impact of the drought on food prices, food availability, and the financial position of farmers. Dr Simphiwe Ngqangweni, senior manager at NAMC’s Markets and Economic Research Centre, said that consumers could expect food price hikes towards the end of 2015. Drought conditions were the primary cause, but higher electricity and fuel prices would also start filtering into the food value chain. Christo Joubert, agricultural economist at NAMC, said that in 2014 the rate of food price increases had been high. Food inflation had been 7,6%, compared with 5,8% in 2013. Limpopo experienced the highest food inflation (8,3%), followed…

The weak performance of the rand against major foreign currencies, combined with strong exports, served to boost the financial performance of Southern African pulp and paper business Sappi Limited. The company’s Southern African business experienced higher prices and volumes than in recent quarters for the financial year ended 30 September 2015. During the same period, Sappi Southern Africa sold 1 768 000t (30 September 2014: 1 706 000t) of pulp and paper, and 991 000t (30 September 2014: 1 061 000t) of other forestry products. These sales amounted to US$1,29 billion (R18,6 billion) and US$60 million (R864 million) respectively. Sappi said in a statement that demand for virgin fibre paper packaging grades remained good, and the recycled containerboard market showed signs of improvement. “Dissolving wood pulp pricing was positively impacted…

Satisfaction with South African supermarkets has dropped significantly since last year, according to a survey in the South African Customer Satisfaction index (SAcsi). Prof André Schreuder, founder of SAcsi and CEO of Consulta, said that retailers’ satisfaction scores had declined across the board with no exception among the brands. The brands surveyed were Woolworths, Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay and Spar. While Woolworths took the leading position for the second year in a row, Shoprite came in a close second with the lowest decline in customer satisfaction scores. It was in effect the only brand to improve its position on the index. Schreuder ascribed the decline to economic pressures affecting customers, especially middle-income shoppers. “The decline of the rand, slow economic growth, low employment levels and our challenging economic environment…

Changing demographics in Europe could have an impact on consumer preferences and patterns over the next eight to 10 years. Dawie Maree, head of agriculture information and marketing at FNB, explained that Europe had an aging and therefore shrinking population. “The influx of people from other countries over the past few years, not only from Syria, should help to grow the population and over time result in a greater demand for agricultural products,” said Maree. Dr Mohammad Karaan from the Faculty of AgriSicence at Stellenbosch University did not agree, however. He explained that the number of refugees entering European countries was too small to have any major impact on demand trends. Most refugees also entered the countries with few possessions or financial resources, which meant that they represented a lower…

The tolerance of crop plants to certain herbicides has had many benefits, but some weeds have become tolerant to these herbicides too. Recent research has highlighted the impact of plant growth stage and herbicide dosage application. In 2014, a total of 102 million hectares were planted to herbicide-tolerant crops globally. This trait was a driver behind conservation agriculture practices to boost soil health. However, widespread applications using the same herbicides have resulted in some weeds becoming tolerant or resistant. To reduce this risk, farmers are turning to practices such as pre-mixing two or more herbicides before application. Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the US investigated the efficacy of pre-mixed herbicides’ dosage rates and stage of plant development. Glyphosate and 2, 4-D choline-glyphosate mixed were tested on three weeds…

Like agriculture, aquaculture depends on alien species for much of its viability. As forestry is built on European and Australian trees, and livestock farming on certain foreign cattle and sheep breeds, so freshwater fish farming in South Africa depends on American trout and North African tilapia species. What are the implications for conservation? The countrywide invasion by alien trees used in the timber, tanning, and pulp and paper sectors is an accepted downside of the industry. Here, eucalyptus, pines and wattles form the basis of a worldwide multimillion dollar industry. For aquaculture, it is trout and improved strains of Nile tilapia. So why is one sector tolerated and the other legislated out of existence in South Africa? In a word, it’s clout. Large forestry companies and the construction industry have…

THE CURRENT SCENARIO The present drought, the worst in more than 20 years, has resulted in government declaring Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and North West disaster areas. The Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) of the department of agriculture said recently that commercial farmers intended to plant 2,5 million hectares of maize for 2016, which is 3,8% less than the 2,6 million hectares planted last season. Farmers intended to plant 1,4 million hectares to white maize, which is 1,8% less than in the previous season. In the case of yellow maize, the CEC expects plantings of 1,13 million hectares, which is 75 800ha (6,3%) less than in the previous season. Producers say that less maize will be planted for the 2016 season because they are under pressure due to the current dry weather conditions.…

