Making sure farmers reach their full potential

When Jacques Roux, regional development manager in the Free State, visited farmer Ranko Tsotetsi, they did a calculation on the harvested hectares. A yield of 7 t/ha seemed possible.

This excited farmer from North West, Itumeleng Mongane, shared that for the first time in his farming career, he has to have a trailer on both sides of his land – meaning the harvest looks good. He is looking at an estimated yield of about 4 t/ha.

Farmer Ramoso Pholo delivered his first load of groundnuts (282 bags) to Triotrade, with a possible second load following. During the farm visit, he was waiting for the combine harvester to harvest his remaining sunflowers.

Farmers face numerous challenges, and although rain is necessary, excessive rainfall can be problematic, even during harvesting. Farmer Alfred Gondo from the Louwsburg region had to harvest by hand in the wet patches, which added considerable costs to his production.

Mentor Chris de Jager visited farmer John Jabulani Ngwenya in the Dundee region, when his contractor was busy harvesting. It appeared that he would achieve about 4 t/ha this season.

When it comes to meeting attendance, the Amandengane Study Group gets a golden star! They are among the study groups with the best attendance. The purpose of this meeting was to help the farmers with administration.

Members of the Lower Tsitsana Study Group each received a copy of the Pula Imvula magazine.

At the Vrischgewacht Study Group in the Lichtenburg area, Du Toit van der Westhuizen, regional development manager in North West, did a practical demonstration of soil sampling and explained to farmers why this is so important. Du Toit gave all the farmers the opportunity to take a soil sample using an auger. He also showed them how to do it with a spade if they do not have augers.

The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement at the Pixley Ka Seme Study Group. A total of 320 bags of 50 kg micronised lime were distributed among the farmers. It was a very cold day, but the farmers braved the weather and worked well together to ensure that the distribution process ran smoothly. The farmers expressed their gratitude to PGP.

Eric Wiggill, regional development manager in the Eastern Cape, visited the Ramafole Study Group in the Maclear area. Apart from the 29 members who attended, 40 potential new members also participated in the meeting.

Farmers who attended the Newcastle Study Group meeting shared information about the yields obtained and income derived. This raised the importance of expenses vs income, break-even and profitability. Farmers need to be encouraged to consider all costs, from land preparation to harvesting, to investigate the profitability of the enterprise.

At the Ga-Riba Study Group meeting, Jerry Mthombothi, regional development manager at the Mbombela office, discussed the nutritional requirements for maize production, the types of fertilisers and how to apply them, as well as all the aspects of planting maize.

The farmers from the Bethamoya Study Group were extremely grateful for the donation from SA Lime & Gypsum in partnership with PGP. A total of 160 bags were distributed among the farmers of this study group. This will aid the fields well, particularly after the past season’s excessive rains, which resulted in possible nu­trient leaching.

Trainer Danie van den Berg presented the practical skills course in Excelsior. The attendees are keen for more courses of this nature to be presented in the area to help them develop their farming knowledge.

These farmers attended an introduction to wheat production course by trainer Danie van den Berg.