Latest Agriculture News| Farmer's Weekly

R650 000 Limousin heifer sold at Leading Lady Auction

SA Stud Book awards top achievers for 2025

‘R1 billion in stock’ soon to make its way to Nampo...

KZN smallholder farmer programme aims to empower 100 farmers

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana scraps VAT increase

Armyworm suspected in death of 100 cattle in EC

Better prices, good weather see wool farmers breathe sigh of relief

Heavy rain and cold pose problems to oilseed, sheep farmers

Piet Lotz sets new SA record for largest pumpkin at 1...

Tanzanian ‘agri trade war’ with SA looms over phytosanitary requirements

Compensation payments to Zim farmers dispossessed of land commences

Germany to continue funding environment project in Namibia

Zimbabwe targeting a 340% increase in crop production in 2025

Namibia’s vegetable ban on South Africa a struggle for local farmers

Zimbabwe to conduct first agri sector census since independence

Rhino horn trafficker receives 18-year prison sentence for money laundering

Food scarcity takes its toll on hungry Zimbabweans

Japanese aid enabling Zim farmers to grow sesame

A farmer’s experience with bush encroachment

Farmer David Addenbrooke has worked in the Zimbabwean beef industry for around four decades. Here, he relates his experience with bush encroachment and offers farmers some advice on battling this...

Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to combat diseases in animals

When it comes to protecting your animals’ health, vaccination stands out as one of the most crucial and effective preventive measures available, writes Boehringer Ingelheim’s Dr Michelle Enslin.

Why a solar-power subscription might not make financial sense

Solar-energy subscriptions are often marketed as convenient and hassle-free, but it’s important to consult a checklist before signing up for one. Teresa Kok, director of One Energy, talks about what...

World

Tariff uncertainty causes rise in US farm bankruptcies

Bankruptcies of family farms in the US are set to increase even further this year, following a 55% increase year-on-year in 2024.

US farmers fear losing biggest market China as tariff war escalates

With Chinese authorities announcing retaliations against US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, US farmers now stand to lose their largest export market.

Growing concern as UK finds world’s first bird flu case in...

Parts of the UK have been placed in an ‘avian influenza protection zone’ following the detection of the world's first case of the disease in sheep. BBC News reported that...

Plough for more

News

Sheep scab outbreaks threaten Western Cape

Malmesbury state vet Dr Sewellyn Davey has called upon farmers to report all sheep scab outbreaks as a matter of urgency.

Possible drought looming

Farmers in South Africa’s summer rainfall area were recently warned not to underestimate the unpredictable rainy season ahead.

Blocking off the ‘Thieves’ Highway’

Effective stock theft solutions are almost always the product of trial and error, plus dollops of community diplomacy.

Rampant crime in Lesotho-border region takes its toll on farmers

Those farming alongside South Africa’s border with Lesotho have been forsaken by the South African government, according to Dr Jane Buys, Free State Agriculture’s (FSA) safety risk analyst.

Land claims Exceptions Policy Framework goes before Cabinet

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has reaffirmed its commitment to address land redistribution for the descendants of the Khoi and San.

SA yellow maize in high demand

Exports of white and yellow maize have traded places in the past three weeks, with SA’s yellow maize finding favour with markets in the East.

Business

‘We feel secure’

With the option of buying a controlling share in Kanhym Estates, one of South Africa's most successful agribusinesses, empowerment consortium Kgomo Kgolo seems to have done a good job in...

Hoedspruit land claim: coming to fruition

Collapsed land reform farms are depressingly common in South Africa, but in Marulaneng (Hoedspruit) claimants and farmers have teamed up and their fruit estates are flourishing. In fact, the district...

How to make farming pay with no land of your own

Two postgraduate students from the University of Cape Town are facilitating farming in the heart of the city, yet neither owns a sizeable piece of land. Wandile Tshabe, co-founder of...

From business exec to farmer

Andy Tladi was 53 when he swapped the life of a business executive for full-time farming – on the land he once ploughed as a small boy. Today, eight years...

Cheaper, crowdfunded solar energy for farmers

Sun Exchange uses crowdfunding to help schools, farms and other organisations switch to solar power. Abe Cambridge, the founder of Sun Exchange, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this solution.

Oyster mushroom farming: an affordable start-up

Yolandi Joubert’s oyster mushroom operation, launched just three years ago, is an important lesson in what passion and discipline can achieve in small-scale agriculture.

Lifestyle

A recycled braai: breakfast after the night before

So this family holds a major braai with food of limitless quality and abundance. Somewhere around midnight, the well-fed masses went home, leaving this writer with the singular task of...

Sausage cannelloni

Welcome to the unexpected all over again. Is this combination of extraordinary ingredients fusion cuisine at its best? Or just another good way to test the limits with a meal...

Spanish tortilla with chorizo, potato and Sweet Palermo

Here, we have a Spanish Sweet Palermo tortilla for you. Although it might seem easy, cooking a good tortilla actually takes a bit of experience. But don’t let that stop...

Parmesan dip biscuits

Most of us spend time and effort on making dips, rather than on the dip vehicle, call it what you will. This results in first-class dips smeared on sometimes stale,...

A cottage to change with the times

Eleanor is helping a friend with planning a simple two-bedroom cottage. Read on to see Jonno's designs.

Beefy vegetable soup with herbs

Industrially generated “home-made” soup is filled with promises, seldom kept. Distance yourself from this never-ending disappointment with real and genuine home-made beefy vegetable soup with herbs. This recipe – a...

Animals

Absolutely extensive Ngunis

Ted and Liz Reilly played a big role in putting the Swazi Nguni ecotype back on the map. Their cattle are run with game animals and receive no special treatment.

Uncompromising standards pay off for Bonsmara farmer

Award-winning cattle farmer Tian Kruger does not believe in shortcuts or compromising on the principles that brought him success. This has earned him a solid reputation for his commercial Bonsmara...

Keep this deadly virus at bay

Transmitted by mosquitoes, the West Nile virus can prove fatal to unvaccinated horses.

From Cabinet to courtroom to cattle

Former Cabinet minister Dr Penuell Maduna has been out of politics for some time and is now building a name for himself in cattle-breeding circles. Peter Mashala visited him.

A list of plants that are a danger to horses

Horses in the wild seem to know what to avoid, but domestication has dulled this instinct, says Kim Dyson.

Young farmer cuts costs by focusing on Bonsmaras

Cornel van Heerden is the Eastern Cape’s 2016 TAU SA’s Young Farmer of the Year. Mike Burgess visited him recently on the farm Wildefontein in the Lady Grey district to...

Crops

Disease & insect control in grapes

The Rossouws of Mooigezicht Estates in De Doorns in the Cape Winelands have made the science of table grape production more precise than ever. Each hectare of the 300ha produces...

Making lucerne hay while maximising soil health

Free State irrigation farmer Freek Strauss grows lucerne for the local and export markets. At the same time, the crop improves the soil’s condition, thus increasing the yields of other...

Managing leaf miners in tomato crops

Leaf miners need not be the threat they were when originally introduced.

Imasa turns 70

I recently was in Bloemfontein with the Institute of Market Agents of South Africa (Imasa) to celebrate its 70th birthday.

Changeable chillies

There are approximately 22 species of Capsicum, of which five are grown commercially. However, some of these can be crossed with one another to produce different varieties.

More research on fresh produce wastage

I have always considered the apple industry to be at the forefront of innovation.