Table of contents for 30 November 2018 in Farmer's Weekly

South Africa is not an easy place to farm. Even if you ignore the threat posed by radical land reform, most farmers in this country still have to contend with relatively poor-quality soils, erratic rainfall that leads to frequent droughts, tough competition from countries that have better production conditions and state support, and the devastating impact of crime on their businesses and families. Despite these issues, the South African agriculture sector has performed well over recent years. In its report, ‘Agriculture, Land Reform and Jobs: Can South Africa make this work?’, the Centre for Development and Enterprise writes that the agriculture sector has grown consistently at an average annual rate of 2,5% in real terms from 2006 to 2015. The five-year average growth in gross value added (GVA) since 2013…

Farmer’s Weekly reader, Lindiwe Malehase, took this photograph of her three boys (from left) Ndivhuho (10), Kaelo (5) and Njabulo (12) on her and her husband Michael’s smallholding in Louis Trichardt in Venda. While they reside in Johannesburg, Michael loves livestock and currently farms part-time on communal land. He owns a Simmentaler bull that he uses for breeding and a flock of goats that he breeds to a Boer goat. Lindiwe says that her boys love going to the farm over the school holidays.…

The role of agriculture and agroprocessing in creating one million jobs over the next 20 to 30 years can be informed by several insights I have gained in recent months. The first task is to imagine how the labour market might look in 10 to 15 years’ time, using current trends and perspectives as a reference point. Of course, those conditions may not be realised, given the pace and intensity of market changes that are constantly shifting under the weight of political, social and economic forces. My view is that the South African agricultural labour market in particular, and the agro-processing industry in general, will be shaped and influenced by the forces of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in a fundamental way. Agriculture and agro-processing are already undergoing deep and intense…

Resource conservation, especially judicious water use, needs to become a crucial priority in South Africa, according to JP van den Berg, the 2018 Agri SA/Toyota Young Farmer of the Year. As South Africa was a water-scarce country, it was every citizen’s responsibility to save water accordingly, he said. Van den Berg, a seed potato producer near Tosca in North West, aimed to reduce his own water use by limiting the number of irrigated hectares he had under production, despite him having enough water to significantly expand irrigated production. “Water is our lifeline. It would be foolish to chase profits at all costs and in the process destroy this valuable, God-given resource. Water gives life to everything,” he said. Van den Berg also strongly advocated for people to adhere to the…

While macadamia farmers have had a good run in recent years, achieving record high prices for their crops, the volatility of the rand and an expected bumper crop in China are creating uncertainty that the good fortune will last. Since South Africa has traditionally sent almost half of its crop as nut-in-shell (NIS) to China, the significant investment made in local orchards is causing concern about a possible glut in the market in future. However, speaking at the recent Macadamias South Africa (SAMAC) information day in White River, Mpumalanga, Myles Osborn, SAMAC’s commercial director, noted that on a recent trip to China it became evident that although the country was investing heavily in establishing macadamia orchards, it was not necessarily for commercial purposes. “Macadamias are known as the poverty alleviation…

Astral Foods (Astral) welcomed record earnings this year, but feed price increases would have to be carefully managed and production optimised to maintain momentum, a statement by the company said. Headline earnings per share were up 94% for the year ended 30 September 2018, increasing to R37,12. Revenue was up 5% to R13 billion, while operating profit increased 79% to R1,9 billion. CEO of Astral, Chris Schutte, told Farmer’s Weekly that he was satisfied with the results, which were largely made possible by improved feed prices. Schutte said feed comprised about 63% of the cost of rearing a chicken. “We had a lot of support on the raw materials side, which remains our biggest input cost,” he said. Market demand for poultry had also remained high, which supported stronger prices.…

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) would be prioritising one agri-park per province to ensure that it becomes operational as soon as possible. This was according to Mapurunyane Bapela, Free State head of Rural Enterprise and Industrial Development at DRDLR, who spoke at the recent Climate Smart Agriculture Futures Scenarios workshop in Pretoria, where he outlined the progress made with agri-parks in the Free State. Bapela said the department had initially planned to operate one agri-park per municipal district across the country, which equated to 44 agri-parks in total. “The decision to focus on [a single] agri-park [per province] was taken earlier this year to ensure that [the agri-park] is completed and operationalised within a short space of time, and ensure that it receives more resources to…

