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Breeding top-performing Dohne Merino on 95ha
The Patience family started farming on 95ha of rented land in Saron in the Western Cape in the 1960s, beginning with just 10 sheep and a handful of cattle. Today,...
Beware of mouldy hay bales
When your horses don’t want to eat the hay you have bought in for winter, the bales could be mouldy, warns Dr Mac.
Record-breaking, high-altitude Ngunis
On 9 May 2020, the Biggs family, who farms in the Eastern Cape, sold a Nguni herd sire for a world-record price of R310 000. Clive Biggs spoke to Mike...
The importance of maintaining reproductive health in a herd
Fourth-generation farmer Gerhard Grobler says he has been able to achieve better results from his beef cattle herd after introducing crossbreeding. But, he adds, South Africa’s beef producers need to...
Young pig farmer shares lessons learnt during her first five years
Award-winning piggery owner Khulile Mahlalela says that to maximise profits, a farmer must get the pigs market-ready as rapidly as possible, and produce a low-fat carcass with tender meat.
Why aardvark numbers are dwindling in the Kalahari
It is not only livestock that are threatened during multi-year droughts; wildlife, too, can succumb to the stress. Dr Nora Weyer and other researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand...
Easy-to-grow brinjals ensure steady profits
Any farmer will tell you that there is no such thing as a perfect crop, as each has its own challenges. From a production point of view, brinjals are as...
Speciality tomatoes succeed with fewer inputs
Simply Salads, a Mpumalanga-based grower of speciality tomatoes, is thriving in a tough market. The main reason for this, owner Peter Bakker and farm manager Charles Deane explained to Lindi...
Sugar cane speedlings: the fast-track solution to quality seed cane
Conventional stick seed cane, while long relied on as the source of plant material for commercial sugar cane crops, comes with unavoidable inefficiencies. Experts in seed cane propagation explain how...
Free State’s first black, female raisin farmer (and she makes wine)
Picture the Free State, and you are likely to recall lands of maize and golden sunflowers stretching to the horizon. Near Jacobsdal, however, Tebogo?Ditsebe is bucking the trend: she grows...
Benefits of a germination room
One of the crucial factors in seedling production is achieving a high and uniform germination. A?loss in germination of just a few percent translates into a similar reduction in profit.
Canola: the crop that requires perfect planning
Melt van der Westhuizen of Moorreesburg holds the South African record for the highest canola yield ever produced. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about his production methods.
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Special Focus
The basics of the Bapedi breed
These fat-tailed sheep, which are smaller than average, are kept for meat. They appear in various combinations of white, brown, red and black.
The basics of the Suffolk breed
This breed matures early, producing meat with a high ratio of lean meat to fat. This makes it an attractive proposition to the modern consumer.
Learn about the Kalahari Red goat breed
The Kalahari Red breed has a fine head, lob ears, round horns that are bent backwards, and tender meat.
Middle class wants meat, but the rich want alternatives
The 10-year agricultural outlook by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that income growth in middle-income countries will...
Farm shop with food and entertainment
Jonno designs a farm shop that includes a shisa nyama/braai area; an entertainment hall/restaurant, a car wash and filling station.
The allure of Barkly East’s famous fly-fishing streams
Fly fishing is as synonymous with the Eastern Cape district of Barkly East as are Merino wool and snow-capped mountains in winter. As Mike Burgess writes, the legacy of fly...
A festive feast for a jolly season
Traditional meets modern in this easy-to-make meal. A roasted leg of lamb meets a boozy ice cream bombe to really ignite the jolliness of the season.
Light fruit cake with brandy sauce
In the past, Christmas lunch in our family was an event of 50 to 60 relatives, friends and neighbours, held on the back lawn of my grandparents’ house under the...
Oven-roasted turkey legs with duck-fat potatoes
Turkey has long been the traditional Christmas lunch on our farm. It takes my mother two days to prepare the whole bird, starting with an overnight brining and ending with...
Meat-free pie
To assist in the annual struggle against cold weather, make and serve this hearty, warming, comforting and fine-tasting meat-free pie.
Rosemary koeksisters with cinnamon syrup
This recipe is slightly different to the classical recipe, as it contains rosemary, cinnamon, lemon and cloves. These ingredients not only give the koeksisters a wonderful aroma, but also skyrocket...
