From seasonal worker to award-winning farmer

The Agricultural Writers SA New Entrant to Commercial Agriculture winner in 2019, Dirk Louw, is showing that it still is possible to start farming from scratch. He spoke to Glenneis Kriel about what contributed to his success, his perseverance against all odds and his plans for the future

- Glenneis Kriel

Most established farmers will say it would be near impossible to farm out their land [pay for the farm with revenue from production] under current production and market conditions. The odds, then, would be even lower for those not born into a farming family and their support network to offer guidance on production.

And yet, there are always outliers, like Dirk Louw, owner of Silver Moon Investments, who prove that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Louw was born in Opwag and grew up in Topline near Groblershoop in the Northern Cape. He started out as a general worker at a small shop in Hanover Park in the Western Cape after matriculating in 1995, but left the job after three years to look after his father, who had fallen ill. Louw struggled to re-enter the job market thereafter, but his fortune changed when he started doing seasonal work for André Smith at Malmaison, a farm near Groblershoop. Smith farms dried grapes for raisins, and also pecan nuts, maize and sheep.

“André called me in after the season and inquired about my plans for the future. He then committed to better equip me for the industry through skills development and training if I stayed on the farm,” Louw recalls.

He began attending various table grape production courses and in 2002 acquired a driver’s licence, which opened new career opportunities on the farm. He worked hard and proved a fast learner, and within a year was promoted to supervise the people under whom he had started out.

From there, he became more exposed to the management side of the farm, by dealing with staff affairs, and later also production management.