A beef cow has different nutritional requirements at different stages of her production cycle. Mismatching nutrient provision with these requirements can detrimentally affect her reproduction and the profitability of the entire enterprise. With drought conditions affecting the quality of forage on many farms, farmers should take extra care with the nutrient requirements of their cows. DIFFERENT NUTRITIONAL NEEDS Lactation has the highest nutritional requirements, while requirements during advanced pregnancy are also significant (see Table 1). When these requirements are not met, reproductive performance will be negatively affected as there are several mechanisms that play a role when a cow does not conceive. On the other hand, when these requirements are exceeded, a cow will in most cases increase her body reserves (fat and muscle) to be utilised at a later…

Travel 30km in a westerly direction from Upington in the Northern Cape and you will arrive at one of South Africa’s largest farming operations. The Karsten Group was established in 1968 when Piet Karsten (68) and his wife Babs, now deceased, settled on 6ha of land near Kanoneiland on the banks of the Orange River. In 1980 they acquired Roepersfontein, which now serves as the headquarters of the agribusiness. Fruit is grown on several farms along the Orange River – the furthest no less than 250km from Kanoneiland. The business has also expanded to the Western Cape, where numerous other water sources feed the apples, dates, cherries and pears destined for mainland Europe, the UK, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Canada, Nigeria and Ghana. This is according to Pieter Karsten,…

Lemken, which is based in Alpen, Germany, is a major manufacturer of soil cultivation, sowing and crop protection machines. It employs 1 200 people worldwide and its turnover in 2014 was €344 million (R5,3 billion). Here are two of its new products to watch out for. 1 GIGANT HELIODOR 9 With a working width of 16m and covering up to 25ha/hour, the Heliodor 9 combined with the Gigant 12S system carrier is highly efficient on large-scale farms. The disc diameter has been enlarged from 465mm to 510mm to ensure a long disc service life and enable the maximum working depth to be increased by 20mm to 140mm. The new Gigant is attached to the tractor’s double-clip drawbar via a drawbar eye. The two 4m sections of the Heliodor 9, which…

Few vehicle owners look after their car batteries properly. To cope with this, manufacturers have developed the maintenance-free, valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) battery. Most new vehicles are fitted with this type, instead of the older flooded cell model with removable caps. A VRLA battery is sealed, so distilled water cannot be added. A small valve in the casing controls the venting of oxygen and hydrogen released when the battery charges. These combine explosively to form water, so it is dangerous to allow sparks or flames near a battery, especially during charging. Heavy-duty batteries for trucks and farm machinery have an extra-thick casing; this allows them to withstand vibrations that could potentially dislodge plate material and cause battery failure. THE SHALLOW-CYCLE BATTERY The previous generation of vehicle batteries could be used…

To make chicken breasts plus two alternative enhancements for four lucky poultry fans, you will need: • 8 chicken breasts• Butter and olive oil on demand Peri-peri baste • 5g whole pele-pele chillies• 100ml extra virgin olive oil• 100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice• 60ml brown vinegar• 5g paprika• 2g salt• 3 cloves garlic Red chilli oil • 200g dried chillies• 400ml sunflower oil We begin with the chicken breasts. You can choose either of two cooking methods. Method 1 assumes the breasts are bone-in, skin-on. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a little olive oil with a teaspoon of butter in a frying pan and, over medium heat, brown the breasts all over. Continue the frying, turning regularly, until clear juice emerges from a skewer stab into the thickest part. Method 2 uses fillets, free of bone and skin. Cover…

Avoiding fibrous carbohydrate foods such as unrefined cereals, starchy vegetables and fruit can lead to constipation. Psyllium capsules, powder or husks are an easy way to take care of this problem. Psyllium can be used in weight control and for general intestinal health, such as when you have a protruding stomach. It contains a spongy fibre that reduces appetite, improves digestion and cleanses the system, making it an excellent choice for healthy dieting. Every 100g of psyllium provides 71g of soluble fibre; a similar amount of oat bran would contain only 5g of soluble fibre. The herb also provides a feeling of fullness that is helpful in curbing your appetite before meals. This unusual herb can even reduce diarrhoea since it absorbs liquid in the colon – proving that it’s…