We all go through times of high motivation, when we’re bursting with energy and enthusiasm. We also go through times when we’re depressed and demotivated. Studies show that most people respond to motivational and demotivational forces in more or less the same way. This means that it’s possible to come up with strategies to motivate the demotivated and encourage the motivated. Mary Kay Ash, founder of the multinational cosmetics giant that bears her name, is credited with saying, “There are only two things people want more than sex and money: recognition and praise.” In principle she’s right; these are crucially important motivators. In practice, however, the process is a little more complicated than simply trotting out a few words of recognition and praise. It’s quick and easy to demotivate people;…

Growing up without brothers, Alfreda Mars learnt the basics of farming from her father, Kikkie, who produced peas for the Rhodes canning factory in Tulbagh. “As the eldest of two daughters, my hands were always ready to help with anything from harvesting to fixing implements,” Mars recalls. Her own farming career started with vegetables and sheep on rented communal land near Saron in the Porterville area of the Swartland. In 1998, she and five partners pooled resources to buy a 1 300ha farm near Gouda for R4 million. The farm had 600ha of arable land on which the group farmed 450 ewes and 100 Brahman cattle. The venture, however, proved a disaster. “I hardly knew the rest of the group and most of them weren’t really into farming. They never…

I enjoyed a dish with chorizo in Vilanculos, Mozambique, a few weeks ago. As most South Africans who travel to Mozambique, I had an R&R in my tall highball glass. This is not the popular South African Rupert & Rothschild wine, but a Mozambican speciality rum and raspberry made of their Tipo Tinto rum and Sparletta Morango. When I read this recipe, I couldn’t help but think of the bottle of Tipo Tinto I had brought back. Chorizo gives the dish a spicy, salty, robust flavour with a sweet, oily texture because the oil cooks out of the sausage slices. The butter adds a creaminess to the texture, while the soft butternut brings in a hint of sweetness. South African Sparletta is a bit different and is not as sweet…

BANK ROBBER by Allan Heyl (Penguin, R280) It might all have happened more than 40 years ago but the Stander Gang story remains a standout South African true-crime narrative, with Heyl still a person of fascination. This must certainly help to boost his new career as a motivational speaker. For those concerned about whether the motivation Heyl offers is the outlaw’s ‘How to’, he firmly states in his foreword that his book “does not seek to justify or validate our activities. Nor does it offer tips and hints to would-be robbers”. Heyl puts forward his case for the rehabilitation of criminals, reflecting on his “deep sense of shame, embarrassment and regret for the way I allowed myself to hurtle down the slope of moral disintegration”. Pragmatically, he also…

“We are told that by 2050 there will be nine billion human beings to feed, and a quarter of them will live in Africa. This means we have a mere 32 years in which to double food production in general, and protein (mainly meat) production in particular. Faced with this immovable target, food security and food production have been major scientific and political topics of discussion and debate for some time now. The land available for food production is finite, therefore the only possible solutions are to increase production on land that is currently underused, and to employ science and technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of farming enterprises. In both these solutions, Africa takes centre stage. It is the only continent suited to commercial agriculture with underutilised land.…

Dear Bill, Your story about vetch was great (FW, 9 November)! It’s good to know that cover crops are a great asset to a farm’s future. I run 1 500ha of cover crops for my cattle near Belfast. For more than five years, I’ve planted over 50 species of cover crops. It’s great to see that after 17 years, my lands are returning to a forest of freshness! If you’re ever down near Middelburg, please come visit! Could you give me some advice about burning cover crops? Also, I have a lot of kweek that damages my cash and cover crops. Does glyphosate hurt the soil organisms, and what are its effects? Gary Murphy, Fountain Valley Dear Gary, Cover crops can really improve the soil and soil biology very rapidly.…

