Farmer's Weekly

The 15th BRICS Summit was held in South Africa from 22 to 24 August. Prior to the summit, South Africa found itself in hot water with some of its trade partners, who expressed concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin had received an invitation f

EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Janine Ryan, janiner@caxton.co.za Senior designer Louis Kruger Designer Mario Ferlito Copy editors Fanie de Villiers and Yvonne Fontyn Digital editor Sindira Chetty, sindirac@caxton.co.za Office assistant Prenusha Moodley SUBSCR

Research indicates that women who run their own businesses, particularly in the agriculture and informal sectors, wield significant influence in uplifting families and societies. Countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania and Kenya h

More than 70 days have passed since the DA implored President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a commission of inquiry into farm attacks and murders. According to Noko Masipa, DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ramaphos

51 YEARS AGO 1911 12 September 1972 2023 Dryland ryegrass-clover pastures are the cheapest way of producing milk. In addition, the age-old fear of bloat from this forage has been partly dispelled because it is generally acknowledged that there are se

South Africa’s agricultural export earnings are likely to soften this year from the 2022 record. The lower commodity prices, ongoing restrictions to exports of some livestock products because of the foot-andmouth disease, and the stringent regulation

A record canola crop of 220 000t is expected in the country for the 2023/24 marketing year. Over the past two decades, canola production has increased sevenfold in South Africa. The number of hectares planted to canola has increased by 4% to reach a

Agriculture’s bull run over the past decade is set to slow down as a downturn in global commodity prices and South Africa’s decreasing competitiveness weigh the sector down. Speaking at the launch of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s (BFA

The livestock sector has shown remarkable growth, but the future is unclear as the industry grapples with load-shedding and subdued demand from cash-strapped consumers. At the release of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s (BFAP) Baseline A

Public hearings on the newly proposed Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Bill have concluded in Gauteng and are now moving on to the Free State. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Savanna elephants have been assessed as endangered on the African continent and additional threats and losses due to human-elephant conflict could further exacerbate the species’ decline. In order to prevent conflict between humans and elephants in S

Getting synergies in favour of agriculture was the theme of the panel discussion held during the Agri Western Cape annual general meeting in Cape Town recently. Jaco Minnaar, president of Agri SA, said one of the challenges when negotiating with gove

Although South Africa was approaching the finalisation of the landmark deal pertaining to the exportation of red meat to Saudi Arabia announced in late 2022, the devil was in the detail, said Roelie van Reenen, supply chain executive at the Beefmaste

The Arizona Department of Water Resources is urging the farming community to do more to save water, even if it means stopping farming, as the Colorado River continues to shrink. According to the department, the Colorado River served about 40 million

Bangladeshi traders are feeling the effects of India’s 40% duty tax on the export of onions. The Department of Agriculture in Bangladesh said that as a result, the price of onions had gone up significantly in the middle of August. According to the In

A drought emergency has been declared in parts of the Catalonia area due to a very hot summer and a lack of rain. The local government announced that the reservoir in the area was less than 20% full and the community was subsequently urged to reduce

ActionSA recently convened a virtual Agriculture Policy Expert Roundtable on Agriculture, attended by a range of stakeholders, in an effort to understand how to empower South Africa’s agriculture sector. Coming up strongly as a key to propelling the

Limited growth in demand for grain is expected to bring tight margins and consolidation in the long term. In the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy's (BFAP) Baseline Agricultural Outlook for 2023 to 2032, projections showed that unless additiona

Significant expansion of the area under high-value export fruits and nuts is expected to bring a 30% increase in export volumes over the next decade. However, sustainability of the industry hangs in the balance as export opportunities are at risk. In

The transitioning phase and first 24 hours of a calf’s life have a huge impact on their future performance. Adam Geiger, a research scientist at Chemuniqué, listed ways to overcome challenges in this challenging phase at the recent Dairy Management C

Sewer gas is dangerous stuff and can cause a disaster. If trapped, the gas is a bomb in the making. All that’s needed is a spark from a nearby electrical cable, and KABOOM! In December 2021 a building in Karachi, Pakistan, was completely destroyed an

Diagnosing illness in livestock is by no means a ‘perfect science‘; as many illnesses have similar or even overlapping symptoms. You can only be completely certain of a viral or bacterial problem if you have taken an animal that recently died to a ve

In 2023, Nampo Cape will be celebrating its fourth anniversary. According to Grain SA, the third hosting of Nampo Cape in 2022 was the biggest yet, and 2023 was expected to be even bigger. Nampo Cape 2022 saw 32 640 guests move through the park. The

• For combine owners and drivers, some of the most important developments are the factors affecting performance and operator comfort, and much of the progress has been linked to the arrival of cabs in the 1970s and 1980s. • “Enclosing the operator in

Research papers on regenerative farming have been published from the early 2000s, with some countries making headway in terms of seed production and fertilisers. However, years of research in Thailand materialised in July this year when the first reg

67 Blankets For Nelson Mandela Day by David Cemmell (67 Blankets For Mandela, R1 167) Fifteen years since the idea of donating time to public service in honour of the achievements and outlook of Nelson Mandela, plenty of social responsibility campaig

Dear Prof McCrindle, I am a smallstock farmer in Botswana. My goats are aborting at the their late stage of pregnancy. I sought advice from local veterinarians but the situation is not improving. The goats either abort or give birth to premature kids

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that each row and column, as well as each of the 3 x 3 squares, contains all the digits from 1 to 9. Look out for the answers to this week’s Sudoku puzzles in next week’s magazine. ■