Our farm is in a pretty isolated area, surrounded by mountains. My email connection was originally through Telkom but was often off line. So when a private company erected a transmission tower on our mountain I switched to them for my email service. After installing a receiver on our roof, we were connected to the world again, and I simply bought one gigabyte of data a month, which was more than enough. My computer is an older model but its memory and Windows 7 operating system have always coped adequately. Until last week, that is! I suddenly began getting messages on my screen from my service provider saying that I’d run out of data and couldn’t send or receive emails. According to them, I needed a top-up to restore the…

“Politicians, scientists and anyone with an axe to grind will be packing for Paris for the UN’s upcoming COP21 Climate Change Conference. Now is a good time to look at climate change from a different perspective. We are bombarded daily with warnings about the disasters, triggered by global warming, soon to engulf the planet. Our children are growing up in an environment dominated by scare tactics, where they learn that carbon is a pollutant and that they must join the race to ‘decarbonise’ economies. THE RISE OF CLIMATE ALARMISM Between 1910 and 1940 global temperatures rose by 0,4°C on average, a warming event that attracted little attention, occuring as it did during the time of two world wars. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the opposite: widespread anxiety about…

All circumstantial evidence can lead to arrests in a stock theft case, even if the animal in question is not found, and farmers should therefore take care to preserve any crime scene in the event of animals being stolen from a farm. This was according to Mort Mortassagne, who was speaking at a symposium on livestock disease diagnostics and forensics at Onderstepoort. Mortassagne, who worked for the SAPS on stock theft for 25 years and testified in more than 3 000 cases, obtaining a 98% success rate, said a big problem in the country was that 38% of stock theft cases were not reported because people had “lost faith in the system”. Only 3,1% of cases reported were successfully tried in court. Delivering evidence in any criminal case relies as…

About 1 500 farm workers from Du Toit Agri and 3 000 from Umbhaba Banana Estate had been on strike for over a week at the time of going to print. The workers, belonging to the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu), were striking on Du Toit Agri fruit farms in Langkloof and Ceres Valley, and in Komatipoort, owned by Umbhaba Banana Estate. Du Toit Agri workers were unhappy with their wages, while workers at Umbhaba Banana Estate wanted the company to recognise Fawu as their bargaining agent in labour matters, according to Dominique Martin, Fawu media liaison. Du Toit Agri workers in the Eastern Cape had demanded a 10,5% raise so that their wages would be on par with those of their Western Cape colleagues, who had demanded a…

Nearly 40% of South Africa’s grain farmers practise some form of conservation agriculture. This was according to a study conducted by Grain SA in collaboration with Kieran Findlater of the University of British Columbia, Canada. Hendrik Smith, conservation agriculture facilitator at Grain SA, said that of the 400 farmers participating in the study, 27% were in the Western Cape, 16% in the North West, 36% in the Free State and the rest in other provinces. Some 30% of soil surface had to be covered with crop residue after planting, and more than 59% of respondents adhered to this requirement, with 33% having more than 60% coverage. The percentage of soil allowed to be disturbed during planting was less than 25%. A quarter of the respondents said that less than 15%…

Livestock producers must ensure that their animals have access to sufficient water during the current drought. Adult cattle, for example, need between 25l/day and 50l/day in the current extreme heat in drought-stricken areas. This is according to Dr Pierre van Rooyen, CEO of SA Stud Book. During a prolonged drought, maintenance licks and roughage were essential, he said. Farmers should bear in mind, however, that extreme heat did not affect livestock herds to such an extent because most local breeds were well-adapted to extreme temperatures. “One often finds the animals in the open in the hottest parts of the day despite the availability of shade. Access to water, on the other hand, is vitally important,” Van Rooyen said. Lactating ewes needed up to 10l/day, while lactating dairy cows required as…

