CELEBRATING FARMER DEVELOPMENT

» Grain SA celebrated the successes of its farmer development programme during a joyous event held in Bloemfontein on Thursday, 22 September 2016. The function, which was attended by more than 250 guests included government representatives, agricultural stakeholders and approximately 160 emerging grain producers.

A highlight on the Grain SA calendar, and fondly referred to as the "Harvest of Farmers", the 2016 Day of Celebration was a testimony to the investment of the organisation in farmer development over the past ten years. In thanking the Grain SA partners, financiers, sponsors and stakeholders, Jannie de Villiers, CEO of Grain SA reiterated "the Farmer Development Programme has metaphorically prepared the soil and established what is needed to assist developing grain farmers, and the training and mentorship given were the seeds which were planted in order to yield exceptional grain producers - those we can honour here today." De Villiers further thanked each grain producer who are prepared to be mentored and taught in order to improve year after year.

The finalists for the 2016 Grain SA/ABSA/John Deere Financial New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year, introduced at the Day of Celebration is Frans Mokoena from Tweespruit in the Free State, Zondiwe Motshwene from Emalahleni in Mpumalanga and Maseli Letuka from Kestell in the Free State, and the winner will be announced at the Grain SA Gala Awards evening on 14 October 2016.

From left to right (back) Antois van der Westhuizen, Managing Director, John Deere Financial Sub-Sahara Africa; Jannie de Villiers, Chief Executive Officer, Grain SA (front row) 2016 New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year finalists Frans Mokoena; Zondiwe Motshwene en Maseli Letuka

The 2016 Grain SA/ABSA Subsistence Farmer of the Year was awarded to Mzwayi David Zuma from Estcort, KwaZulu-Natal. This kind grandfather and hardworking farmer has grown his maize harvest substantially after enrolling in the Grain SA mentor programme. With increased production and mechanisation this husband- and wife team have access to 10ha of arable communal land used for planting maize and soya. Despite this year's drought, their harvest did 22tons of maize from 8ha planted - all done by hand. With a new maize thresher, forming part of an initiative by Grain SA, government and Agri business who joined forces to increase yields on communal land - the Zuma's now have more productive ways to get the maize of the crop. The other finalists in this category were Delisile Nkosi from Sheepmoor in Mpumalanga and Isaac Hltshwayo from Piet Retief in KwaZulu-Natal.

Standing from left to right: Hendrik van Staden, Eastern Area Manager, Monsanto; Mswayi Zuma, 2016 Grain SA/ABSA Subsistence Farmer of the Year; Preline Swart, Vice Chairperson, Grain SA; and Ramodisa Monaisa, Executive Member, Grain SA. Monsanto sponsored the 2016 Subsistence Farmer of the Year with a 5 ton storage silo.

The 2016 Grain SA/Syngenta Smallholder Farmer of the Year was awarded to Sizwe Ngwenya from Piet Retief in Mpumalanga. This 31-year old ambitious farmer is making his way to commercial farming - building on the 50ha he got from his father and making most of the arable soil. Sizwe has big plans wanting to produce grain for export. After joining the Grain SA Farmer Development programme, Sizwe has increased his maize yields from 1ton/ha to 4ton/ha. Yielding 250 ton this year - all harvested by hand - his crop pays testimony to his farming and conservation practices which include soil management with a strong focus on pH and nutritional balancing. His future plans include to expand his farming operations to plant on 100ha in the not too distant future. The other finalists in this category were Thembelihle Tobo from Bizana in the Eastern Cape and Hamu Shuwisa from Sheepmoor in Mpumalanga.

Standing from left to right: Ramodisa Monaisa, Executive Member, Grain SA; Preline Swart, Vice Chairperson, Grain SA; Sizwe Ngwenya, 2016 Grain SA/Syngenta Smallholder Farmer of the Year; Antonie Delport, Managing Director, Syngenta South Africa; Jaco Minnaar, Chairperson, Grain SA

ABSA is the proud sponsor of the Grain SA/ABSA Subsistence Farmer of the Year and in cooperation with John Deere Financial the proud sponsor of the Grain SA/ABSA/John Deere Financial New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year

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GRAIN SA VICE CHAIR SHINES AT AWARDS EVENING

» Grain SA vice chairperson, Preline Swart shined at the AgriSETA Excellence Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, 5 October 2016 held at the Premier Hotel OR Tambo in Johannesburg. The ceremony, hosted annually, acknowledges learners, employers, service providers and agricultural projects for service excellence. Recognition is given to those who have excelled within the agricultural sector in skills development. This year saw 111 entries in the different categories covering all nine provinces.

