Ouplaas is an exceptional farm in the Witzenberg Valley. More impressive is that many of the inhabitants are runners. No, not running away, but running to be better at what they do. Breaking records in all sorts of events. Maybe…
No one can predict the future. But can we identify actions that we can take today to shape a better tomorrow? By Anna Mouton. Hortgro recently contracted professional futurist Tanja Hichert to facilitate a foresight study for the pome- and…
The Jobs Fund (JF) project of the South African deciduous fruit industry is on track and progressing well in the Langkloof. The JF is the commercialisation of emerging growers and an initiative by the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber (DFDC). It…
Text and picture by Gerrit Rautenbach Jason Baartman is a man who lives passionately for agriculture. At first, he sometimes wondered why he didn’t opt for something like law or engineering or the like. Maybe he felt inferior about being…
Lien Visagie is the newly elected chairperson of the board of Partners in Agri Land Solutions (PALS). Getting there was a long and a hard road, but the road ahead is the real challenge. Gerrit Rautenbach discovered how a light…
Through their involvement in the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund Initiative, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Departments of Agriculture together with HORTGRO, are showing what can be done when public and private enterprises work together. Text: Glenneis Kriel The Jobs…
It might have been an apple that Snow White bit into that sent her into a death-like sleep but, this notion of suspended animation is not the stuff of fairytales nor science-fiction stories. Apples, one of the most popular fruit…
Competitive canoeing shaped Paul Lombard’s life. Literally and figuratively. But it all happened because of a drought. Gerrit Rautenbach explains. You can clearly see that Paul Lombard, proud manager director of Eve Brand, an apple and pear farm near Misgund…
By Mariette Kotzé A recent enquiry regarding how empowerment transactions work sparked this article. There are so many factors and variables to consider. It can be very complex or quite simple depending on your exposure and or understanding of business…
On 14 September 2019 Normat Farms’ Ladies Choir achieved first place for the second year running at the Koue-Bokkeveld Training Centre’s choir evening. They are truly a choir of note, but it didn’t happen overnight. Gerrit Rautenbach reports. The whole…
This extract serves to unpack the intensive year-long beekeeping management required to prepare for pollination as presented at the pollination webinar on 31 May 2022. Deciduous fruit, berry and seed plantings are expanding rapidly each year, driving the need for…
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp In a career that spanned more than five decades, horticulturist Buks Nel, wondered about many things in life…and more specifically about apple trees. He has solved many plant riddles, made new discoveries (including his now-famous Bigbucks apple…