Business
Farmer's Weekly
Flight from the Red Army
The fall of the Third Reich in 1945 was defined by the Red Army's brutal invasion of Germany. Mike Burgess tells how the Hoppe family trekked from Finowfurt near Berlin to Preetz in Schleswig-Holstein to escape the brutality.
6 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
How to plan a pre-sale feeding programme
Proper feeding of animals before a sale can help producers catch the eye of buyers and increase profits, but it is important to choose the right ration.
8 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
How women are transforming coffee production in Kenya
A group of Kenyan smallholder women farmers are transforming the country's high-value coffee sector by pooling their resources.
5 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Tough times ahead for SA's grain farmers
Grain farmers face a difficult year ahead with lower grain prices and high production costs
3 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Early cherry season in Ceres promises record harvest and sweeter fruit
This year's cherry season in the Ceres Valley, Western Cape, has arrived earlier than expected, setting a positive tone for what growers are predicting could be the region's largest and sweetest harvest to date.
3 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Eastern Cape businesses make global strides at Canadian trade exhibition
Six Eastern Cape companies, supported by the DTIC and ECDC, attended Grocery Innovations Canada to expand into international markets. The trade mission provides crucial funding and structured preparation covering compliance, packaging, and logistics for emerging exporters.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Cannabinoid biosynthesis
Biosynthesis has the ability to reshape the competitive landscape in ways that South African cannabis operators cannot ignore, but does not eliminate traditional cultivation, says Thomas Walker.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Building a career on honesty, reliability and consistency
Mike Killassy, one of the best-known stud livestock auctioneers in the South African livestock sector, built his decades-long career on integrity, honesty and sheer hard work
4 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Going, going ... gone! done differently
The use of technology is impacting on all spheres of life and changing almost everything we are used to. Even the way in which farmers are engaging at auctions has changed over the past decade. Recommendations driven by artificial intelligence, live-streamed bidding, online auctions, and social media are just a few innovations reshaping the auction landscape.
6 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Top agri workers celebrated in the Western Cape
Shannon Robertson, assistant livestock manager at Boschendal near Franschhoek, was crowned the overall winner of the 2025 Western Cape Prestige Agri Awards, held in Durbanville.
1 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Small management tweaks that can boost dairy profitability
Improving dairy profitability doesn't necessarily require major investments or radical system changes. Often, it's the small, everyday management decisions - from cow comfort and feed management to long-term planning - that determine whether a dairy farm thrives or fails.
7 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Foton Tunland G7 single-cab 4x4 offers real value for money
Foton has made steady inroads into the local bakkie market since its official return to the segment last year, and the all-paw model will complement the two-wheel drive single cab, which was the only derivative before.
4 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Trump urged to take on Mexico's 'failure' to uphold water treaty
US representative Monica De La Cruz has urgently called on the Trump administration to pressurise Mexico to fulfill its water debt under the 1944 Water Treaty, according to an article by BorderReport.
1 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Shifting trade landscape could well benefit South African soya bean producers
The geopolitical spin-off from US President Donald Trump's tariffs and a dip in American market share in China should not be seen as a drawback, but a potential opportunity for local soya bean farmers.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Africa's specialty coffee scene: from everyday brew to artisan craft
Roland Urwin, café owner and coffee researcher, spoke to Octavia Avesca Spandiel about how South Africa's evolving specialty coffee culture mirrors global trends, prioritising craftsmanship, origin, and quality-driven consumer experiences.
6 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Smart management to revive old banana plantations
After nearly three decades of banana farming, and experiencing plantations across South Africa, Mozambique, India and Costa Rica, Jacques de Villiers has learnt that while no two plantations are alike, the principles of timing, precision and discipline never change.
9 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Black water provides green muscle
Spier wine farm used waste from toilets and kitchens to grow indigenous trees and shrubs.
3 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Consumer shifts in China strengthen South Africa's export prospects
South Africa's stone fruit industry's latest milestone is the perfect example of how South Africa has global prospects beyond traditional trading partners.
1 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Grains and oilseeds: farmers optimistic
As the 2025/26 summer crop season gets underway, South Africa's grain and oilseed markets are navigating a complex mix of local resilience and global uncertainty.
3 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
The 'Golden Girls' are driving dairy profits
Many dairy producers focus on high replacement rates to accelerate genetic progress. While genetic improvement is crucial, allowing these genetics to express themselves in mature, proven cows delivers greater returns over the long term.
5 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Meerkat: bringing auctions straight to your home
Meerkat Online Auctions was established in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in an aim to modernise livestock trading and to make it safe, transparent, and accessible online.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Rift Valley fever: is it a threat to humans and animals?
Marc Souris, a researcher at the Research Institute for Development in France, discusses Rift Valley fever: what it is how it spreads and how to stop it
4 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Stay away from Cape fur seals this Christmas!
The South African Veterinary Association (SAVA) urges the public to exercise caution and follow safety guidelines during the upcoming summer holiday season when encountering Cape fur seals.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Raisins SA symposium focuses on resilience and competitiveness
The recent Raisins South Africa Symposium addressed industry resilience amid climate, water, and market challenges.
2 min |
November 21-28, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
South Africa's unique coral trees
Every year in late winter, South Africa's eastern coastal belt is set ablaze with the scarlet and orange flowers of certain coral tree species from the genus Erythrina. Mike Burgess investigates the diversity of this special category of highly adaptive deciduous trees that includes the peculiar ploughbreaker.
2 min |
November 7-14, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Jaecoo J5 is ready to make waves
Chinese carmakers have been growing their local market share at the rate of knots over the last few years. The introduction of the Jaecoo J5 will further ensure the upward curve
2 min |
November 7-14, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Farm watches take charge of rural safety
With rural crime on the rise and police resources stretched thin, farm watches across South Africa are stepping up to protect farming communities. These volunteer-led safety networks are preventing millions in losses, deterring criminal activity and helping police solve major crimes, proving that when farmers unite, the benefits ripple far beyond the farm gate.
8 min |
November 7-14, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
How to start a farm watch in your area
Rural safety initiatives like farm watch systems are guided by the framework laid out in the national Rural Safety Strategy. Dr Jane Buys, safety risk analyst for Free State Agriculture, talks Sabrina Dean through the concept of a farm watch and how to establish one
9 min |
November 7-14, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
'Farm attacks are a national crisis'
The rural safety crisis in South Africa remains dire, with farm attacks and murders continuing at alarming rates. This calls for rural crimes to be declared priority crimes as a matter of urgency, according to
3 min |
November 7-14, 2025
Farmer's Weekly
Advancing real-time data collection in South African agriculture
Dr Mahlane Godfrey Kgatle, Research Coordination Manager at Grain South Africa, spoke to Octavia Avesca Spandiel about how the Information Hub at Innovation Africa, University of Pretoria, is transforming agricultural research through real-time data integration and collaboration across disciplines.
3 min |