With drought conditions across much of South Africa having reached critical proportions, the country’s agricultural machinery marketers are bracing themselves for potentially serious consequences on their sales to farmers. Total tractor sales for 2015 were expected to be 15% lower than the 2014 figure, while combine harvester sales for the current year were expected to be about 40% lower. Unless South Africa’s summer cropping areas received good, general rains over the next few weeks, farmers were unlikely to be able to plant, according to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA). “This means that the area which will be planted to maize, South Africa’s largest grain crop, will surely be reduced significantly,” SAAMA chairperson, Wynn Dedwith, said. “This will have a negative knock-on effect on the agricultural machinery industry and,…

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is adamant that it will not be satisfied with anything less than a R4 500/month national minimum wage, despite warnings from other political parties that a major hike in the minimum wage could cause the loss of more than one million jobs. Speaking at a recent debate on the issue in parliament, EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi claimed that more than 60% of South Africa’s workers earned less than R3 000/month and that the median low wage had increased by 2,9% between 1997 and 2013. He threatened that the EFF would create chaos if all companies did not comply with its minimum wage demand by May 2016. “We will target individual companies and institutions and demand a minimum wage until it is realised,” he said.…

Challenging conditions in its sugar business contributed significantly towards decreases in Tongaat Hulett’s financial performance for the six months ended 30 September 2015. Poor growing conditions due to the drought, coupled with a lower international sugar price, saw the agriculture and agriprocessing Company’s various sugar operations generating R5 billion revenue for the period. This was 14% down on the preceding half-year. Operating profit for Tongaat Hulett’s SA sugar business for the six months to 30 September 2015 was R154 million compared with R259 million the previous year. Decreases, some significant, were also experienced in Tongaat Hulett’s Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique businesses. Referring to his company’s SA sugar operations, Tongaat Hulett’s CEO Peter Staude said that drought conditions in KwaZulu-Natal had resulted in substantially decreased sugarcane harvests and milling production. The…

Strangles is an extremely infectious disease affecting horses and donkeys. Caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi, it results in a respiratory tract infection and can spread rapidly through stabled animals. The mortality rate is only about 1%, but the horse takes a long time to recover and complications can develop. It can thus cause severe economic losses in the global horse industry. Horses that recover from strangles may remain carriers of the infection for up to eight months in the absence of external lesions. Horses of all ages may be infected, but the disease is most common in horses younger than two years old. INFECTION Infection by the bacteria takes place through direct contact (horse to horse) or indirect contact (infected stable equipment and feed). CLINICAL SIGNS The time from…

We’ve all seen the newspaper advertisements and knock-and-drop flyers. “Buy this heat pump, inverter drive and a solar panel, and you can immediately realise massive savings on your power bill’, or words to that effect. The sales pitch will include outrageous claims of 60% savings, accompanied by a clever-looking calculation. You are then told that your lights are inefficient and are advised to replace them with LEDs. Doing so will save you at least 30% per month, you read. You then duly discover that those LEDs are not sufficient and you have to add more. Now, when you do the calculations, you are back where you started! There are two things wrong here. Firstly, the salesman was only looking to make a quick buck and the solution he sold you…

According to the 2015 Logistics Barometer conducted for the past decade by Stellenbosch University’s department of logistics, of the nearly 80 million tons of agricultural goods transported within South Africa in 2014, the average travelling distance was 420km (domestic goods), 538km (exported) and 583km (imported). One of the largest agribusinesses in South Africa, ZZ2, which produces tomatoes, avocados, apples and stone fruit among others, reports that its transport costs as a percentage of total costs have increased by 6,3% since 2004. In that year, transport made up 2% of the company’s total costs. This steadily rose to 4% in 2010, and it currently makes up 8,3% of total costs. This is mirrored by data from the Citrus Growers’ Association, which shows that total operating cost for trucks carrying citrus increased…

MPUMALANGA SA MUTTON MERINO CHAMPS CONTACTS: Manie Lombard 083 232 4324 | Joe Wilkinson 072 146 0467 | Nico von Wieligh 079 671 1193 Dr Vos and Jan Grey 082 559 7861 | Francois Wessels 082 352 5101…

