2020

A WORD FROM… Jane McPherson January 2020 It’s the new year! This can be very exciting to you, or you may feel tired at the prospect of facing all the challenges of a new year. Either way, we move forward into the new period of life that has been given to us as a gift

2020 – a year to get your feet dirty January 2020 Gavin Mathews, Bachelors in Environmental Management. Send an email to  gavmat@gmail.com   Farmers need to make an effort to get out into the field during the growing season. Sometimes we put this off as there are many other things on the go. But the

Marketing could make or break your business January 2020 Marius Greyling, Pula Imvula contributor. Send an email to mariusg@mcgacc.co.za   Marketing, so important but still an area which many farmers struggle to manage. On many an occasion we have stated that to manage a farm is difficult because of all the risks involved. Marketing management

A new ANGLE to top dressing January 2020 Written by a retired farmer   The expression ‘top dressing or side dressing’ refers to the generally accepted farming practice of applying extra fertilisation to a field crop after emergence. The main nutrient supplied in addition to the fertiliser applied before or at planting will be nitrogen.

Can you afford not to practise CROP ROTATION? January 2020 Jenny Mathews, Pula Imvula contributor. Send an email to jenjonmat@gmail.com   Growing the same crop year after year is called mono-cropping. Crop rotation is a planned, systematic approach where different crops are grown in a sequence which changes year to year and season to season.

CANOLA Challenges encountered and the way forward January 2020 Izané Leygonie-Crous, Agronomist, and Zander Spamer, Agronomist, SOILL. Send an email to izane@soill.co.za or zander@soill.co.za   Early rains in the southern cape and overberg enabled farmers to practice effective weed control which led to excellent crop establishment across the region. In some cases, the crop density

SUNFLOWERS – a golden opportunity January 2020 Jenny Mathews, Pula Imvula contributor. Send an email to jenjonmat@gmail.com   The beautiful golden sunflowers which paint parts of the south african countryside with brilliant golden yellow during the summer months, present a golden opportunity for farmers who include them in their production plans. This broad-leafed plant is

Oilseed outlook for the new season January 2020 Ikageng Maluleke, Agricultural Economist, Grain SA. Send an email to Ikageng@grainsa.co.za   For the 2020 production season for soybean and sunflower, this article will give a brief outlook of the planting intentions. SOYBEAN OUTLOOK  According to the Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) report the intentions to plant for

Overview of the markets January 2020 Ikageng Maluleke, Agricultural Economist, Grain SA. Send an email to Ikageng@grainsa.co.za   In this article we give an overview of the global and local maize supply and demand for 2019/2020 compared to the previous season. GLOBAL OVERVIEW 2019  Global maize production forecast for 2019 have been lowered due to