FARM REPORT ▶▶▶
South African farmer forward sells grain in Covid-19 era
Smart thinking by a South African grain farmer saw him forward sell grain for a decent price once he realised the Covid-19 pandemic was leading to a national lockdown and potential trading issues.
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH, CORRESPONDENT C
Clifford Mthim- kulu with his father Koos on their farm in South Africa.
lifford Mthimkulu, 31, runs a grain and livestock farm close to Senekal in the Free State growing mostly maize, soybeans and sunflowers. Trading as MC Enterprise, the young farmer manages almost
1000 hectares of land including his own farm and other land leased from neighbours. “I’ve been farming full time since 2010,” said Clifford, who works alongside his father Koos. “My main farm, which is called Astoria Farm, is based near the town of Senekal in the Free State. “Astoria Farm extends to 517 hectares, and then I lease an additional120 hectares of land from my neighbour, Mrs Althea Trieghaard at Welmond Farm, and a further 300 hectares from Dawie van der Merwe at Wilgeboom Farm, which is located 35 kms from the main farm.” Clifford’s interest in farming has grown over the years since he was a young boy watching his father work on farms. Now he has applied that passion to running his own business,
ably guided by his father’s wisdom, and making it a success even when faced with the challenges of drought and fluctu- ating commodity prices. In fact, Clifford’s father Koos first ac- quired Astoria Farm through the government’s Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy back in 2006. At that time Koos also purchased used tillage machinery that belonged to a former farm employer who had switched farming policy to focus on livestock production.
Plant and harvest regime Today Clifford grows 150 hectares of maize, 180 hectares of sunflowers and 50 hectares of soybeans with the remaining land used for grazing cattle and sheep. The livestock is kept as an income buffer in case the crops have a bad year and prices fall, thus ensuring that the farm can pay its bills. Clifford and his father employ eight permanent staff on the farm with three part-time and a further 30 seasonal staff called in when re- quired for weeding and other tasks. His main planting season starts in November and harvesting kicks off in April. “We prac- tice minimum tillage all the way, mainly using a Rolmoer ripper with rollers to open up the ground,” Clifford said. “Then it’s the normal plant, spray, harvest regime to get the crop sold and get money in the bank. “Normally we start the planting season in November to December for the maize. The soybeans are also planted during this period. And the sunflowers go into the ground a bit later: from November to mid-January,” he added. This productive area of South Africa usually receives annual average rainfall of 650 to 800 ml, but it can also be affected by drought and heavy late rainfall, which pose challenges for ar- able farmers. Temperatures can be as high as 38°C and drop to 5ºC during the winter period, so frost is an issue to look out for if you’re planting late. “Once the crops are established, we start the spraying pro- gramme during the growing season, hoping for a decent yield come harvest time,” Clifford said. “We would normally start har- vesting the sunflowers and the soybeans in April and run through until June. The maize is harvested from June to Au- gust, hopefully in good weather conditions and thus achieving a good saleable crop. “Normally I plant the Dekalb maize varie- ty, Pannar soybeans, Pannar and Agricol sunflower seeds, and
18 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 10, 2020
PHOTOS: CHRIS MCCULLOUGH
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