Rina Belcher and her husband Norman bought their smallholding in Bapsfontein, east of Johannesburg, in 2003, with the idea of running a small agribusiness on it. While considering their options, they read an article in Farmer’s Weekly about a couple in the Western Cape who ran an artisanal cheesery. Inspired by the idea, they attended a cheesemaking course, bought a Saanen ram and four ewes, and began producing cheese in small quantities and selling it at a local craft market. Thus began Belnori Boutique Cheesery.
At this stage, Belcher was still employed in the corporate world and had to do most of the cheesemaking after hours. Despite this constraint, the couple’s hard work and attention to detail soon paid off, and they won two second-place prizes for their goat’s milk in 2004, the first of numerous awards.
Belcher retired about six years later, enabling her to focus fully on cheesemaking. By that stage, their flock had grown to 65, and today stands at 150 ewes and eight rams.
Belnori’s awards tally has grown no less impressively, and currently totals 68 SA Champion Cheeses (including the 2019 Dairy Product of the Year) and 24 medals at the World Cheese Awards.
The couple supply their products to restaurants, hotels, lodges and cheese shops across the country. They also expanded recently into agritourism, and now run their own cheese shop as well as a small coffee shop on the farm.
GOAT PRODUCTION
All the milk for Belnori cheeses is supplied on farm. Belcher is in charge of the cheesery, while Norman runs the flock as an intensive operation.
The animals receive a specially formulated feed tailored to their production stage: lactating feed during milking, maintenance feed during dry periods, and creep feed for the kids.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2021 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 16, 2021 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Africa goes from net carbon sink to source
New research shows Africa's impact on greenhouse gases and the need to focus on climate-smart agriculture
Ireland potato farmers unable to complete planting
Irish potato farmers have reported a delay in harvest and said that the UK might have to prepare for shortages of the produce. The shortfall is due to extreme wet weather during their planting season.
Zero-residue fresh produce a reality
Retail giants are calling for caution when using biologicals and chemical pesticides,
Big boost for mohair producers in Eastern Cape
A collaboration between the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and the Mohair Empowerment Trust (MET) has resulted in a R1,4 million injection into four emerging Angora goat farming operations in the Eastern Cape.
KZN Youth Show at Roval Agricultural Exhibition
The KZN Youth Show will run from Friday, 24 May to Sunday, 26 May at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg.
Hemp permits and irrigation system handed over
In an effort to fast-track the entry of rural farmers into the cannabis and hemp industries, KwaZuluNatal Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Super Zuma, visited the Shukasibheme Project in Mbazwana, a co-operative in Mseleni, uMhlabuyalingana in the Umkhanyakude District, to hand over cannabis and hemp permits as well as a borehole and irrigation system.
Meet some of the heroes behind avitourism destinations
Exploring what the Garden Route offers birdwatchers, Brian Berkman discovers some special people who run hospitable places to meet and see a variety of species.
What the Citrus Academy offers aspiring producers
Cobus du Plessis takes a look at the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa's Citrus Academy and how it is helping to develop aspiring farmers in the sector.
Natural-born killers of the insect world
The Myrmeleontidae family of lacewings from the Neuroptera order of insects consists of about 2 000 species of which 125 are found in South Africa.
Seeder kick-starts vegetation in challenging environments
Dr George Craven of Noorspoort, Steytlerville, in the south-eastern Karoo, is successfully using a home-built 'bedstead seeder' to re-establish veld plants in an arid area, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.