Farmer's Weekly

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

In this issue of Farmer's Weekly, we include a news story on the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture's initiative to help farmers battle stock theft in the Inkosi Langalibalele Local Municipality (see page 18). Sibusiso Ndlovu, a farmer in the Lo

Small-scale farmers play an important role in food systems and contribute to ensuring food security and livelihoods. However, these farmers face a number of challenges such as climate change, access to resources and markets, as well as increasing cos

When you believe environment can influence size, it makes sense to switch, in this case from Hereford to Brangus. Making a big switch, such as changing the beef breed you've been farming for 10 years, is not something you do without a lot of forethou

With the elections now fixed for 29 May, we have come to the end of another five-year cycle in both politics and policymaking. Global disruptors such as the COVID-19 lockdown, geopolitical instability and soaring international freight rates make the

Vergelegen Wine Estate near Somerset West in the Western Cape, is testing the use of drones to release beneficial insects in its fight against leafroll virus. The test is facilitated by SkyBugs, a partnership between FieldBUGS, which supplies the pre

The African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA) expressed serious concern about the devastating drought raging over most of the country at the moment and issued an urgent request to government for immediate support for drought-stricken farme

The global Food Price Index recorded its seventh consecutive decline in February, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a

The Shoprite Group has opened bursary applications for the 2024 and 2025 academic years. Students enrolled for degree studies in accounting, biological sciences, criminology, information technology, logistics and supply chain and retail business mana

The summer rainfall region experienced significant heatwaves during February, with temperatures nearing 40°C. Rain was mostly absent as El Niño took hold. Consequently, the avocado crop suffered sunburn, while the macadamia crop, however, seems large

It will take time for South Africa's logistics problems to be resolved and having government and state-owned enterprises involved will slow the progress, said Mike Walwyn, director of South African Freight Forwarders, at the International Fresh Produ

The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently released a report that showed that invasive species of fish had cost the country trillions of dollars over the past 60 years. The US Department of Agriculture's National Invasive Species Information Center sa

The heaviest snowfall for the year in Canada could be prayers answered for Saskatchewan farmers, says Environment Canada. A climatologist from Environment Canada said parts of the region had received 20cm of snow in one weekend while some farms had b

An Australian blueberry farm has broken the Guinness World Record for being the world's heaviest, weighing more than 10 times the average. According to the global authority on world records, the fruit was picked in New South Wales in November last ye

Citrus Research International (CRI) has taken a step back from accrediting packaging for citrus growers, allowing each to make their own decisions around quality and pricing. The accreditation system was implemented in 2008 after growers started incu

The Preliminary Population and Housing Census conducted in Namibia in 2023 indicated a population increase from 1 409 920 in 1991 to around 3 022 401, representing an increase of 114,4% in 32 years. According to Thinus Pretorius, chairperson of the N

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) struggled with the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act for the first two years after it came into force in 2014, but the system has matured since then leaving only a f

A new team aims to change the image of Daybreak Farms after a restructuring process recently. The farm, which is one of South Africa's largest integrated poultry producers, said in a statement that the changes are inevitable as their corporate image

Free State Agriculture (FSA) has adopted a livestock traceability and safety system amid a new foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the province. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) confirmed that a case repo

The president of the South African Veterinary Council (SAVC), Dr Nandipha Ndudane, has been elected to represent Africa on the World Veterinary Association (WVA) council from 2024 to 2026. Ndudane, who said she was “excited and humbled”, was not cele

The Zimbabwean government recently approved the removal of value-added tax (VAT) on rice and potato seed after rice consumption in that country increased to 120 000t annually while potato consumption increased to 500 000t/year. According to the Zimba

Employers often have a lot of questions pertaining to warnings. Therefore it is vital to grasp the nature of warnings and the impact they can have on employees’ behaviour, as well as the consequences of issued warnings in the workplace. A few questio

The South African economy barely missed going into a recession in the fourth quarter of 2023. Economists define a recession as two or more quarters of negative growth. According to Stats SA, the economy grew by 0,1% in the fourth quarter after the 0,

South Africa experienced good rains at the beginning of the season, which suggested that there was a Between November 2023 and January 2024, the SA Weather Service noted below-normal rainfall received in large parts of the country. This has led to a

H yperspectral imaging is a new term that is associated with precision agriculture. It is basically a new method of measuring oxygen saturation in tissue and can help identify microvascular disease during the early phases of crops. A team from a numb

My 5 key words: Johan de Villiers For most tech entrepreneurs, adrenalin highs such as piloting your own helicopter, overlanding through Africa or summiting the highest mountains on each of the world's seven continents are an escape. But Johan de Vil

Why We Kill: Mob Justice and the New Vigilantism in South Africa by Karl Kemp (Penguin, R350) Opening the morning newspapers these days in South Africa could sometimes transport you back to Al Capone's Chicago in the 1920s. This chilling book opens w

Molteno – The Top Tier and Stormberg Merino Stud Production Sale was held on the farm Buffelsfontein on 21 February. The highest price of the day was paid for a ram, which was sold to Matthew Morgan of MJ Morgan Farming in Tarkastad for R15 500. Rams

Do we have gene-editing technology such as CRISPR in South Africa and can it solve the planet's food crisis sometime in the near future, as predicted? Kind regards, Joshua Thermo Fisher Scientific has opened a CRISPR/Cas9 laboratory in South Africa.

The 25th sale of the wool season saw 10 847 bales on offer, 75% of which tested 20 microns and finer. Around 59% of the Merino wool on offer was certified as sustainable. The market showed a steady performance, with good participation from all the bu

MEDIUM DIFFICULT 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. ■