In addition to its dedication to the well-being of its workers and the wider community, the Karsten Group is working to better SA’s emerging farmer segment. It has been selected by the national and provincial departments of rural development and land reform to be a strategic partner and mentor for land reform projects, and is already involved in 12 such projects. Seven are being run on a strategic partnership basis with the beneficiaries, where the group has a 30% stake in the projects. For the remainder, the group has a mentorship agreement with each of the five farms housing the projects. Project support is varied, with the most notable being the support provided by the group’s various departments, including: • Technical/ accreditation; • Financial/purchases; • Education/social development; • Production/marketing/logistics; • Human Resources. The group works…

No-till is highly practical for small-scale vegetable farmers and organic farmers, while conventional commercial vegetable growers will find some aspects of the practice useful. For organic growers, two key advantages of no-till are that it ensures higher phytonutrient content and significantly improves the taste and texture of produce. I cannot prove the latter scientifically, but having had years of experience with conventional production involving tillage, chemical fertiliser and all the rest, I discovered that the taste, tenderness and shelf life of the crops started improving with no-till even before the organic content of the soil had reached an acceptable level and while I was still using chemical fertiliser. This, plus improved soil quality and higher organic content under no-till, encouraged me to abandon chemical fertiliser altogether and ‘go organic’. As…

Radiographs are the technical name for X-rays. They are used to examine the anatomy of the internal structures of horses, either for diagnosis of a disease or before purchasing a horse to confirm that it is sound. Most equine practices have a portable X-ray machine that can be used for examining the horse in the stable. If better quality images are needed, the horse should be referred to a specialist practice. On a radiograph, hard tissues, such as bones, that stop X-rays passing through, are seen as white. Soft tissues that allow X-rays to pass through are black. A radiographic image is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional object. In an X-ray machine, radiographs are made by passing an electrical current through a special type of vacuum tube that generates…

Dear Jonno I am a regular reader of Farmer’s Weekly and have been impressed with your designs. I’m working abroad but am considering retiring back home in Zimbabwe. I want to build a nice home with up to six bedrooms and would like the building to be single storey. I will have access to reasonably cheap bricks and if I require extra space I may also consider building rondavels on the property. Do you have any interesting designs to suggest? Regards Davidson Greetings Davidson Thanks for the brief description of your requirements. It is not often that I receive a request for a six-bedroom home on one level, so I’ve put my imagination to the test. In the layout, I’ve shown the house as ‘three-angled’ to add some character, instead…

Wandering Shepherd of Canada has developed the Wireless Rumen Bolus (WRB) for tracking livestock and wildlife. The bolus is administered orally and stays in the rumen throughout the animal’s life. This means more accurate information, enabling herds to be closely tracked, says Wandering Shepherd co-founder Neil Helfrich. The WRB is not the first system to make use of a bolus, but its unique design ensures that the WRB always remains upright and expensive handheld scanners or readers are not required. Instead, the WRB sends information via a radio frequency (which is why it is designed to remain upright). ILLNESS DETECTION, ANIMAL LOCATION Advantages of the WRB include early sickness detection (as much as 24 hours to 36 hours before outward signs manifest themselves), oestrus cycle data, being able to locate…

The SA Weather Service collates, maintains and runs a quality control process of South Africa’s meteorological and climatological data and related information. This consists of: • Daily rainfall values since 1836; • Daily surface observations for all stations, but for selected stations since 1884; • Hourly data of wind direction, wind speed, temperature, humidity, pressure and sunshine since 1950; • Upper-air sounding data since 1961; • Marine data since 1975; • Forecasting data since 1990, satellite data since 1992 and radar data since 1994.…

The wool market gained a further 2,6%, increasing the local Merino indicator by 335 points to R134,62 clean, while the Australian indicator lost 0,2%. Traders had expected slightly easier prices for the 11 407 bales due to the large quantity of wool on offer in Australia, combined with the higher price levels attained recently, according to Cape Wools. However, a solid market supported by competition for good quality wool saw prices continue to steadily increase in concert with the weaker rand. CMW’s James de Jager said that super-fine wool of 17 microns and finer, with a tensile strength of 38 newtons and higher, gained up to 4%, along with 22-micron and stronger types. “As on all the recent auctions, medium and short wool still enjoyed huge demand,” he said. Supply…

