Indholdsfortegnelse for 17 May 2024 i Farmer's Weekly

At the time of writing, the national general election is just short of four weeks away. All South Africans of voting age are being called upon by political parties to exercise their hard-won democratic right to vote for their preferred candidates. And, indeed, there are many choices this election. According to Ipsos and the Independent Electoral Commission, there are around 42,3 million South Africans eligible to vote (18 years or older). For the 2024 elections, however, only 27,69 million people registered to vote. This is only about 65% of all eligible voters. Of course, this also does not take into consideration voter turnout, which means that the final pool of voters may be significantly less than 65%. This is not good for any democracy, but particularly for a fledgling democracy…

ARCHIVE In various facets of trade, products or commodities have become ‘household’ names by nature of their quality, reliability and standard of excellence. The same holds true in some sectors of livestock breeding. In South Africa's largest livestock industry, the Merino industry, the name Kleinfontein has become synonymous with sheep of a standard of almost unparalleled excellence. And this has been the case for many years, as breeders have come to trust these sheep for the prepotency of their high standards and quality. Kleinfontein is the stud of Ian Minnaar, in the Graaff-Reinet district. What is it that keeps such a stud in the foreground of breeding, within an industry where competition is so severe – there are over 1 000 registered Merino studs in South Africa? The answer is:…

It is imperative for South Africa to improve its capacity for animal disease control. According to Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz chief economist, to ensure expanded exports, the strengthening of local biosecurity structures and measures were of the essence. “The weaknesses in surveillance and control contributed to the spread of various animal diseases that affected South African farming businesses in the past few years. The subsequent temporary closure of certain export markets came at a great expense to red meat and wool producers. “The upside was that government and the private sector realised that they have to work together to improve the country's measures aimed at preventing the spread of diseases. Through this co-operative effort, exports are recovering. In 2023, beef exports lifted by 3% year-on-year to 27 675t. Additionally, South Africa's…

For the first time in six years, the International Society for Plant Molecular Farming (ISPMF) conference took place outside of Europe. This year, the University of Cape Town's Biopharming Research Unit hosted the conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cape Town in the first week of May. The ISPMF is an academic society for all scientists engaged in plant molecular farming. With close to 200 members from all over the world, it exists to promote academic exchange and to further develop the field. Keynote speakers at the event included Eun-Ju Sohn, CEO of BioApp (South Korea); Yuri Gleba, CEO of Nomad BioSciences (Germany); and Prof Ed Rybicki, director of the Biopharming Research Unit (South Africa). At its core, plant molecular farming is the production of valuable proteins, peptides and…

Small-scale farmers in KwaZulu-Natal have been given an opportunity to grow into sustainable commercial businesses through a holistic integrated programme that will provide mechanisation, infrastructure and sector expertise. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube led the provincial launch of the Integrated Agricultural Development Programme in Richmond recently where 1 128 tractors worth R17 million and other implements were allocated to farmers. Additional mentorship and mechanisation training will be provided to community projects that are experiencing challenges in their farming activities to ensure self-sufficiency. SyaJay Agricultural Services is a 100% black-owned business, and the two beneficiaries are graduates of the Owen Sithole College of Agriculture. Their project was approved for funding of R5,6 million from the Agricultural Development Agency, and 10 hydroponic tunnels, cooling and irrigation systems have been completed. A mobile packhouse…

THAILAND Thailand's Department of Agriculture says it is tightening up its quarantine checkpoints in an effort to control pests. They are also intensifying their inspection and control of imported feed corn to the country. “All containers must be opened and inspected. If any shipment has pests, the whole shipment will be returned or destroyed immediately,” the department said. UNITED KINGDOM According to the UK's Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), harvests of important crops could be down by nearly a fifth due to wetter than normal weather. This means consumers might do well to prepare for drastic increases. The ECIU said that, based on estimations, the amount of wheat, barley, oats and canola produced could drop by four million tons this year, a reduction of 17,5% compared with 2023. The…

