Don't allow change to catch you napping

At times, new developments might seem to come like a bolt out of the blue. But if you keep up with trends, you’ll be forewarned of change and have time to adapt, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

- Roelof Bezuidenhout.

The farming world has never been particularly receptive to rapid change. Farmers don’t readily abandon a method that has always worked in favour of one they are not sure of or believe may be too expensive to implement. Less than a century ago, some grain farmers kept up to 50 oxen on the veld just to plough their lands, long after tractors had become an option. Today, despite the obvious benefits of drones, many farmers have yet to buy one.

While some farmers certainly get hooked on technological innovations or gadgets long before these become essential for their particular businesses, it’s also true that other farmers wait too long to fall in line with trends.

A good example of this is the seemingly sudden importance of traceability, animal welfare and good farming practices in the animal fibre industry.