'When timing is everything, speed counts' - Grain Farmer of the Year

Get it done, and get it right, is perhaps the best way to summarise Michael and Gareth Allen's farming philosophy.

- By Lindi Botha

This father-and-son team at the helm of G&M Farming Enterprises in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, were the Grain SA/Syngenta Grain Producers of the Year in 2024. They focus on high input to achieve high output, aiming for utmost precision in the application and timing of the inputs.

The Allens plant grain on 1 800ha, of which two-thirds are planted to maize and the rest to soya beans each year. The fields are rotated so that two consecutive years of maize are followed by one year of soya beans.

Only white maize varieties are planted, since the farm is in close proximity to processing plants for maize meal. They focus on three varieties: Pioneer's 1517R and 253R, and Pannar's 3R573R. These are termed 'racehorse' varieties due to their high yields. Good disease resistance and standability are two further reasons these varieties have been chosen.

Although these are irrigation varieties, the Allens plant them on dryland, relying on the average annual rainfall of 650mm to 700mm to see them through. A strong focus on soil health and moisture retention, however, ensures that even at a high stand these varieties pay off.

Over the past five years, the Allens have achieved an average maize yield of 10,6t/ha, but have attained as much as 13t/ha in some years. Soya bean yields average 2,5t/ha, with 3,7t/ha being the highest they have achieved.

GET THE BASICS RIGHT

Their strategy for success? "Get the basics right, then add technology like the right equipment and seed varieties," says Michael. "If you have an old planter that bounces along in the fields, sometimes planting the seed deep, sometimes shallow, missing a few holes and rows, you are not going to get an adequate crop off the land to survive the cost-price squeeze in this day and age. If you have tractors that are leaking oil, sometimes work, sometimes don't, you're not going to get a return on your investment."