Table of contents for 9 November 2018 in Farmer's Weekly

The high cost of wages for workers in the public service is one of the major uncomfortable truths that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will have to grapple with as he prepares to present the National Budget next year, which will hopefully clearly outline how the country will escape from the trap of virtually non-existent economic growth. Our country’s economy is on the very edge of disaster, with high debt levels, and the associated high cost of servicing that debt, at risk of spiralling out of control within the next year or two if spending isn’t brought under control. Mboweni was very clear in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that the current spending rate on public-service wages, which consumed about 35% of public resources, was not sustainable or desirable. Mboweni…

I would like to thank Farmer’s Weekly for producing such an awesome magazine. I am not a farmer; the closest I came to agriculture was a large smallholding in the Hogsback mountains in the 1980s. However, I look forward to your publication every week. If anyone is doing their utmost to develop the new South Africa, it is the farming community, and in spite of the ongoing attacks on it, are doing their utmost to achieve a better South Africa. Well done to all the country’s farmers! I love the variety of articles and information offered by your publication, and I especially love the historic articles that illustrate what amazing people South Africans are. The story of the murder of Hamilton Hope, which was the catalyst to the Mpondomise Rebellion…

More than R290 billion in investments was secured for South Africa over the next five years at the recent South African Investment Conference, held in Johannesburg. This will have a significant impact on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s US$100 billion (about R1,4 trillion) investment drive announced in April, and should benefit the country enormously. INVESTMENTS AT A GLANCE The investments that will be made in the next five years include the following: • Vodacom will invest R50 billion. • BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan and Volkswagen will together invest more than R40 billion and will establish a long-range strategy that will include doubling local manufacturing projects to support the reindustrialisation of the country. • The New Development Bank (formerly known as the BRICS Development Bank) will invest R29 billion with a focus…

New allegations of animal neglect have emerged against a former national winner of a top agricultural award. Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Grace de Lange, manager of the Farm Animal Protection Unit at the NSPCA, said a number of pigs had been confiscated from the farm of Hlengiwe Hlophe near Winterton in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month. Hlophe received the Top Entrepreneur: Commercial Female Farmer of the Year award from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) in 2015. As the details around the confiscation of the animals formed part of a criminal investigation, De Lange could not disclose the number of pigs that had been confiscated, nor could she disclose the nature of the communication between the NSPCA and Hlophe’s legal representative. Farmer’s Weekly had reported in 2015 that Hlophe…

The Department of Labour should exercise caution when investing in labour-intensive programmes in agriculture and related businesses, according to Gerhard Kriel, CEO of Free State Agriculture. This follows the department’s announcement of an R800 million investment in the sector in the coming year, planned in partnership with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) commissioner, Teboho Maruping, said in a recent statement that the UIF had commissioned the PIC to investigate the feasibility of investing in poultry and abattoir projects around the country. The PIC is a registered financial services provider that is wholly owned by government. Kriel said the department needed to take into account that although the food industry would continue its steady growth due to the increasing population, margins were low. “The sector is very…

More than 95% of fertiliser and lime samples analysed by the Fertilizer Association of Southern Africa (Fertasa) since last year met official standards and were of the highest quality, according to Dr Pieter Haumann, Fertasa CEO. He said the ongoing monitoring of fertiliser and lime was of the essence for sustainable grain production in South Africa. A total of 134 fertiliser samples from 24 different companies countrywide, and nine agricultural lime samples from different companies in the northern regions, were analysed and assessed by Fertasa. These included Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State. Lime testing would be expanded to the southern region in future. “Only one lime [sample] did not comply with the calcium carbonate equivalent requirement,” he said. No assessments were carried out between 2015 and 2016 due…

Signs have emerged that some resistance is developing to the current high prices of wool and that manufacturers are switching to cheaper fibres, according to a statement by Segard Masurel Wool Brokers. For many years, wool traded between three and four times higher than cotton. However, since 2014, the price of wool has increased to about seven times that of cotton. The other determining factor for South African producers was the exchange rate of the rand against major currencies. According to the statement, the question needed to be asked whether the lower US dollar price of wool was a “healthy correction”, or the beginning of a downward trend. The international price of wool was determined in US dollars, since most of the wool going to China, the largest global destination…

