Severe drought and heat affect grain production May 2024 South Africa is facing a severe drought crisis, which is exacerbated by extreme heat waves, leaving the nation’s grain farmers reeling under immense pressure. The scorching temperatures and prolonged dry spells have ravaged agricultural lands, severely impacting both developing and commercial farmers. With financial strains mounting
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Minimise losses when harvesting sunflower and soybeans April 2024 PIETMAN BOTHA, INDEPENDENT AGRI- CULTURAL CONSULTANT Although there will always be harvest losses, one should try to minimise it. To achieve zero losses, the combine harvester would have to move at such a slow pace that you will never finish harvesting in time. The key
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The Corner Post April 2024 There is a Malawian proverb that says: those who accomplish great things pay attention to little things. Success is made up of paying attention to ‘small things’ – the details. Paying attention to detail and remaining focussed on his goal of becoming a fully-fledged commercial farmer, helped Philani Patrick Khoza
Navigation options: Choosing a put or call March 2024 JOHAN TEESSEN, ECONOMIST INTERN, GRAIN SA AND CHRISTIAAN VERCUEIL, AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIST, GRAIN SA The article in the January/February issue focussed on the background of hedging. This article will delve deeper into put and call options. It not only clarifies the distinctions between them, but also
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Do maintenance before harvesting March 2024 PIETMAN BOTHA, INDEPENDENT AGRI- CULTURAL CONSULTANT A pre-harvest combine maintenance checklist can help a lot with the preparation for the coming harvest season. A checklist should cover anything that has been overlooked or gone uninspected since the last harvest – technology, fluids, filters and more. For any combine
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The Corner Post March 2024 Paul Motlokoa (50) who farms in the Sasolburg district in the Free State believes in keeping busy and not waiting around for others to make the difference he wants to see. ‘If you want to see progress, make sure you are involved in the process.’ Paul grew up on a
Strategies to combat maize ear rots February 2024 DR BELINDA JANSE VAN RENSBURG AND DR BRADLEY FLETT, ARC-GRAIN CROPS This article aims to give farmers information regarding the most important maize ear rots and how to minimise them from occurring by using the correct management procedures. The focus will be on the three main
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Avoid crop losses with early harvesting February 2024 PIETMAN BOTHA, INDEPENDENT AGRI- CULTURAL CONSULTANT If you want to increase your profit and reduce the risk, consider harvesting soybeans and sunflower as early as possible to prevent shattering or bird damage. Shatter losses due to brittle pods increase as the moisture levels of pods and
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Do not give up February 2024 MAGDA DU TOIT, SA GRAAN/GRAIN CONTRIBUTOR First-time entrant in Grain SA’s Grow for Gold yield competition, Job Dube, was crowned the best for maize production in Kwazulu-Natal. Dube’s yield of 16,78 t/ha earned him the first place in this year’s competition. Dube’s dream to develop a thriving and sustainable
Corner Post February 2024 William Setlaba Raphoto from Lichtenburg was announced as the 2023 PGP/Absa/John Deere Financial New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year. To this humble farmer the award is a huge honour. He is thankful that he can make a living through his passion and attributes this passion to his late father, Rykie,