Zimbabwe exceeded its export targets for the year 2023 after earning about R141 billion from exports last year, 15% more than the previous year. Lithium, horticulture, services, flowers and agro-processing were some of the industries that dominated exports in 2023, ZBC News reported. According to trade statistics released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) for 2023, the flower production sector showed a 2% increase in flower exports in 2023 from R65,5 million in 2022. ZimStats nonetheless recognised the country's mounting import bill as a source of concern in consolidating foreign currency inflows. Similo Nkala, operational manager for Zimtrade, Zimbabwe's national trade development and promotion organisation, attributed the spike in exports to government interventions to create a favourable operating climate for exporters. “The country has recorded exports of goods and…

In mid-April, market dynamics revealed intriguing shifts in produce prices, with notable increases observed across various commodities. Cabbage and carrot prices surged month-on-month despite increased supply volumes, and onions and potatoes followed suit, driven mainly by supply constraints. Analysts anticipate these trends to persist into early May, influenced by factors such as weather conditions and demand fluctuations. CABBAGE Market dynamics presented an interesting relationship between supply and demand as the average price rose despite an increase in volumes supplied in mid-April. The average cabbage price followed an increasing trend, representing a 22,4% rise month-on-month (see Graph 1). The monthly average increased from R3 342/t to R4 090/t for the week ending on 12 April. Higher prices persisted despite a 30,7% increase in monthly volumes supplied across the top five produce…

Athletes are always looking for new ways to improve their recuperation and performance. The use of cannabis is one such option that is drawing greater attention. Cannabis was often vilified and dismissed, but these days, its ability to improve athletic performance, help with recovery after exercise and manage pain is being closely examined. However, sportsmen and women must negotiate a complicated network of laws, unanswered scientific questions and moral dilemmas first. ENHANCING PERFORMANCE Certain of the cannabinoids in cannabis, such cannabidiol (CBD), may have performance-enhancing benefits without having the same euphoric effects as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Thanks to its well-known anti-inflammatory qualities, CBD may help lessen the stiffness and inflammation that often come with exercise. Additionally, several athletes claim that CBD helps them focus and relax, which may boost their cognitive…

(NAMPO HALL 41) Bontera is set to make a significant impact by presenting its pioneering agricultural products. The company's groundbreaking, organic-based solutions are infused with proprietary of beneficial microbes tailored to revolutionise soil fertility and maximise crop productivity. The product range is adept at supporting a variety of crops, including maize, sunflowers and soya beans, addressing the diverse needs of South African farmers. Key among Bontera's offerings is Bontera Impact, a flagship product engineered to optimise both yield and quality. Recognised as a cornerstone of modern agricultural success, Impact represents a transformational approach to crop nutrition. Alongside Impact, Dynamik-T emerges as a cutting-edge solution specifically formulated for the root health of maize, soya bean, and sunflower crops. This product ensures robust root growth and resilience, which are critical for crops…

(F24/ F27/ G3) Kempston Agri is a division of the Kempston Group, a diverse, privately owned company with a wide range of product and service offerings. In June 2023, the Kempston Group celebrated its 50th year in business. The Kempston Group's businesses are built on a strong entrepreneurial spirit, passion for customers and a desire to offer practical solutions to our valued clients. The Kempston Agri division has established itself in the agriculture industry and has been serving farmers for a decade. Their complete product range of world-class agricultural equipment brands comprises combine harvesters, tractors, forage harvesting machinery, telehandlers and a large range of parts. As Kempston Agri, they import and distribute CLAAS, Geringhoff, Stara and Deutz-Fahr machinery and parts for South Africa, Zambia and Botswana. Kempston Agri has 39…

