Fresh Produce Markets
Introduction The fundamental reason for the existence of markets has never changed i.e. where supply and demand meet to establish a value for a product so that a sale can be made. There are different types of agricultural markets, such as farmers’ markets where the farmer is on hand to sell his products, or wholesale […]
Craft Brewing
Introduction Bosheuvel Estate, De Vry Distillery and Loxtonia Cider are some of several farming operations that include craft brewing on the sidelines. Alongside Pinzgauer stud cattle, sorghum fields, vineyards and dairy, craft brewing is an additional revenue stream and attraction. We provide the reader with a short overview of this sector. As usual, we list […]
The Urban Question
Urbanisation, Urban Agriculture, Cities, Inequality
Animal improvement and breeders
Introduction The registration of animals maintains the interest in specific breeds, and also leads to a pursuit of excellence – i.e. to get top performance from the animal. There is a vast difference between performances of the two groups within most breeds where registered animals outperform non-registered animals. There is also a vast price difference […]
Field trip to the Overberg
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2019-01-17 In Blog At the close of 2018, a delegation of journalists and writers travelled to the Western Cape to view the work the WWF-SA Nedbank Green Trust is supporting with landowners and communities in the Overberg. Our eight articles reporting on the trip are: 1) Setting the stage – putting the trip and role players […]
Overberg media trip: Flower Valley Farm (part 8)
The rationale behind the Flower Valley Conservation Trust (FVCT) is straight-forward: “… if we pick all the fynbos this year, there will be no fynbos to pick in the future” (Van Deventer et al, 2015).
Overberg media trip: fynbos packhouse (part 7)
The world is divided into six floral kingdoms, according to the plant types occurring in each given region. The smallest and richest of these is the Cape Floral Kingdom, found only in the southern tip of Africa – in the Western Cape through to Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape – and nowhere else in the world.
Overberg media trip: A research centre and a place to stay (part 6)
On our second day, the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve and its Research and Visitor Centre were on the agenda. It was an overcast day, and we travelled with the promise of rain in the air.
New beeginnings: innovative hive design set to revitalise local beekeeping
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2018-12-11 In Blog Local beekeeping is currently faced with a range of challenges, including adverse weather conditions and the rapid decline in bee numbers worldwide – which is a global concern seeing as bees pollinate crops that are produced for human consumption. The cheap price of low-quality imported “honey” is also a threat to […]
Understanding the local cannabis industry – “weeding” out confusion
By Craig Macaskill Posted 2018-12-10 In Blog By Mandi Krebs (left), Associate at Hogan Lovells, South Africa Following the recent landmark decision of the South African Constitutional Court, in which the private and personal use of cannabis was decriminalised, together with the publication of guidelines regarding the cultivation of cannabis for medical, scientific and clinical […]