Soil organic matter (SOM) declines rapidly within the first five years in newly cultivated land, but lack of data in SADC countries makes it difficult to address the problem. This was according to Corrie Swanepoel, soil science researcher at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Speaking at an ARC soil science and management seminar, Swanepoel said that only after 30 years of cultivation a new equilibrium was reached where the soil system stabilised at a lower SOM level. In general, regardless of cultivation time, a loss of 46% of SOM could be expected in cultivated soil, she said. Prof Rainer Horn, president of the International Union of Soil Sciences, another speaker at the seminar, said that soil was capable of withstanding considerable chemical and biological stress but once degraded it became…

“A national disaster,” This was how Pieter Vorster, vice-president of Agri Limpopo, described the recent hailstorm in Hoedspruit. Hailstones as large as tennis balls wreaked havoc and caused damage to orchards – especially mangoes and citrus – vegetables, other crops and infrastructure in the area. Vorster said that on one of his farms all of the mangoes were knocked to the ground. “This was the worst hailstorm I’ve ever experienced,” he told Farmer’s Weekly. Johan van Vuuren of Jonkmanspruit Mangoes in Hoedspruit experienced 70% to 80% damage to his mango orchards, but said that the true extent of the damage would only be seen in two to three weeks. “The hail was so severe that some trees have lost a lot of bark and leaves. Our biggest challenge will be…

Kenyan-based agricultural company, Backpack Farm, has developed a ‘farming backpack’ to help commercial and semi-commercial farmers in East Africa improve productivity, according to bbc.com. The backpack contains seeds, environmentally-friendly chemicals, tools and training manuals on how to improve production practices. It costs a maximum of US$2 000 (R28 500) and includes a drip irrigation kit and water tank. It could double or triple yields, Backpack Farm founder Rachel Zedeck told the BBC. It was also a cost-effective way to access expensive farming inputs at a reduced price. The product is aimed at farmers who own 2 acres to 5 acres (0,8ha to 2ha) of land, earn between US$3 000 (R43 000) and US$5 000 (R71 000) a year and supply local and export markets.…

Following a meeting with major stakeholders in the agriculture sector on the effect of the current drought, confusion still remained about which areas had been declared disasters as well as how and where state support would be given. Assistance from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was still in the pipeline, according to Wandile Sihlobo, economist at Grain SA. The effectiveness of support given by government would depend on what assistance was given where, he said. “The grain industry can still be helped if producers can be helped with subsidies of production loans. In some areas, farmers can still plant until the end of the year. If a state of emergency is declared, then farmers can take that to the bank and there will be some leniency, depending on…

I recently visited a commercial farmer – let’s call him Roy – in Swaziland. Through careful management, his cattle were in good condition, despite the drought. As we were driving around, I noticed a settlement across the valley with a number of neat homesteads, each with a small cultivated area and a few cattle. “Do you have any trouble from those guys on your boundary?” I asked. “Yes,” said Roy. “A family there persisted in driving cattle onto my land. I spoke to them but it continued. I eventually went to the chief. He told the head of the family that unless he stopped his cattle from crossing over, his kraal would be moved well away from my boundary. “That was six months ago, and since then, I’ve had no…

At a recent Agbiz Mini Grain Symposium, Dr Peter Lyne from the University of KwaZulu-Natal spoke about how a road traffic management system in the sugarcane industry helped mitigate transport costs drastically. Lyne said that poor vehicle management had resulted in increased costs in the industry. The key to mitigating these was a payload weight-monitoring strategy that encouraged effective payloads. The sugarcane transport fleet consisted of 440 hauliers and 1 367 vehicles that transported 15,8 million tons. To use all vehicles optimally, a legal payload for each vehicle had to be established. With the monitoring of payloads, overloading decreased from nearly 26% in 2007 to between 1% and 5% in 2015, said Lyne. This meant that trucks were not turned back or fined at weigh bridges. Underloading had also been…

This year’s annual Subtrop Marketing Symposium, held recently at the Ingwenyama Lodge in White River, was attended by more than 350 delegates. As always, the event featured a cross-section of excellent speakers. One of the highlights was a presentation by Dr John Purchase, CEO of Agbiz, on agricultural trade agreements and tariffs. PROMOTING INDUSTRY GROWTH “Tariffs are a tool for promoting sectoral growth, employment generation, investment attraction, productivity growth, food security and rural growth,” Purchase said. “The sector is increasingly becoming export-orientated and tariffs along with other forms of support may be necessary to sustain exporters, including agroprocessors. South Africa has chosen a development path aimed at achieving accelerated and inclusive growth to address poverty and inequality.” Agricultural trade tariffs, non-tariff barriers and support programmes in major economies were at…