Being the top student in the Farmer Development Class of 2015, conducted by BathoPele, Preline progressed through to the National competition, and ultimately received the award for Best Performing Learner: Skills Programmes, true testimony that hard work and dedication pays off.

Preline Swart (left) pictured here with Landi Kruger who received the award for Best Performing Learner: Bursary

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BREEDING AND TECHNOLOGY LEVY GIVES WINTER GRAIN PRODUCERS MORE OWNERSHIP

» The Minister of Agriculture approved a Breeding and Technology Levy on Wheat and Barley on 29 September 2016. This levy is a first step to attract better-performing varieties to the market and to afford producers the decision-making powers over what is produced, resulting in greater emphasis which can be placed on higher-yielding cultivars.

The Breeding and Technology Levy for wheat and barley amount to R25 per ton for the next two years (from 1 October 2016 to 30 September 2018) and will be charged at the first point of sale.

The Breeding and Technology Levy will be administered by the SA Cultivar and Technology Agency (SACTA). Since the levy will be paid proportional to best performing seed companies, producers are requested to declare their cultivar per load at the silo. This information will ultimately assist to calculate each seed company's market share as accurate as possible.

With the introduction of the levy, the seed companies agreed to forfeit the current seed price royalties. This move present more ownership to local producers in the grain and grass industries and is one step closer to revive the local wheat industry.

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RESEARCH LEVY TO THE WINTER CEREAL TRUST

» The Minister of Agriculture has approved the new research levy of R10 per ton for wheat and R5 per ton for barley. The previous period's charges were R17 and R16 per ton for wheat and barley respectively. The levy has been reduced since the development of cultivars will exclusively be funded by the Breeding and Technology Levy, which will continue to be administered by the Winter Cereals Trust.

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AGRI MEGA 2016

» Agri Mega, which took place at Mega Park in Bredasdorp from 14-17 September, surely lived up to its reputation of extreme weather conditions as the week progressed, but also of providing a platform where Grain SA members can meet, relax and enjoy some true Cape-hospitality. The Grain SA's member's area this year moved into the ABSA Events Centre and provided member's with ample opportunity to catch up on farm activities, weather conditions and of course the wheat levy, all over a steaming hot cappuccino - sponsored by John Deere Financial.

Mega-week, ideal to interact with key stakeholders, allowed the Grain SA management team, represented by our Chairperson, Mr Jaco Minnaar, one of our Vice Chairs, Mrs Preline Swart, our CEO, Mr Jannie de Villiers, and Manager: Grain Economy and Marketing, Dr Dirk Strydom to meet with agents, members and business representatives making full use of the informal networking opportunities.

Grain SA, in cooperation with Standard Bank, once again hosted the annual Agriculture debate on Thursday, 15 September 2016. The topic under discussion, and hotly debated was the import tariff policy for winter grains (wheat and barley) led by Jannie de Villiers and joined by Nicolaas Hanekom, grain producer and broker, and Nico Groenewald, Head of Agribusiness South Africa at Standard Bank.

The debate, with a strong focus on the wheat tariff highlighted that the tariff is not a subsidy but rather protection against subsidies as stated by Nicolaas Hanekom who also again emphasised that thoughts of the wheat import tariff increasing the price of bread for the consumer is a misconception. Nico Groenewald concluded that ideally, policy should seek a balance between producer and consumer welfare and domestic wheat farmers need to be protected from unfair competition from highly subsidised foreign imports.

The Grain SA member's area were this year in the ABSA events centre

Grain SA's team from the Paarl office (left to right) Hailey Ehrenreich; Liana Stroebel and Toit Wessels at Agri Mega

Jannie de Villiers briefly discusses the talks during the grain debate, and which had the audience buzzing

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SOYBEAN SEED QUALITY - BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS

» Soybean seeds quickly loose its powerful qualities from one season to the next. It is therefore recommended that producers use fresh seeds for the next season's planting and not seed transferred. Germination and the growth quality of transferred seed can be tested either at the particular seed companies or at the Department of Agriculture.