Long acclaimed for its Monneaux Restaurant, Franschhoek Country House and Villas (FCH) sits near the entrance of Franschhoek via Helshoogte Mountain Pass or from the Klapmuts approach. From FCH it is close to Grande Provence and Le Petit Provence and within proximity of La Motte Estate. There are 25 rooms and suites at the five-star FCH. Standard rooms are located in the original manor house that dates back to 1890, while other accommodations are built around courtyards with villas offering the most square-metrage space. That said, even the most modest of accommodations are luxurious and spacious, with the villas larger than many family-sized apartments. Farmer's Weekly stayed in Villa 18 daubed, like all of the buildings at this property, in the ochre colour originally sourced from the clay hills of…

Dear Phillip, Research done in the Eastern Cape about 10 years ago revealed that certain medicinal plants can be used to treat internal and external parasites in village goats. Common parasites of goats in the study area were fleas, lice, mites, ticks and helminths. These parasites were present in goats more often during the summer months. Plant-based medicines for people and livestock have been around for thousands of years. Even today, many commercially available medications for humans and livestock were originally extracted from medicinal plants used in antiquity. Traditional African herbalists have training in the use of indigenous plants as medicines. Over the centuries, some of this knowledge became slightly ‘garbled’ as it was passed down by word of mouth. When, however, modern scientists talk to traditional healers and the plants…

The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer's Weekly. This article was first published by The Conversation. Read the article at bit.ly/3WkuKQ1 There was a moment during the state capture years of South African president Jacob Zuma's term in office (2009 to 2018) when the veil finally slipped. There had been quiet rumblings against the country's constitution for many years. But now a senior figure in the ruling African National Congress – its chief whip in the National Assembly, Mathole Motshekga – gave public expression to the notion that when judges overturned decisions of the government they were undermining democracy by thwarting the will of the majority. As I watched a 2014 parliamentary ad hoc committee debate the Public Protector's report on spending…

Africa's food production capacity has dwindled in recent years, which has threatened the continent's food security. This is mainly driven by poor soil health, mostly degraded by climate change effects. Most of the continent's arable land meant for agriculture has lost its potency to sustain high crop productivity, forcing the continent to slow down on agriculture in recent years. This needs urgent management due to the potential risk of food shortages, say the experts. Research shows that the main drivers of land degradation are erosion, overgrazing, nitrogen loss and deforestation. These factors have accelerated poor soil health which, if not managed, could plunge the continent into catastrophic food shortages for future generations. For this reason, interest groups on the continent, including the African Union (AU) and the African Fertilizer and…

Despite early seasonal challenges, Tru-Cape is optimistic about the current apple and pear crop. While Hortgro estimated apple and pear exports to increase by 7% and 1% respectively this season, Calla du Toit, procurement manager of Tru-Cape, said Tru-Cape's total volumes might be lower than initially expected. “Income-wise, I'd say the season is above average, and production-wise it's average.” In the Langkloof volumes were lower, but quality was good. Du Toit said producers experienced issues with rain during flowering, but the region had the least hail damage in 14 years. Attie van Zyl, managing director of Two-A-Day Group, said that pear volumes from Elgin, Grabouw, Villiersdorp and Vyeboom were slightly lower than expected, yet in line with last year's crop. THE FAR EAST, MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE ARE FAVOURABLE MARKETS…

In my youth, tea-drinking in my grandmother's home was a cherished ritual. Loose tea leaves were carefully spooned into a teapot, vigorously boiling water added and the tea allowed to draw for a few carefully judged minutes. It was then slowly poured into delicate cups and served. After drinking, a few tea leaves were left in the cup. The cup was then ceremonially swirled three times, turned upside down and drained, leaving the leaves clinging to the sides and bottom. My grandmother would gaze into the cup for a few moments in deep thought. She would then deliver the messages which the tea-leaves held to the audience. We would all be waiting wide-eyed in anticipation. I always had a suspicion that the messages were contrived to get us to behave…