In 1988, a renowned professor of agricultural extension at the University of Fort Hare, Prof TJ Bembridge, wrote a paper entitled, ‘The Role of Women in Agricultural and Rural Development’. In it, he wrote: “Rural development is much more than an economic or technological process; it is equally, and at the same time, a continuing social process that entails rural transformation. An acceptance of this has led to a realisation that special attention should be paid to the role of women in the agricultural and rural development process … In fact, for the large majority of rural women, development has not meant a change for [the] better despite the fact that the participation of women in farming is vital. Indeed, overlooking this simple fact may thwart efforts to improve food…

It is critical that the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Rural Safety Plan include an implementation plan as recommended by Agri SA’s provincial structures. This was according to Dr Jane Buys, a safety and risk analyst at Free State Agriculture. Buys was responding to an announcement by Agri SA that the recently re-evaluated rural safety strategy would be finalised and introduced jointly with the SAPS in 2019. She said South Africa’s existing Rural Safety Plan was periodically re-evaluated to accommodate new challenges and demands. “The plan provides for input from all levels of society and this year, the Agri SA affiliates, among others, requested that a specific implementation plan with action schedules and datelines be included.” In the past, the Rural Safety Plan mainly concentrated on violent crimes and stock…

The Zimbabwean government has launched an investigation into reports that some day-old chick suppliers are violating competition laws. It has emerged that some suppliers are apparently taking advantage of the erratic availability of day-old chicks by making the sale of the chicks conditional on producers buying a set number of bags of stockfeed. According to the Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC), this is in violation of the law. Zimbabwe Poultry Farmers’ Association chairperson George Nare said this practice had been prevalent for some time, but had intensified in recent months due to the unreliable supply of day-old chicks and rising prices of poultry feed. Zimbabwe’s day-old chicks market is dominated by about six large companies that also manufacture poultry feed. Farmers complained that the producers were taking advantage of their…

The Cape Wools indicator increased 146 points to close at R206,14/kg (clean) at the second sale of November, while the Australian EMI declined for three weeks in a row. Market demand was unchanged, with long and fine Merino wool still in high demand, but receipts at broker stores were 39% down compared with the previous season, partly due to the absence of wool from Lesotho. The rand was 2,9% down against the US dollar and 1,2% lower against the euro at the time of the sale, compared with exchange rate levels during the previous sale, according to Heinrich Victor, operational manager of fibre at OVK. In South Africa, wool supplies at brokers’ stores were still much lower week-on-week and accumulated stocks were 12,15% lower than for the 2017/2018 season. The…

The advancement of technology to detect forest fires is making a positive impact on the prevalence of fires, but response times still need to be reduced to prevent huge losses in commercial forests, which then spread to residential areas. This is according to Philip Frost, research group leader for earth observation applications at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Meraka Institute. Speaking at the recent Agriculture and Forestry Expo’s fire technology day in White River, Mpumalanga, Frost said: “Apps that provide information on the immediate threat of fires, historic fire statistics, and circumstances that could pose a threat will assist in determining the level of reaction to a fire and thereby prevent fires that get out of control.” He said historical information was crucial in predicting future fires as…

South Africa’s citrus industry experienced a particularly good season this year, despite water constraints and dry conditions in some major citrus-producing regions. Justin Chadwick, CEO of the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa (CGA), said that South African citrus exporters achieved new records in terms of volumes packed and passed for exporting. According to CGA, 135,6 million 15kg equivalent cartons of citrus had already been packed and passed for exporting thus far. This was a notable increase compared with the initial March forecast of 131,7 million cartons. Soft citrus producers achieved a record volume packed for exports, surpassing last year’s 13,4 million cartons to end on 16,1 million cartons. “There’s been an upward trend in soft citrus export volumes since 2011, with volumes more than doubling over the past seven…

South Africa’s porous borders and a lack of communication between government departments have made it difficult to restrict the spread of the East Asian polyphagous shot hole borer (Euwallacea sp nr fornicates) in the country. Wilhelm de Beer, an associate professor at the University of Pretoria’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), told Farmer’s Weekly that the City of Cape Town, Johannesburg City Parks, the Stellenbosch Local Municipality, Kirstenbosch Gardens and the South African National Biodiversity Institute, as well as stakeholders in KwaZulu-Natal, were working on a strategy to stop the shot hole borer in its tracks if it arrived in areas in which it had not been previously found. Commenting on the lack of control at South Africa’s borders, De Beer said officials that checked for these types of…

