Playing ball without football
Inga Dlumane certainly has the X-factor. He also has some serious ball sense and a lot of common sense. And the insight to let the right kind of sense prevail. By Gerrit Rautenbach Inga was born 31 years ago in…
Christi van den Heever: Vrugte, pype en respek
Christi Van den Heever (38) is vas oortuig dat Suid-Afrikaanse landbou ’n blink toekoms het. Anna Mouton het 2023 se Agri Wes-Kaap Santam Jongboer van die Jaar ontmoet. Van den Heever het in Namakwaland grootgeword maar reeds op ouderdom sewe…
Johnny Karolus – from general worker to Best Entrant to Commercial Agriculture
Carel van der Merwe was a visionary when he bought the farm Disselfontein in 2014. He invested a lot to create a successful new-generation farm. Yet, he never stressed. Because he had Johnny. It all started when Johnny was appointed…
The Evolution of a Farm
After 10 generations of the Van der Merwes’ custodianship, Boplaas in the Koue Bokkeveld not only is home to the oldest family business but, is one of the most exquisite fruit producers in SA. By Gerrit Rautenbach In 1743 Izak…
Op-die-Berg dorp – heartbeat of local industry
The Koue Bokkeveld is one of the biggest and most important deciduous fruit-growing areas in South Africa. Going up the Gydo Pass you find Op-die-Berg, the heartbeat of this industry at the top of the Skurweberg. Gerrit Rautenbach gave them…
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF COVER CROP TRIALS SHOW MANY BENEFITS FOR DECIDUOUS FRUIT GROWERS
Research on soil health and orchard floor ecology is an emerging theme in agriculture as it is an important component of sustainability. Hortgro Science Crop Protection Manager, Matthew Addison along with Hendrik Pohl, had the vision to initiate a cover…
All about the cover crop trial
By Elise-Marie Steenkamp Matthew Addison, Crop Protection Manager at Hortgro Science, explains the nitty-gritty of the cover crop research project with trial sites in the Warm and the Koue Bokkeveld. TRIAL LAYOUT The layout of the trial consists of four…
The leading light of PALS
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…
PALS SHARING SOLUTIONS
Land reform, economic growth, job creation, and social cohesion in agriculture came under the spotlight recently at the PALS-Landbouweekblad Land Symposium that was held in the Koue Bokkeveld, outside Ceres. PALS is the acronym for Partners in Agri Land Solutions,…
NEW SERIES: BAKGATBOORDE – Rocklands rocking its packouts
In the industry, there are quite a few young orchards that perform exceptionally well despite difficult climatic conditions. To acknowledge the hard work that goes into producing top quality fruit, Hortgro Science is launching the “Bakgatboord Series” . Over the…
A True Orchardist
Sivuyile Panya from Kromfontein in the Koue Bokkeveld received the merit award for General Agricultural Worker of the Year for his exceptional work ethic and orchard skills. The 31-year old Panya, originally from the Eastern Cape, started as a general…
‘Do the basics right’ – meet Joy van Biljon
Joy Van Biljon is one of the founder members of the Koue Bokkeveld Training Centre in the small village of Op-die-Berg in the Koue Bokkeveld Region. Since 2000 this training centre has been the cornerstone of skills development and training…