11 / 27
ႃႃ
CHAPTER 6
Video: There was always a spirit of co-opera-
tion among the producers, volunteers and staff
– Mr Giel van Zyl.
viewers to directly compare tools and implements with one another. From 1987
onwards tractors were grouped according to kilowatt size.
Various cultivar trials and NAMPO maximum yield trials were also ready for the
Harvest Day of 1982. These developments were continued in 1983, when the cattle
complex and the Trek access gates were opened. The Fanie Ferreira Hall (named
after the last Chairperson of SAMPI and the first Chairperson of NAMPO), with a
service area for more than 1 200 people, was completed thanks to a sponsorship
by Total. Then the sheep complex and the Maize Board’s Building were completed
in 1984, and the horse complex in 1985. The covered veranda of the Fanie Ferreira
Hall was added in 1988. A beer garden and tea room for other refreshments were
also added.
A building that wasmainly the result of Von Abo’s initiative is themuseum– nowadays
known as the Engen Museum. Von Abo found the sponsors, as well as the tractors
and equipment displayed in the museum, some of them dating back to 1917. He was
also responsible for the start of the NAMPO/Fedmis Farmer Patent Competition in
1985. Omnia took over the sponsorship in 1988, and in 2013 the 25-year anniversary
of this popular Harvest Day attraction was celebrated.
Over time Von Abo managed to establish an excellent team of farm workers and
grounds people at Marthaville, who deserve to be mentioned for their contribution
to the development of the Harvest Day.
A photo dating from the late seventies
shows the excitement of a demonstration
by a spraying plane during the Harvest Day.
Natuurgroei’s new building on their stand was completed for the
1982 Harvest Day.
Malcomess’s brand new complex being erected on the Harvest Day
farm; 1982.
Messrs Fanie Ferreira (left) and Dennis von Abo lay the first bricks of the Fanie Ferreira Hall
on the NAMPO grounds.
