Business
Farmer's Weekly
Pet-friendly family accommodation in Gauteng
Escape the daily stresses of life in this peaceful environment embedded in nature, where hiking trails, a picnic spot on the hill and much more are available to guests Riaan Hattingh.
4 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Commercial beekeeping: managing swarms and logistics
Managing thousands of bee colonies as a pollination service provider is a complex, logistical feat. Added to the challenge is keeping the swarms fed amid dwindling natural resources and crops that offer little nutrition. Jaco Wolfaardt, commercial beekeeper and founder of Ubusi Beekeeping, spoke to Henning Naudé about keeping the bees and business abuzz.
7 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Owning and exercising endurance horses on a farm
Endurance riding is a recognised equestrian sport, but as Dr Mac writes, these horses can also be used to monitor farm fields and fences.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
How is snotsiekte spread?
Dear Prof McCrindle, My neighbour's threatening me with legal action because his cattle have snotsiekte. I own a registered game farm where I have kept wildebeest for several decades.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
The story of South Africa's sugar cane industry
South Africa's sugar industry grew from colonial ambition and Indian labour into a pillar of KwaZulu-Natal's economy, blending science, struggle and resilience to sweeten the nation's history and culture.
5 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Egg patty English muffins
Elevate your breakfast sandwich with these savoury egg patty English muffins! Made with quick and easy convenience, it is perfect for a weekend brunch.
1 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
The A to Z of internal parasites in cattle
Internal parasites can cause a loss of production and even death if severe enough. Integrated parasite management is essential for effective control. Janine Ryan reports.
8 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Heating soil not enough to release CO 2
According to a study by researchers at the North Carolina State University in the US heating alone won't drive soil microbes to release more carbon dioxide (CO2).
1 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Resistance to internal and external parasite control in the beef cattle sector is a worry
Dr Dave Midgley, CEO of the Ruminant Veterinary Association of South Africa, believes that parasites’ growing resistance to anthelmintic remedies and an increasing parasite load among beef cattle in South Africa is a serious cause for concern. He spoke to Annelie Coleman.
5 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Cannabis roots: the untapped value beneath the canopy
Most cannabis growers obsess over canopy management, trichome development, and final flower weight. But there’s an entire half of the plant we're essentially throwing away, says Thomas Walker.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Agricultural Writers SA North celebrates champions of agriculture
During Agricultural Writers SA North's awards function in October, farmers and agriculturalists were honoured for their contribution to food security and the rural economy.
4 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
The problem with avo waste
Jonas Cromwell, lecturer in food security in the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, UK, explains how avocado waste in Tanzania is hurting farmers and what should be done to rectify the problem.
4 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Game farming makes a bankable enterprise
Wildlife beats conventional stock hands down with their non-selective feeding habits, according to a well-known sheep breeder.
3 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
A whiff of ghosts, mystery and inspiration
As the South African summer season gets into full swing, Patricia McCracken has picked out a refreshing assortment of fiction and non-fiction books to tuck into as the temperatures begin to soar.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Phytophthora can be deadly for capsicums
This is an oomycete plant pathogen that causes blight and fruit rot of peppers and other important commercial crops
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Balancing welfare and viability in cage-free egg farming
The trend towards cage-free eggs presents an opportunity for farmers to tap into a valuable niche market. But with higher production costs and limited scope for market growth, the business requires a delicate balance to remain viable.
6 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
'Start small, and later scale up'
Breaking into the poultry industry doesn't have to mean millions in start-up costs. While large-scale commercial operations remain out of reach for most beginners, small-scale farmers are showing that it's possible to start with limited resources, turn a profit and expand over time.
6 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Xhariep AWSA winners announced at ceremony
The Xhariep region, which covers the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape, recently announced their winners that will compete in the national Agricultural Writers South Africa Awards (AWSA) in November.
1 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Crop protection: balancing yields, responsible farming and food safety
Dr Mahlane Godfrey Kgatle, research co-ordinator at Grain SA, spoke to Octavia Avesca Spandiel about the role of crop protection, integrated pest management, and compliance with regulations in safeguarding yields, food safety and the country's agricultural competitiveness.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Farmers triumph despite weather
Despite inclement weather, Seongju County in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, has achieved melon sales of more than 600 billion Korean won (about R7,3 billion) for three consecutive years, according to an article by Lee Seung-kyu for the Chosun Daily.
1 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Delight as Tru-Cape growers achieve record-breaking Pink Lady packout rates
Ceres Fruit Growers managed to achieve nearly 75% Pink Lady packouts this season, the highest in Tru-Cape's history. Octavia Avesca Spandiel established that this is largely due to sound orchard practices.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
In search of the ultimate grazing strategy: Part One
In the first of a series of two articles, Prof Richard Fynn of the Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, an expert on rangeland ecology, discusses the fear of a second bite’ and why there's a need for a revised approach to high-density grazing. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
9 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
A name among seafaring men: the training ship General Botha
The warship HMS Thames was donated to the South African government to be used as a training facility for young men who wanted to make a career at sea, and renamed General Botha.
5 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Sound advice from a fourth-generation sugar cane grower
Sugar cane farmer Pratish Sharma shares his practical insights with Octavia Avesca Spandiel on aspects like soil health, pests, irrigation, harvesting, and industry rules, offering useful guidance for anyone entering South Africa's highly regulated sugar industry.
7 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Tata out to make amends on its return to South Africa
After a six-year hiatus, Indian car-maker Tata Motors has stormed back into South Africa by launching four models all at once. The Citizen's
4 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Cosy timber cottage for weekend getaways
Dear Jonno, I love seeing your designs in Farmer's Weekly, and there is generally an argument who reads it first in the family. We would love you to design a small timber cottage for us that we can build as a weekend getaway, with at least three bedrooms, for family and friends who tag along. Our site is in the foothills of the Drakensberg, and we have access to pine plantations all around us. The local sawmill has planking, and what they call 'siding,' basically the outer edge of the trees cut to planks. Some are decent enough to include in the building and will help hide the home among the surrounding forests. I envisage a living room and kitchen on the ground floor, and the bedrooms all upstairs. Kind regards, James and Connie
1 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Broilers vs layers: which should you farm?
The choice to farm broilers or layers is perhaps as an ambiguous question as which came first, the chicken or egg?’ As Janine Ryan found out, the reason for this is that there is no quick or foolproof answer, and every farmer will have to decide for him-or herself what is likely to work best in their system.
8 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
The sticky truth about 'fake' honey
Honey adulteration has become one of the most widespread food-fraud problems globally and South Africa is far from immune. Prof Robin Crewe and Jan Steenkamp spoke to Glenneis Kriel about this growing threat to consumers, beekeepers, and the future of the honey industry.
5 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Livestock prices rising as the festive season approaches
Nkhensani Mashimbyi, agricultural economist at Absa AgriBusiness, considers the dynamics in the livestock industry to explore what price trends could look like over the coming weeks and months.
2 min |
October24 -31, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Flooding in Pakistan may hamper upcoming potato plantings
According to a recent article by Potato News Today, severe flooding in Punjab, Pakistan, is threatening seed stock and delaying the planting of potatoes. This, the news agency said, was placing additional strain on the country’s food security.
1 min |