After-tax money in the bank can broadly be described as ‘capital’. Likewise, a person’s accumulated assets, such as a home, farm, factory, motor vehicle, equipment, tools or coin collection, are all examples of capital. A fairly common life-cycle of an asset is as follows: • You earn money, which is taxed. You then use some of your after-tax funds to buy a substantial asset, say a home. You improve this over time through additions and repairs, and sell it after a decade or two. • Capital gains tax could be payable on the sale of that asset. This means that the asset representing the already taxed funds is taxed again. The remaining gain is used to purchase another asset, or is banked as capital in cash. • When you die,…

TELL US MORE ABOUT ENERGY PARTNERS Energy Partners was founded in 2008 in response to South Africa’s first energy crisis, which resulted in widespread load shedding that started at the end of 2007. We initially offered management consultancy services with a degree of actual implementation, advising businesses on ways to improve their energy efficiency and implementing behavioural change processes and the use of improved technologies, such as LED lights, power factor correction, voltage optimisation, and refrigeration control optimisation. Our services helped Pick n Pay to almost halve its energy consumption. In 2014, we expanded our services to address the affordability issue by offering turn-key engineer, procure, construct solar, refrigeration, steam, water and fuel as utilities by way of various power and utility purchase agreements. TELL US MORE ABOUT PSG’S INVOLVEMENT…

Leandre Mitchley has long been fascinated by pig production. As a little girl, she spent many hours observing the pigs raised by her father, Jim Perrang, who farmed a variety of livestock and vegetables, as well as growing rooibos, near Wupperthal in the Cederberg. Quite a number of years were to pass, however, before she could turn her attention to pig farming. With household income under pressure, she left school after Grade 11 to work in a plastics factory near Atlantis. She then became a security guard, first in Vredendal, where she met her husband, Sean, and later in Malmesbury. It was here, in 2011, that she got the opportunity to rekindle her dream of having her own commercial piggery. She began by joining a local grouping, Malmesbury Emerging Farmers,…

Shiraz or Syrah? Either one will work just fine with this casserole, as it is the same grape variety. The only difference, some say, is the style in which the wine is made: Shiraz is riper and more fruit-forward, while Syrah is spicier and more subtle, typical of the French versions. This is true of many examples, while there are also wines labelled one or the other simply as a marketing preference. There are many great wines carrying either name. Hartenberg wine estate produces several styles using the Shiraz name across varying price points. Carl Shultz knows this grape and does great things with it. The pocket-friendly Doorkeeper Shiraz is softer and lighter than the others in the range, with sweet berry fruit, spice and hints of cigar box. The…

Cholesterol, which is synthesised by the body, is essential for cells, where it is a major component of the cell membrane. It is not cholesterol on its own that is the real enemy of heart health, but a combination of cholesterol and inflammation. Typically, ‘high cholesterol’ means high levels of so-called inflammatory cholesterol. So, instead of avoiding foods such as eggs, consider following the anti-inflammatory Pan-Asian Modified Mediterranean diet, which combines healthy traditional Japanese and Mediterranean food. This allows saturated fats from animal protein. At the same time, limit sugar and white flour; these simple carbohydrates can cause invisible inflammation. Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes, nuts, fresh fruit, lean protein, cold-water fish such as snoek and sardines, and extra-virgin olive oil. Mediterranean people consume this olive oil daily, and after…

Neighbour Jan was in a belligerent mood while having coffee on my stoep a few days ago. “Three of my lambs have been killed by a rooikat, Townie!” he fumed. “They have to eat too,” I replied with a smile. That didn’t go down well! He glared at me and stormed off to collect his traps. I wondered what he’d bait them with now that the culprit had had a taste for lamb. And how would other lambs avoid the same fate unless the traps caught the caracal? He’d probably have to kraal the entire flock at night. If the offending culprit is trapped, Jan will no doubt shoot it. A sad fate for such a magnificent animal, but the lambs are Jan’s livelihood. A less lethal but no less…

