NEWS
Gauteng’ s wettest... for
By the time of writing in late May we can be reasonably certain that this year ' s rainy season is at an end. For, bar a few short showers in the winter, the next real rains will only be in September or October. But what a rainy season it has been! From deadly flooding late last year which saw major roads rendered impassable and people drowning in washed away cars, to good steady downpours in the early months of the year, the highveld reversed its looming drought status of last year in a few short weeks. To give some idea of how wet it has been, in Eastern Gauteng we recorded more than 1 150mm of rainfall from September 1. This is the most recorded since this magazine began in January 2000, and therefore probably more than has fallen in more than 20 to 25 years. And it has shown in both the dryland plantings on our own smallholdings, as well as on the large commercial farms. Excellent plantings of summer rainfall crops were recorded, meaning that South Africa ' s maize price should fall, and
The popular East Rand Dairy Day will be held this year on Women ' s Day, August 9, giving parttime farmers who may not be able to attend on a weekday, the opportunity of participating. Last year the Dairy Day was held at the Bapsfontein Hotel, but this year it is back to its there should be a gratifying surplus for export. A good maize crop selling at lower prices will have a beneficial effect on both human food costs and on the price of many maize-containing animal feeds. For livestock owners who have to buy in fodder, grass should be plentiful this winter, of reasonable quality and at
usual venue, the Belnori Boutique Cheesery in Nest Park, Bapsfontein. Speakers lined up for the day include: ❑ Benita Bekker of Bloemfontein – a farmer ' s daughter, then farmer ' s wife and, when she lost her husband, a farmer for 14 years. She will speak about
many years
reasonable prices. One of the less-desirable side-effects of the very wet season, however, has been the larger-than-usual outbreaks of disease among all classes of livestock, including African Horse Sickness, spontaneous abortion and pneumonia, not only in Gauteng, but further afield as well.
E Rand dairymen to meet on Womens’ Day
theroleofwomeninfarming. ❑ Kobus Mulder of Cape Town- Kobus is a cheese ' fundi ' who consults all over Africa and he will chat about his travels there and what dairying elsewhere in Africa is like. ❑ Leon Kruger of ARC Irene- An ever-popular presenter
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