Diversification pulls farmer through drought

“I was born with a passion for farming and never missed an opportunity to be on the farm with my grandfather, Fonnie Barnardt. I spent most of my after-school hours working there.”

So says Derec Giles, recalling his childhood on the family farm, Dwarsfontein, which lies 12km from Uniondale in the Western Cape’s Klein Karoo. Apart from this hands-on experience, he also received the right theoretical training, attending Oakdale Agricultural High School in Riversdale.

Sadly, Barnardt died in 1998, so it was decided that Giles should move to Uniondale High School to be closer to the farm to help run it. His father was, at that stage, the financial manager of the Parks Board in the Southern Cape and was often away from home.

“Then, in 2011, my wife Charmaine and I started renting the farm out of the family trust,” says Giles.

He admits that while it had always been his dream to farm, it has not been an easy journey due of a lack of finance. But these hardships taught him to make the most of what he had and, more importantly, to take tough business decisions.

“I learnt early that you can’t farm for sentimental reasons. Everything you do needs to be economically justifiable in its own right.”