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Senzeni Zokwana, recently signed the World Wine Trade Group’s (WWTG) protocol to the 2007 World Wine Trade Agreement in Washington DC in the US. Wanda Augustyn, the manager of media and communication at Vinpro, told Farmer’s Weekly that this agreement contained the requirements for wine labelling with regard to alcohol tolerance, vintage, variety and wine regions. The WWTG is an informal group of wine-producing countries consisting of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the US. Its objective is to facilitate international trade in wine through information sharing, discussion of regulatory issues in wine markets, and joint actions to remove trade barriers. Parties to the agreement would accept each other’s wine-making practices, and had also agreed on wine labelling and…

The Zimbabwean government has temporarily repealed a statute that bans the importation of a range of foodstuffs, in a move welcomed by consumers, but condemned by food manufacturers. The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services in that country, Monica Mutsvangwa, said the decision was taken to combat high food prices and food shortages that resulted from panic-buying. “The continuing increases in prices effectively push the commodities beyond the reach of many of our people,” she said. Consumers can now import duty-free animal oils and fats, baked beans, cereals, cheese, coffee creams, cooking oil, crude soya bean oil, fertiliser, wheat flour, jams, juice blends, margarine, mayonnaise, packaging materials, peanut butter, potato crisps, salad creams, soap, sugar, wheelbarrows, agrochemicals, and livestock feed. Acute foreign currency shortages and the drastic devaluation of…

With the festive season approaching¸ red meat prices are expected to increase at least 6%. This is according to Gerhard Schutte, CEO of the Red Meat Producers’ Association. Schutte attributed this increase mainly to a suppressed offering due to the drought. “The severe drought in parts of South Africa, especially the Western Cape, in recent years forced farmers to cull their herds. This meant that the supply of sheep and cattle from those areas is substantially lower than previous years.” Schutte said he did not expect meat prices to decline soon, but also did not expect consumer resistance either, despite the high prices. He estimated that meat prices would level out after the increases that were expected during the festive season. According to Bianca Capazorio, spokesperson for the Department of…

Sheep and goat farmers in the southern part of Namibia suffered livestock losses amounting to more than R4 million following rain, cold and strong wind during the last week of October. According to Ernst Erni, who farms near Maltahöhe, the sporadic rain coupled with strong wind and cold caused serious damage in, among others, Solitaire and Rietoog. Rivers were flooded, resulting in animals being swept away by the strong currents. More than 4 000 animals reportedly succumbed to the adverse conditions. Serious damage was also reported in Aub, Helmeringhausen, Kalkrand and Rehoboth. Erni said the fact that the livestock were not in optimum condition after the winter made them more susceptible to these weather conditions. Lambing ewes and newborn lambs were particularly affected. “The energy levels of the surviving animals…

A single female animal can contribute many thousands of rand to your farming enterprise. A good ewe can produce six lambs in her lifetime; at R2 000 each, this amounts to R12 000. You will also shear her wool each year; if you receive R300 per shearing over six years, you will earn R1 800 over this period. Finally, when the ewe is sold one day as a meat animal, you might obtain a further R1 800, bringing the total income obtained from the ewe to R15 600. If you add what her offspring can earn for you from further breeding and wool shearing, the total value rises to more than R40 000! Put another way, if you want to be a profitable farmer, you need to achieve the highest…

I have been producing vegetables for 17 years using no-till principles. I plant as much vacant ground as possible in April for a grazing vetch cover crop, with the remainder getting some compost before planting. Two rows of seed are planted on each bed at a rate of 5kg/ha. Waist-high vetch eventually covers the entire area. Before it sets seed, I rake all of it to the middle of the beds from either side, then use a spade to sever the rolled-over vetch at ground level. This takes relatively little effort and leaves a 50cm-wide mulch layer. I plant on the edge of this layer. THE MULCH WILL BLOCK WEED DEVELOPMENT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS This year, when the grazing vetch was fully dried out, I rolled up a measured section,…

THE SOUL OF SORBET by Ian Fuhr & Johanna Stamps Egbe (Macmillan, R280) Part memoir, part how-to, and part business philosophising, Fuhr’s follow-up to his 2014 Get That Feeling expands on how and why he developed a beauty salon into a franchise business. His story shows how incorporating a strong foundation of business principles and customer service is the secret to growing any business, and in the process gives anyone running an entrepreneurial sideline to farming plenty of food for thought. 60 STORIES by Albé Grobbelaar (Mahareng, R120) This delightful bilingual collection of columns by Free State ‘Storiesmous’ Grobbelaar is comforting, often nostalgic, occasionally confrontational, and usually tolerant of the vagaries of human nature. The book is cleverly compiled, with half of it from Afrikaans columns…