(STALL F7B) Chemvet Steel and Fencing has been trusted since 1979 as a manufacturer and distributor of all fencing and steel products. A farmer will get the complete basket from Chemvet, which includes a wide variety of products: a full range of fencing materials (game, livestock and security fencing), electric fencing supplies, hinge joints, towers, profile steel and roof sheeting, poultry houses and sheds. Stock of fencing materials and steel is always readily available. Using their own in-house facility, Chemvet can manufacture posts and stays, gates and hinge joints (block wire fencing) or complete any special steel project to the customer's required specifications. Chemvet also specialises in poultry house design and can offer complete turnkey solutions with proven results. After 45 successful years in the industry, they focus on finding…

A newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) model, together with historic data, could assist in evapotranspiration (ET) prediction. Researchers from the Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences recently published their findings on ScienceDirect. There had been no reliable measuring method for ET but the new AI model could make remote sensing estimates possible, said lead author Jeongho Han. Ground-based ET estimates captured the local fluxes of water transferred to the atmosphere but were limited in scale. “We conducted this research to predict missing data and to generate daily continuous ET data that accounts for the dynamics of land use and atmospheric air movement.” The Dynamic Land Cover Evapotranspiration Model Algorithm, based on decision-tree machine learning models, was “intended to predict missing spatial and temporal ET data using trained seasonal…

Lactalis South Africa has won the South African Dairy Product of the Year Award for six of the past eight years. This year it won with a 10-month-old Gouda made especially for Woolworths. To make the accomplishment even more impressive, the South African Dairy Championships boasted a record number of 1 029 dairy product entries from 78 producers this year, including 12 first-time entrants. Graham Sutherland, chief judge and dairy expert, said: “It is every dairy producer's dream to have their product selected as the Product of the Year in a competition like this.” He said the Woolworths 10-monthmatured Gouda had established a legacy for exceptional quality over time with its unique taste and texture combination, producing a flavourful and satisfying tasting experience. “The competency of this cheesemaker is very…

Inflation has taken its toll on wine consumption and sales in 2023, according to John Barker, director of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine. Speaking during a recent online media briefing, Barker pointed out that extreme climatic conditions, such as early frost, heavy rains and drought, coupled with widespread fungal diseases, severely impacted many vineyards worldwide. This culminated in overall production dropping by ', compared with 2022, to 237 million hectolitres in 2023, making it the smallest harvest since 1961. Production in the EU in 2023 was estimated at 144,5 million hectolitres, representing a 10,6% decrease compared with 2022, making it the second-lowest production volume recorded since the beginning of the century, only behind 2017's output of 141 million hectolitres. Outside Europe, Chinese production declined by 33% to 3,2…

The Mexican government said that while the drought was intensifying, its rivers and lakes were on the verge of running dry as farmers tapped them to keep their crops alive. Berry and avocado farmers especially had been using the water sources to save their harvest. According to media reports, activists were taking action in an effort to remove illegal water pumps and fine those with unlicensed irrigation ponds. The government said it had warned against a potential conflict between avocado growers and other farmers. According to Mexico Weather, the country only received half of its normal rainfall this season and there was a concern that it might run out of drinking water. Mayor Froylan Alcauter Ibarra of Villa Madero, Mexico's avocado-growing region, said: “There are people who aren't from this…

Youth innovators and agrifood entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector can showcase their startup business ventures by entering the 2024 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. This year's competition will recognise and celebrate African entrepreneurs whose business solutions address the pressing need for efficient local production of nutritious food, with business models that embrace scale and innovation, while also helping to mitigate climate and broader environmental challenges. The top competitors who are selected will have the opportunity to shine at the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize final pitch, set to take place during the prestigious Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, from 2 to 6 September. Judges will be looking for innovative founders and co-founders between the ages of 18 and 35 with the vision to establish sustainable, scalable businesses, drive resilience, increase food…

