Diversification and value addition: A perfect combination

The first factor to consider when you want to diversify your farming enterprise and add as much value to your farm as possible, is your natural resources. This applies to both your farm’s natural resources and that which the environment offers.

- Izak Hofmeyr

In his case, says Gawie Naudé of the farm Buttermead near Rhodes in the Eastern Cape mountains, he must pay attention to specific advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, he farms in a fairly remote area, but on the other, the region is a popular tourist destination.

“Tourism in our region offers good opportunities and we’ve recently started paying more attention to its development by means of guest accommodation and agritourism. As we speak, we are busy transforming a farmhouse to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Far from the market

“The remoteness of the area,” he says, “poses specific challenges if you want to market your livestock, especially if you want to bring your stud animals to the attention of buyers.” However, he is lucky in the sense that his grandfather Gawie started the well-known Eduan Braunvieh stud with the purchase of his first Braunviehs in 1935. The stud was registered in 1936. The Naudé name and Braunvieh cattle have been synonymous ever since.

Gawie and his Braunviehs are a well-known sight at the country’s major agricultural shows, where he regularly walks away with the laurels. Although a small breed in terms of numbers and breeders, the Braunvieh is more than capable of holding its own at interbreed championships.

Gawie farms in partnership with his son Willem on the farms Buttermead and Earlstown, focusing specifically on the Braunvieh stud as well as Merino sheep and miniature horses. The Bell River runs through both farms, making it possible for them to produce grazing under irrigation. This makes the area’s harsh winters considerably more manageable in terms of fodder flow.