Elim Wine Festival 10 NOVEMBER TASTE SOME OF THE ELIM REGION’S FINEST COOL-CLIMATE WINES, CRAFT BEER AND CIDER WHILE ENJOYING LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD AND LIVE MUSIC. THE FESTIVAL OFFERS ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & EXPOS 8 TO 10 NOVEMBER Agriculture & Forestry Expo, White River, Mpumalanga.Visit agfo.co.za . 22 NOVEMBER International Conference on Agriculture, Food and Aqua 2018, Cape Town. Email Lily Smith at agriculture2018conference@gmail.com . 26 TO 28 NOVEMBER African Agri Investment and Trade Indaba, Cape Town.Visit agri-indaba.com . 28 TO 29 NOVEMBER Smart Farming/Precision Agriculture Conference 2018, Radisson Blu Le Vendome, Cape Town. Email Vusi Xaba at vusi@empiretraining.co.za . COURSES & TRAINING 12 TO 16 NOVEMBER Hydroponic Vegetable Production (accredited course), Pretoria. Phone…

Many people have expressed concern about the uncertainty created by the ongoing discussions about South Africa’s land reform policy. However, some allow the fear to get the better of them. Over the past few months, a dominant view expressed on a few social media platforms has been that South African farmers might reduce their plantings due to this uncertainty. DATA DISPELS LOWER PLANTING RUMOURS However, if we look at the data, this is not the case. The most recent data from the South African Agricultural Machinery Association shows that, in the first nine months of the year, South African tractor sales amounted to 5 001 units, up 7% from the corresponding period in 2017. FARMERS AIM TO INCREASE THE AREA PLANTED TO SUMMER GRAINS AND OILSEEDS BY 5% In its…

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) that was tabled by finance minister, Tito Mboweni, in Parliament recently, made it clear that South Africa urgently needed to “choose a path that takes us to faster and more inclusive economic growth and strengthens private and public sector investment”. In his speech, Mboweni confirmed South Africa’s poor economic performance this year and suggested that the economy would not recover much in 2019. He said agriculture would thus have to play a key role in unlocking more vigorous growth in the local economy, as the agricultural value chain had high growth, employment and export potential. Following the technical recession experienced during the first half of this year, driven primarily by contractions in agriculture and mining, National Treasury had adjusted its economic forecasts, indicating that…

The South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association (SA Hunters) has warned firearm owners not to be misled by rumours of amendments to the Firearms Control Act that will restrict the ownership of firearms for self-defence purposes. According to a statement by SA Hunters, a document that was recently circulated on social media was believed to have been drawn up by the legal department of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2017, with the intention of presenting it to the then minister of police, Fikile Mbalula, as a possible amendment to the act. Speaking to Farmer’s Weekly, Fred Camphor, CEO of SA Hunters, said: “A total ban on firearms for self-defence will not be easy. There are [probably] ANC members of Parliament who own firearms for self-defence.” The statement…

UNITED STATES After more than 100 years, the US cotton industry is free of the devastating pink bollworm. Native to Asia, it has become an invasive species in most of the world’s cotton-growing regions. According to US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, rigorous control and regulatory measures mean the pest, which costs US producers tens of millions of rand a year to control as well as in yield losses, had been eliminated from all production areas. NEW ZEALAND A new device could save the dairy industry millions of rand a year and prevent pollutants from entering waterways by detecting processing losses in dairy plants. Developed by Lincoln Agritech in New Zealand, the automated biosensor uses a lactose-specific enzyme to measure the level of dairy products present in waste streams and…

South Africans have been cautioned to take preventative action against malaria with the onset of summer, following the spike in confirmed malaria cases in South Africa during the previous season. Prof Lucille Blumberg, deputy director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases’ (NICD) Centre for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (CEZD), told Farmer’s Weekly that approximately 50% of the 10 000 to 20 000 annual malaria cases in South Africa were contracted locally, with the remainder contracted outside of the country but diagnosed locally. “Most [locally acquired malaria] cases are in Limpopo [with] some in Mpumalanga. There are relatively fewer cases in the far north of KwaZulu-Natal,” Blumberg said. She explained that factors contributing to the malaria outbreaks included temperature, rainfall and humidity. A potential increase in locally contracted cases in…

The MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State, Dr Benny Malakoane, has invited role players in the poultry industry to enter into a partnership with the province’s department of agriculture to help turn around numerous failed projects launched across the province in recent years. Malakoane and some of his top officials have been hosting a series of meetings with farming organisations such as Free State Agriculture, Agri SA and the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa, as well as numerous commodity organisations and agribusinesses in recent months. The recent meeting with members of the poultry industry at Glen College in Bloemfontein included a delegation from the South African Poultry Association, as well as senior broiler and egg industry representatives such as Bloemfontein-based egg producer Marco Torsius. Malakoane…

South Africa’s farmers are expected to make a profit while the terms of trade – the ratio between input and output prices – continue to deteriorate. As if this were not challenging enough, they also face many ‘disrupters’, factors that interfere with their normal business operations. • Farm-level disrupters Technological change is the major disrupter here. Precision crop production technology with advanced GPS systems, voluntary milking systems (robots), and sensors and drones that monitor crops and livestock have changed the face of farming. Biotechnology is another disrupter. The development of genetically modified (GM) maize resistant to bollworm and herbicides has seen an enormous increase in yields and a reduction in the use of chemicals. Further development will include the introduction of drought-resistant varieties. Animal biotechnology also faces interesting challenges with genomic…

South Africa is the largest producer of mohair globally, producing about 54% of the world’s mohair and processing 70% (see Graph 1). Production in 2017 was approximately 2,4 million kilograms. Further downward pressure on production is expected this year and next year due to persistent dry conditions in the largest growing area: the Eastern Cape, specifically the Karoo and Klein Karoo. The impact of the drought was evident this season, with a lower volume offering to the market and much finer mohair available. Demand and price were both fairly high during the summer season , and the average market indicator closed at R280,57 for the season, 42% higher than the figure at the same sale the previous year. The 2018 winter season started well, with the average market indicator at…

The right to protect one’s investment in a new product is well established. When it comes to fruit and vegetables in South Africa, the relevant law is embodied in the Plant Breeders Amendment Act of 1996. RECOVERING A CULTIVAR’S DEVELOPMENT COSTS The bottom line is that an individual or business needs time to recoup investment costs when developing a new variety or cultivar. This process can take many years and the outlay can be exorbitant. In today’s highly competitive environment, the flow of these ‘protected’ fruit and vegetables to markets increases every year, and agents need to have a keen appreciation of what they are handling. At the Institute of Market Agents of South Africa (IMASA) conference held recently in East London, the question of plant breeders’ rights was thoroughly…

To make this lamb and white bean casserole for four diners, you will need: 900g deboned lamb shoulder 150g thick-cut streaky bacon 500g dry white beans 10 cloves of garlic 1 can of tomatoes, chopped 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley 1 cup of breadcrumbs 300ml of dry white wine 1 carrot 1 stalk of celery 1 tablespoon of chopped thyme and one complete sprig 3 medium onions 2 cloves 1 bay leaf Extra-virgin olive oil (about nine tablespoons) Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 Begin by prepping the lamb. Cut the meat into 25mm cubes and trim the bacon into flat, 25mm sections. Peel and finely chop two onions; peel and halve the remaining onion. Finely mince five of the peeled garlic cloves, leaving the remaining five…

I’m sure that, like me, many farmers have wished they had X-ray vision when doing maintenance. How useful it would be when trying to unclog a drain, carry out a half-hidden repair on a piece of farm machinery, or simply find lost objects in dark, out-of-the-way corners. Well, life has got a little easier, thanks to a nifty gadet called the Wi-Fi endoscope. Originally, this type of endoscope was attached to the end of an electrical cable plugged directly into a smartphone’s charging port. In contrast, a Wi-Fi endoscope enables you to view live footage on your phone from up to 30m away so that you don’t have to expose yourself (or your phone) to hazards when working in a tough environment. Some time ago, I had to attach a…