Tick-borne and other vectortransmitted diseases can be very costly to livestock farmers. South Africa, in terms of greatly varying biomes, climatic zones, and land altitudes, is a land mass with different parasite challenges. Heartwater, for example, is a potentially deadly livestock disease caused by ticks. In respect of counteracting pests such as the bont tick that spread diseases, farmers need to introduce biosecurity measures when transporting livestock to and from heartwater areas. This can be undertaken by ensuring that livestock are effectively dipped some days before being transported, and it's wise to keep recently treated animals in some form of quarantine area or camp for a few days to allow the shedding of parasites in these areas only. There are other livestock diseases such as redwater that are caused by…

(NAMPO HALL 29, 30, 31) In the ever-evolving landscape of agriculture, staying ahead requires not only expertise but also access to innovative tools. UPL Corp Southern Africa's suite of digital solutions stands as a testament to their commitment to empowering farmers with the latest technology. From on-the-go access to product labels to advanced crop management through CropVision, these solutions are bringing value to farmers and industry players alike. The UPL Southern Africa app offers farmers the convenience of accessing product labels anytime, anywhere – even offline. This feature eliminates the hassle of searching for labels in the field or during sporadic Internet connectivity. Whether it's understanding usage instructions, dosage rates or identifying precautions on the relevant labels, the app puts vital information at its users’ fingertips. Furthermore, the ‘Ask an…

(ROODEBANK HALL 5) At this year's Nampo Harvest Day, you have an invitation to visit the red-hot group, Limagrain Field Seeds. Expert advice on using the right seed for your farm awaits you. Working with farmers to ensure the best possible option is one of Limagrain Field Seeds’ core focuses. Limagrain is a French co-operative group driven by the vision of farmers. They are present in 49 countries and have a footprint across six continents. Limagrain Field Seeds in South Africa is proud to be part of this group. The partnership between Limagrain, Klein Karoo Seed Marketing (K2) and Seed Co brings farmers more options: the prominent role player in pasture seed (K2), Africa's strongest role player in non-GMO maize seed (Seed Co), and, as a controlling shareholder, Limagrain as…

The serenity and calm of the Mahela citrus orchard in Letsitele, Limpopo, at dawn belies the full-scale war that is taking place on the farm. Among the branches of this lush and verdant orchard, a silent fight for survival is unfolding as armies of predatory insects stand primed to sniff out their prey, invade and kill their adversaries. Behold nature's avengers: guardians of the harvest, maintainers of the natural balance and those that ensure farms will keep producing for years to come. Eddie Vorster, director of Mahela, is one of a growing group of farmers turning to bio-controls to ward off pests in their orchards. These predatory insects, parasites and beneficial micro-organisms come without the detrimental effects on eco-systems that result from using synthetic chemical pesticides. Furthermore, farmers are able…

Hunting with the Hawks: Untold Stories from the Elite South African Crime-Fighting Units by Graham Coetzer (Tafelberg, R320) The cover's message seems to be that crime investigation in South Africa is no longer just on foot or in fast cars, but abseiling down from helicopters – no wonder Tom Cruise felt at home here shooting his last Mission Impossible. This isn't a history of the Hawks so we don't have the saga of how they emerged in 2008 from the ashes of the Scorpions, it's more a portrait of them in action. Readers won't be surprised to hear that at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, that independent branch of the South African Police Service, they don't have many slow days in the office. For those who like TV cop…

HIGHEST: (RAM) R7 000 Smithfield – Breypaal Letelle Stud Production Sale was held on the farm Breypaal on 6 March on behalf of Wally and Kathy Ward. The highest price of the day was paid for two rams in lots 10 and 20 respectively. The ram in Lot 10 was sold to DGJ Snyman of Philippolis, while the ram in Lot 20 was sold to Submac Plant of Christiana. The rams were sold for R7 000 each. Rams achieved an average price of R3 958,33. 2T open ewes achieved an average price of R1 400, while 2T (shedding) ewes were sold for an average price of R1 434,78. 2T in-lamb ewes achieved an average price of R1 700, while 4T to 6T in-lamb ewes achieved an average price of R1…