The land reform debate will become more heated as South Africa approaches the 2019 election, but farmers have been cautioned to stay calm and find ways to get involved in transforming agriculture rather than becoming victims of negative sentiment. Economist, Dr Roelof Botha, said at the recent Macadamias South Africa information day in White River, Mpumalanga, that uncertainty created by calls for expropriation without compensation could worsen as the upcoming election approached, but he still believed there would be no “land grabs”. “It will be a rough ride to the elections, but we are on the verge of a golden era and must be patient. The biggest reasons for our economic slump over the past few years are now out of the way. This includes the systematic incompetence of [former…

The presence of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in South Africa is a contentious one, with strong views on both sides. The basic facts are these: • Farmers, whether they produce maize, cattle or fish, select the optimal strain to achieve economic success; • In aquaculture, Nile tilapia is the species of choice, and there are developed strains with faster growth, greater disease resistance, and much improved yield. These advantages are not marginal, as claimed by some, but are the difference between success and failure. World production of over three million tons of tilapia is evidence of this. Nile tilapia is indigenous to North, West and East Africa. It has been widely distributed in Zimbabwe and Mozambique for aquaculture, with none of the conservation restrictions that apply in South Africa. Escapees…

Research carried out at the Outeniqua Research Farm of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture has found that it is unnecessary to give young dairy calves milk twice a day. Once is enough, and in fact may even benefit the animals. FEEDING MILK ONCE A DAY SAVES ON COSTS AND LESSENS THE CHANCES OF CONTAMINATION Bertus Myburgh, who conducted the study in partial fulfilment of his master’s degree in animal sciences at Nelson Mandela University, says dairy farmers in the Southern Cape region have traditionally given their calves milk twice a day, reasoning that giving calves too much milk at a time is bad for their digestive systems. However, to save on labour costs, the Outeniqua Research Farm has been giving its calves milk once a day for years, and…

To make 12 Hertzoggies, you will need: FOR THE SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY 225g cake flour plus extra, if needed 60g icing sugar Large pinch of salt 100g cold butter, cubed 40ml water Softened butter (for greasing) FOR THE FILLING 250ml full-cream milk 2 tablespoons powdered gelatine 250ml Amarula cream liqueur 2 star anise 2 whole cloves 3 cardamom seeds, crushed 2 tablespoons castor sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla essence COCONUT MERINGUE TOPPING 2 large egg whites; 125g castor sugar; 1 tablespoon vanilla essence; 100g desiccated coconut, lightly toasted 1 Start with the pastry. Sift the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub in until you get a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the water and combine with your hands to form a smooth dough. If…

Khula is an app developed by Karidas Tshintsholo (23) and Matthew Piper (24) while studying at the University of Cape Town. It was recently named the MTN App of the Year, winning its developers a trip to Silicon Valley in the US. Khula means ‘to grow’ in Zulu. The app is intended to help emerging farmers whose volume of produce is too small for the formal markets by combining produce from a number of farmers within an area to fill a large order from a customer. SUPPORTING SMALL-SCALE FARMERS “We thought that if we could find a way to commercialise all those emerging farmers it would have huge implications for employment and the economic growth of the continent as a whole,” says Tshintsholo. The app is currently in a beta…

The wildfire that raged near Trompsburg during mid-November was a classic example of extreme fire behaviour caused by weather conditions conducive to the development of fire that was exceedingly difficult to contain. This was according to Johan Breytenbach, the general manager of the Free State Umbrella Fire Protection Association. He said temperatures in excess of 30°C, coupled with a wind speed of more than 20km/h and low humidity of below 15%, formed the ideal recipe for an extreme wildfire. These were the approximate conditions in the region at the time. The fire continued well into the Bethulie district. “It was impossible to manage the inferno, which destroyed at least 12 000ha and 200 sheep. Some landowners lost up to 80% of grazing. We are still assessing the damage caused by…

