Farmer's Weekly 13 August 2021

“I believe that the best measure for when we care about something is how quick and how natural our instinct to protect that thing is.” This was the opening line of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s keynote address during the recent University of Cape Town Vice-Chancellor’s Open Lecture. Adichie is the author of award-winning novels such as Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah – all of which I can highly recommend! A lot of what she said during the lecture made me think about the land issue in South Africa. It seems to me that we have two sides to the land reform conversation, which puts white commercial farmers, who are supposedly reluctant to give up their land, on the one side, and aspiring black farmers, who desperately want access…

“White maize serves as the staple food for the majority of South Africa’s population, particularly those in low-income households. It is also one of the only staple crops produced on a widespread commercial basis for direct human consumption using genetically modified (GM) cultivars. Notwithstanding this, controversy surrounds human consumption of GM crops and the effects of these crops on the ecosystem. This is exacerbated by the lack of empirical evidence based on local data. Recent evidence from a study conducted by a team of agricultural economists and engineers from South Africa, the US and Belgium suggests that GM adoption has, in fact, contributed to a greater supply of maize, increased producer profitability, and a decrease in the environmental impact of maize production. Kristiina Ala-Kokko, a researcher at the University of Arkansas in…

13 August, Groenkloof, Pretoria Email AgriSkills Transfer at admin@agriskills.net, or visit agriskills.net. CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXPOS 11 TO 12 AUGUST Bushveld Dorper Club Warmbad Livestock Show, Bela-Bela. Phone Annetjie van Wyk on 063 546 2005. COURSES AND TRAINING 16 TO 20 AUGUST Pig Farming and Management, George Phone Rothman Livestock Training Services on 078 546 7985, or email office@RLTSafrica.com. 21 TO 22 AUGUST The Building Blocks to Beekeeping, Johannesburg. Email David Fraser at david@beelife.co.za, or phone him on 082 578 6038. 22 TO 28 AUGUST Poultry Academy Module, George. Phone Rothman Livestock Training Services on 078 546 7985, or email office@RLTSafrica.com. FROM SEPTEMBER Canine Training and Behaviour Training Diploma (correspondence). Phone Celia Forsyth on 083 407 1316, or email her at enquiries@petsensecollege.co.za. 27 SEPTEMBER TO 1 OCTOBER Veld Management Course, Modimolle. Email Frits van Oudtshoorn at courses@alut.co.za, or phone him on 071 866 1331. 5 OCTOBER…

33 YEARS AGO 1911 22 July 1988 2021 A milk-on-merit scheme allowed dairy farmers to put more money into breeding, as this article showed. The milk scheme with price based on quality is proving rewarding to the better type of dairy farmer. As a result, more money is going into breeding, and this will see an improvement in the national herd, says Liz Bredenkamp, a Friesland farmer of Kestell in the Free State. “I think dairy farmers are very happy with the scheme, and one can expect higher earnings to result in more ambitious breeding programmes,” she says. “As an example of earnings, we have averaged 53c [about R4,63] a litre since March compared with the average for the previous year of 46c [R4,02/ℓ].” ASSESSING THE MILK PRICE Bredenkamp, who farms with her son, David Swartzberg, at their…

South African Breweries (SAB), in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa and the Natural Resource Management Programme, has released approximately 2,5 billion litres of water into rivers and basins over the past six months through watershed investment. Now, SAB is proud to launch a one-of-a-kind initiative. Just like the cartoon character Popeye, who saved his beloved Olive Oyl thanks to a healthy dose of spinach, so too is SAB providing economic salvation to a local start-up business near its Ibhayi Brewery in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Eastern Cape. A UNIQUE PROJECT In what has been aptly dubbed Project Popeye, SAB, through its Ibhayi Brewery and the Project Eden Water Conservation Park (another SAB initiative that involved the construction of an artificial wetland), will be developing a 2 000m2 commercial…

MOST POPULAR ON FARMERSWEEKLY.CO.ZA FARMING BODIES JOIN HANDS TO SUPPLY FOOD AID AFTER UNREST Following the recent civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that left many communities without access to basic staple food items, several agricultural organisations have joined forces to donate tons of food items to those in need. Read the full article at bit.ly/377tuFc, or scan here: Posted: 28 July 2021. Follow us at @FarmersWeeklySA FROM FACEBOOK @FarmersWeeklySA A Facebook post titled ‘two million chickens stolen from farms during looting’ had some of our followers feeling shocked and angry. Here’s what they had to say: Posted: 25 July 2021. READERS’ COMMENTS Arthur Russell Kueng: “They are preparing the grounds for food price increases.” Thami Mbatha: “This is very sad. We [are] destroying the whole value chain.” Goilwe Mokae: “Heartless people looting and destroying the country for overnight enjoyment that does not…