Let the figures do the talking

Six years after starting a dairy, former chartered accountant John Knipe not only milked a massive Friesland herd but marketed the final product himself, as this article revealed.

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In difficult times there's an increasing demand for farming skills to be combined with economic knowledge, and Knipe is living proof of that maxim. He purchased his first farm in 1959 but didn't farm the land, and in 1963 swapped it for Witpan Farm, some 10km from Kimberley, Northern Cape. He started out part-time farming, and by 1979 was running Boer goats, Dorpers, Nguni and Brahman cattle, and growing several crops on almost 40 000ha. He then retired from accountancy to concentrate on farming.

In 1984, he started a dairy without knowing anything about dairying. Starting cautiously, to 'learn the game', one can of milk soon became two as the Friesland herd expanded.

Later, registered animals were added and the Knipefam Friesland Stud came into being.

Now, hundreds of cows are being milked.