“The fight over land and expropriation without compensation is only starting now.” This was according to Dr Corné Mulder, FF Plus parliamentary chief whip, following Parliament’s joint Constitutional Review Committee’s (CRC) recent recommendation to adopt its report to amend Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. According to Mulder, the decision taken by the committee did not mean that the process had been finalised. “There is the possibility that a legal process can be followed to set the committee’s decision aside, seeing that the process the committee followed was flawed and riddled with errors.” The CRC recommendation prompted Agri SA to consult its lawyers with regard to possible litigation. The organisation denounced the committee’s decision as “an unacceptable outcome of an extended consultation…

CHINA African swine fever (ASF) has, for the first time, been detected in Chinese pig feed. The Tangrenshen Group said in a statement that the disease had been found in feed samples. While it spread rapidly and created high mortality rates among pigs, it did not pose a risk to public health, the statement said. The contaminated feed was discovered during inspections after an outbreak of ASF on a farm in the eastern province of Anhui. The origin of the disease remained unclear and was under investigation. NEW ZEALAND New Zealand has been warned that the country may have to pick sides in the trade war between China and the US. Rabobank head of research for Asia-Pacific, Michael Every, said New Zealand’s agriculture sector should aim to reduce its reliance…

Frozen vegetable manufacturer, Nature’s Garden, has filed an application to increase the rate of customs duty on “mixtures of frozen vegetables” from 10% to 37%. According to Nature’s Garden CEO, Bruce Sanday, the application submitted to the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently, stated that low-cost imports from China and the EU were undercutting prices of locally grown and produced frozen vegetable mixtures. These included various combinations of vegetables including peas, carrots, corn, beans, broccoli and cauliflower. Sanday said more supermarket retailers were opting to import the cheaper frozen vegetables for their house brands. ‘LOW-COST IMPORTS ARE UNDERCUTTING LOCAL PRODUCTS’ “In the past three years, the industry has seen an increase of about 21% in the volume of frozen mixtures of vegetables…

Feeding the world by 2050 could prove to be challenging if shifts in agricultural production are not taken into consideration, especially with regard to farming practices. This was according to Prof Tim Benton, co-project leader of the Agricultural and Food Systems Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy (GCRF-AFRICAP), who spoke at the Climate Smart Agriculture Future Scenarios workshop hosted by the National Agricultural Marketing Council in Pretoria recently. As part of a research project by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund and GCRF-AFRICAP, workshops were currently being presented in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia to identify the future of agri-food systems in each country. The project aimed to identify and implement evidence-based policy pathways to facilitate the development of sustainable, productive, climate-smart agricultural systems in order to meet food…

A lack of title deeds to land and support from commercial banks are leaving many black farmers with impossible barriers to success in the land reform process. This was the message from speakers at the Landbouweekblad/Komga Farmers’ Association Land Summit held near Haga Haga in the Eastern Cape recently. According to a commercial farmer near Makana, Justin Stirk, who as a member of the Frontier Bonsmara Group had been involved in training emerging beef farmers in the Eastern Cape, a lack of title deeds had been devastating for many black farmers. “[It] does not allow them to further themselves [or] improve their farms and properties, because no funding is available.’’ Also speaking at the event, Siseko Maqoma, a citrus farmer and director of the 70% black-owned Eden Agri Services Packhouse…

Bovine brucellosis has been identified as the single greatest threat to the red meat industry, apart from foot-and-mouth disease. Brucellosis is especially dangerous as it is a zoonosis, which means that humans can also become infected. Brucellosis results in abortions in cattle, and can cause devastating losses for a farmer. The disease is chronic and, once introduced, is without cure. Farmers are therefore compelled by law to vaccinate all their heifers once between four and eight months of age with either S19 or RB51. Brucellosis is caused by the Brucella abortus bacterium and is most commonly spread between herds by the movement of infected animals. In particular, the disease can be spread when healthy cattle lick or eat the discharge of infected animals during calving or abortion, and for one…