Contact Persons:
Eastern Cape regional representatives:
Gerald Jack Port Elizabeth, 041 484 2725
Felicity Daniels Port Elizabeth, 041 484 2725

Free State Regional Representative:
Zanele Buhlungu Bloemfontein, 051 406 0967

Gauteng regional representative:
Christo Botha Pretoria, 012 319 6139

Western Cape regional representative:
Christo Gouws Stellenbosch, 021 809 1709

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SENWES YOUNG FARMER FUTURE FOCUS 2016

» Senwes this year presented its 13th Young Farmer Future Focus on 13 September at Nampo Park in cooperation with several organisations, with the main theme focused on family farming and succession planning in order to promote the survival of family farms. The event was well attended by nearly 300 producers. Following on NAMPO's success, the programme adopted the Nation in Conversation format led by Theo Vorster, Chief Executive Officer of Galileo Capital who led a panel of experts. The panel, consisting of Francois Strydom, Group Executive Director of Senwes; Andre Diederichs, FABASA and Hendrik Wessels of PriceWaterhouseCoopers discussed capital gains tax, the importance of financial planning challenges for managing successful family business, succession planning and the importance of trust amongst others - whilst emphasising that planning and clear communication in family businesses are vital to success. Furthermore, family farming enterprises in practice and the application of business principles were discussed and the panel, consisting of producers involved in family businesses, included DJ van der Linde, Free State's Young Farmer of the Year, Gerhard Bruwer, Grain SA executive committee and member of Genade Boerdery, the Grain SA's 2015 Grain Producer of the Year as well as Anton and Heinrich Botha of the farm McGrath in the Bultfontein district. With a more practical approach to the discussion, experiences of successful family-based operations were shared and various concepts regarding the practical experiences appealed to the audience.

Producers listening intently to the Nation in Conversation dialogue led by Theo Vorster

From left to right: Theo Vorster, Galileo Capital, Anton Botha, Grain SA Executive, Heinrich Botha from Bultfontein, DJ van der Linde, Free State Young Farmer of the year and Gerhard Bruwer, Grain SA Executive representing Genade Boerdery from Douglas

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TESTING OF RHIZOBIUM VACCINES

» Producers who want to test their Rhizobium vaccines to ensure it is still viable, can contact the ARC - PPRI (Roodeplaat) in this regard:

Contact Persons:
Francina Bopape T: 012 808 8199 E: PhalaneF@arc.agric.za
Poppie Mthimunye T: 012808 8200 E: MthimunyeP@arc.agric.za
Dr Ahmed Hassen T: 012 808 8199 E: HassenA@arc.agric.za

Cost: R220 per sample

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1^st ANNUAL SOIL HEALTH DAY

» The 1st Annual Soil Health Day is being hosted in Stellenbosch on 20 October and in Pretoria on 26 October.

Click here for invitation, programme and registration details

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SURVEY: TRIANGULATING CHARCOAL ROT ON SOYBEAN AND SUNFLOWER IN SOUTH AFRICA

» Charcoal rot, caused by the fungus Macrophomina phaseolina, is a widespread disease of various agricultural crops in South Africa. This pathogen has a host range of more than 500 plant species. Charcoal rot can result in significant yield losses in economically important oil crops such as sunflower and soybean; and crops commonly used in rotation programmes, such as maize. This poorly recognized disease may become more important in future with the changing climatic conditions that often lead to extreme weather events such as droughts. Lately, reports of charcoal rot have been increasing in South Africa, especially in warmer parts of the country, like Mpumalanga, the Free State and North West. The important question is why? Charcoal rot is also otherwise known as summer wilt or dry weather wilt and is almost always coupled with stressors on the host. Drought, nutrient stress, even reproductive stress on the plant due to flowering can result in disease. A research project in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Pretoria aims to determine possible reasons for an increase in charcoal rot on soybean and sunflower production areas in South Africa.

The enclosed survey for soybean and sunflower producers will aid in answering some of these questions. The survey is only one page long and requires only marking an "x" over the most relevant answer to each question. The survey will take less than a minute to complete and is available in English and Afrikaans. This forms part of a PhD project funded by the Protein Research Foundation and results will be made available to the industry.

Completed surveys can be sent to us via e-mail: estienem@gmail.com; Jacquie.vanderwaals@up.ac.za

Any questions can be directed to Mrs. E. Jordaan at estienem@gmail.com | 079 878 7469 | 012 420 2996

Download the Sunflower survey
Download the Soybean survey

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STAY INSPIRED...

"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over."

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

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