While much has been said about the challenges of climate change and its impact on agriculture, comparatively less information is available on the solutions and innovations that will help farmers adapt to climate change. This is according to Mark Beaumont, project director of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA Africa) conference and expo, to be held at the Durban Exhibition Centre, on 1 and 2 December. “The regional Agricultural sector is in urgent need of long-term, sustainable and innovative solutions that will help mitigate the impact of climate change,” says Beaumont. Described as Africa’s most influential event for the future of sustainable agriculture, GFIA Africa will feature more than 80 top speakers and offer hundreds of practical solutions to scale up operations, raise productivity levels, and minimise post-harvest…

The ‘Codes of Best Practice (CoBP) for National Fresh Produce Markets’ prepared by the Project Rebirth Steering Committee (chaired by the department of agriculture) will bring our fresh produce markets in line with international standards. It lists the following key areas: regulatory environment; communication; consignment control; safety and security; hygiene; food safety standards; infrastructure; information management; financial management; transformation; and human capital development. We should in no way underestimate the document’s significance. That it ever saw the light of day is an achievement in itself. But now comes the difficult bit: – implementation! LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN Depending on the item being addressed, the document has a column entitled ‘Responsibility and accountability’ which lists the role players expected to implement that particular requirement. The secret to success will be to…

Most workshop tasks require some measuring, sometimes to very small tolerances for precision work. Measuring something to the nearest one-thousandth of an inch (0,0001”) or the nearest one-fiftieth of a millimetre (0,05mm) requires a highly accurate measuring device machined to extremely fine tolerances. A vernier caliper is such a device. Two basic types, described according to the way they are read, are commonly used: digital (electronic) and analog (mechanical). To all intents and purposes, they are equally accurate. The major difference is that the digital instrument displays the reading in large, easy-to-read black figures against a light background, occasionally requiring the replacement of a small button cell. For traditionalists who prefer a non-electronic solution, the analog vernier is the answer. This pre-dates its digital grandchild by many decades. Although equally…

I am a sincere 67-year-old gent and would like to meet an outgoing lady between 55 and 65. My interests are travel, good music, motorsport and nature. I am a non-smoker but enjoy good wine. I am looking to meet ladies from all walks of life for a sincere relationship. Please provide a contact number and photo. HOPEFUL, 9750 Where are you, hombre, and when will you be here? My hair is going grey, but my spirit is still lively. You are healthy in mind and body, you don’t smoke or drink heavily – I know you’re passionate about being healthy! You love good music, as I do, and nature is where you relax. You don’t have baggage and live for the now. Although I’m a 68-year-old widow, I’m not…

As I write this column, I’m on a road trip to promote my new devotional Bible. It has been released in English in the New King James Version and in Afrikaans in the New Living Translation, and has 366 new devotions in it. CUM Books approached me about two years ago to say they wanted to publish a Bible containing 366 of my daily devotions, from Genesis to Revelation. It is undoubtedly the greatest miracle of my life. I never dreamt that this farm boy with a grade 8 would have the privilege of being the author of the devotions in the Bible! The reason I share this with you is because it means so much to me. I am almost never without a Bible; as I’ve often said, I…

GRAVE MURDER  by Jana van der Merwe (Zebra, R190) Crime reporter Van der Merwe combines her narrative and investigative skills in this account of the horrendous true-life killing in Welkom of Michael van Eck and the apparently unlikely chief suspects who came to light in the ensuing investigation. THE SUNDAY TIMES BIG PUB QUIZ BOOK  by Larry Benjamin (Quizwizz/ Bookstorm, R220) Benjamin is someone who is living his passion – compiling quizzes. He is also the four-time national Scrabble champion and so is ideally placed to compile this innovative South Africa quiz book. And being South African, there is of course an entire quiz on sport alone! For those who hate the frustration of an answer being on the tip of the tongue, the answers are easily accessible. A must…