HOW DID THE GRASS-FED BEEF MOVEMENT EVOLVE IN SOUTH AFRICA? Grass-fed beef refers to cattle that are allowed to forage and graze for their own fresh food. In 2014, the Grass-Fed Association of South Africa [GFSA] was launched in Bloemfontein. Despite previous failures by other organisations to get this initiative going, the changing socio-economic situation in South Africa and healthier lifestyle choices are considered effective drivers for the long-term sustainability of grass-fed beef production. GFSA largely caters to commercial farmers. New and communal beef producers are yet to learn about the benefits of participating in this kind of enterprise. Some researchers argue that communal farming in South Africa can by default be regarded as organic farming systems as these farmers mostly make use of very few, if any, chemical inputs,…

Soft, luxurious, warm and timeless. It’s hard to imagine Mohair as anything other than a lovely scarf, but the fact is, the true story behind its production is almost as beautiful – and supremely important to the South African economy. Mohair is a fibre derived from the fleece of Angora goats and the industry supports over 800 South African farms and an estimated 30 000 dependants. Fifty percent of the world’s Mohair is produced right here in South Africa, under strict guidelines of sustainability that have been in continual development since 2009. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GOATS Aside from the numbers, though, it’s all about the goats. These gentle, somewhat charismatic, creatures are at the heart of a farming industry that is driven by ethics and expertise. Angora farmers have…

FreshPlaza.com recently carried a worrying article about the possibility of a new ‘banana war’ erupting in Europe. Apparently, Aldi, a leading German supermarket group, recently took a unilateral decision to reduce the price of bananas from the Caribbean by €1 per box. At the current exchange rate, that’s a whopping R16,50. It’s not much different for suppliers in the Caribbean. If you’re a banana grower in Jamaica, say, you could potentially be losing about J$140 (R16) per box. A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR SOUTH AFRICAN FARMERS All this might be of no direct concern to South Africa. But it’s certainly a lesson for our local growers, not only banana farmers. In short: be keenly aware of whom you sign up as buyers of your produce. History teaches us that there is…

To make this meal for four diners, you will need: One 500g packet of penne pasta 450g chorizo sausage 350g butternut 30ml extra-virgin olive oil 80g butter 7 fresh sage leaves 50g Parmesan or pecorino Salt and coarsely ground black pepper 1 lemon Chorizo is the big flavour player in this dish. Highly spiced and gloriously textured, this Portuguese delicacy is widely available in various forms from regular supermarkets and artisanal butchers. 1 Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, then turn off the heat and have the pot standing by for cooking the pasta later. 2 Peel and deseed the butternut, then cut the remainder into 15mm cubes. Cut the chorizo into slices 10mm thick. Select a large, heavy-based frying pan and bring the extra-virgin olive oil…

All-in-one tool The LEATHERMAN REV is a 9,6cm, all-metal, pocket multi-tool that can be used in a variety of ways and situations, from camping to working on your car. The multi-tool includes 14 tools that are accessible even if the Rev is folded or closed. The tools include regular and needlenose pliers, hardwire and wire cutters, a 420HC knife, a parcel/package opener, a file, a can and bottle opener, a 3,8cm ruler, a Phillips screwdriver, a medium and small screwdriver, a wire stripper, a locking blade and a pocket clip. Available for R800 from awesometools.co.za. Classic, high-tech watch Unlike many other activity trackers, the GARMIN VIVOMOVE HP watch has a more classical design and features an analogue display with a semi-hidden screen that allows the user to navigate notifications, track…

Drinking coffee has become an major aspect of our culture. Most of us feel there is something seriously wrong if we don’t have at least one cup of strong coffee after getting up. Our minds and nervous systems appear to have become addicted to caffeine. Fortunately, coffee has several health benefits, such as being high in antioxidants, in the form of polyphenols, which protect cells from free radical damage. So, one or two cups a day can be beneficial, but avoid adding cream or plenty of sugar. Research shows that coffee protects against a number of dangerous medical conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, certain cancers and Type 2 diabetes. It can also help control asthma symptoms, enhance energy and concentration, and improve…