Farmer's Weekly

There are few things that make my blood boil more than seeing someone casually toss rubbish out of their car window. Travelling through parts of Gauteng, the Free State, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape over the past few weeks, I often

Editor Denene Erasmus, denene@caxton.co.za Managing editor Janine ryan, janiner@caxton.co.za News editor Julinda Schroeder, julindas@caxton.co.za Art director Louis Kruger Designer Madeline teles Chief copy editor Paul Sulter Copy editors Fanie de Vi

The author of this article, Temple L. Fyvie, spoke of the essentials for establishing a policy regarding beef export and the improvement of South Africa’s land that would lead to permanent farming stability in the country. As one of the original prim

I am so fond of Farmer‘s Weekly – I always look forward to each Saturday when I receive a new issue from my daughter. I read your magazine from front to back and fully appreciate the South African farming community‘s exceptional hard work. Our silos

The International Bar Association, in collaboration with the Ukrainian Bar Association, hosted the world’s first international conference on agricultural law in late September. The discussions were rich and relevant, focusing on land reform, climate

Industry views about the 2021/22 global and domestic grain production forecasts are mixed. The central global theme around the production is that the 2021/22 season seems set to show recovery across all major grain and oilseed categories. In its mont

Niche industries such as microgreens and herbs suffered major losses as a result of the lockdowns that were introduced in March last year at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Few have been able to recover, with many either closing down or shifting

Despite financial pressure created by previous and current COVID-19-related restrictions on liquor sales and wine tourism, and the impact of carry-over stock on wine prices, South African farmers are expected to plant approximately 2 000ha of wine gr

Although Foskor, the state-owned producer of phosphates, phosphoric acids and fertilisers such as monoammonium phosphate (MAP), has reached an all-time high in terms of ore production, it is still unable to meet the demands of the local agriculture s

Following the spike in ginger sales during the 2019/20 season due to its perceived health benefits in the fight against COVID-19 infection, ginger prices have returned to normal. This was according to Jaco Lubbe, co-owner of Sabie Valley Ginger, who

A proposal by Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives in the US Congress could see farmers and landowners in that country share US$5 billion (about R75,6 billion) in payments for planting cover crops to reduce soil erosion and nutrient r

The recent eruption of the volcano on the Spanish island La Palma, which forms part of the Canary Islands off the north-western coast of Africa, has put about 15% of the island’s annual banana production at risk, endangering up to 5 000 jobs, accordi

Western Cape MEC for agriculture Dr Ivan Meyer recently handed over the Meerlustkloof and Meul river projects near Genadendal in the Overberg region to the Zonderend Water Users’ Association. Meyer said in a statement that the rivers were important t

South Africa’s agriculture sector is still waiting on announcements by the recently formed Task Team on Animal Biosecurity pertaining to a biosecurity strategy and its implementation. This was according to Gerhard Schutte, chairperson of the National

The value of Free State Agriculture’s (FSA) Rural Safety Strategy is underscored by the fact that 123 farm attacks were averted in the province during the past five years. According to Jakkals le Roux, chairperson of the FSA Safety and Security Commi

South Africa seems to be heading for another good summer grain and oilseed season due to high commodity prices and a favourable weather outlook. This was according to Dr Werner Rossouw, director of Silostrat, who spoke at the recent virtual Agbiz Gra

De Wet Boshoff, CEO of the Animal Feed Manufacturers’ Association, was recently re-elected as a board member of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) for 2022/23. According to a statement by the federation, Ruud Tijssens, group director f

Despite facing serious hardships in North West, the key to turning the province around lies in the hands of farmers. This was the message that Willem de Chavonne Vrugt, Agri North West’s president, shared during the association’s recent virtual congr

The Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land Bill will be submitted to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development for discussion in the first quarter of 2022, according to Albertina Kakaza, the committee secret

Agriculture must return to its historic role of creating towns to prevent the collapse of rural areas. This was according to Piet le Roux, CEO of Sakeliga, speaking during Agri North West’s recent virtual congress. “Globally, towns are built on econo

The Botswana dairy industry produces about seven million litres of milk annually, while more than 53 million litres will be imported in 2020/21. This created numerous investment opportunities for the South African dairy industry. This was according t

To circumvent high agrochemical costs, numerous grain farmers have opted to contain pests manually by discing croplands, according to Corné Louw, senior economist at Grain SA. Farmer’s Weekly previously reported on rising concerns about low volumes o

Agri-fintech start-up HelloChoice, a digital fresh produce and agricultural marketplace, recently announced the finalisation of a major investment from Standard Bank, solidifying its existing relationship. The deal will see Standard Bank taking a 25%

In August, an inflation rate of 4,9% was recorded, well within the target range of 3% to 6%, but 0,4 percentage points above the midpoint of 4,5% and higher than expected. Analysts had anticipated that these figures would start declining during the s

While the long-term straight-line modelling of production and prices is of academic interest in the current fast-changing world, the real value of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s (BFAP) Baseline report lies in the analysis of the differ

South Africa celebrates National Women’s Day every year on 9 August, and gender inequality tends to dominate policy debate for much of the month. This year was no different. The 2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index shows that the gender gap in the wo

Changes from poor to good food can lead to clostridial diseases caused by bacteria that occur widely in nature. Animals placed on lush green pastures after winter or which are suddenly given rich feed, such as maize, are at risk of contracting these

Only those whose heads are buried in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich, will disregard the role of innovation in the fresh produce sector. To some, the idea might sound ridiculous as they attempt to deny its benefits and shy away from change, but

by Ayabonga Cawe (Tracey McDonald Publishers, R265) Farmers and many other business owners are only too well aware that the economy on their doorstep controls much of what their businesses can achieve. But what most miss is the bigger picture that is

Last week’s article (FW, 8 October) looked at how whey protein has been shown in studies to help protect the body against certain cancers, heart disease and stress. This week, I’ll discuss whey’s role in tissue repair. Researchers have found that the