2017

Nkgono Jane says… February 2017   February is one of the quietest months in the calendar of the grain farmer – the winter crops have not been planted yet and the summer crops are growing. There is not much that you can do to help the crops now as they must develop and set seed

Seven frequently asked questions regarding the Grain SA Congress February 2017 The annual Grain SA Congress will be held on 8 and 9 March this year. Pula Imvula asked Jaco Minnaar, Grain SA’s Chairperson, to answer some questions that are frequently asked.     What is the Congress and how is it constituted? The Grain

Don’t ever give up hope February 2017 Have you ever heard someone say: ‘ One day when I retire, or when I have enough money, I am going to take it easy – I might go farming.’ Sure, the lifestyle on a farm must be more attractive than the hustle and bustle of the city.

Prevention and control of Stalk borer in maize February 2017 Maize is the most widely produced crop in South Africa, grown extensively in the Free state, Mpumalanga, and the North West as well as most other provinces but in smaller expanses. In this country, we rely on maize as our staple diet. It is a

101 Years of rainfall records – a valuable resource for crop production February 2017 In Pula Imvula November 2016 the article ‘Keep rainfall records to reduce risk’ which was about keeping rainfall records and assessing the moisture content of your soil, can be read in conjunction with this article. Many thanks must be extended to

The four legs of a business February 2017 Raymond Ackerman built Pick n Pay on a management philosophy of a four-legged table. The four legs of his table are the people (human resources), the merchandise leg (production), the promotion leg (marketing) and the administration leg (including finances). Each leg had to be strong enough to

Success under irrigation February 2017 The climate and environment greatly influence the development and yield of maize. With production under irrigation we can manipulate some of the environmental and managerial variables to optimise production. This information is provided to emphasise the critical production practices including efficiency and timing needed for optimum growth to achieve higher

Grain SA interviews – Andries van der Poll February 2017   This passionate farmer, from the Swartland district in the Western Cape Province, believes that hard work and proper planning is the main contributor to his progress and success. Andries van der Poll has the experience and motivation to achieve his goal of fully diversifying