Gauteng Smallholder May 2016 | Page 8

NEWS How-to-do-it agri booklets from Gdard A series of 18 highquality A5 booklets covering various aspects of farming have been produced by the Gauteng Dept of Agriculture & Rural Development (Gdard). The booklets cover cattle (dairy and meat), poultry (broilers and layers), pigs and vegetables, with individual booklets for the most commonly grown vegetables. There are also two general guides on crop and animal production. They are written in an easy style, from the point of view of production in Gauteng (eg highveld conditions). The thickest and most comprehensive booklet is the Concise Guide to Vegetable Pests in Gauteng, with colour identification pictures of each pest, its feeding habits and how to control it. No specific ordering information is given in any of the booklets, but they are being handed out by Gdard staff at trade and agricultural shows and can probably be ordered from the department in Johannesburg or its regional office on the East and West Rand. Gdard, 11 Diagonal St, Newtown, Johannesburg, tel 011 240 2500 email [email protected] The full set of 18 booklets from Gauteng’s Dept of Agriculture Monica and Bill have ceased sucking T he happy tale of Monica, the suckytruck-turned-watertanker in Benoni's Marister plotland (Smallholder March and April), has an unhappy ending, we're sad to report. For Monica's owner, the tenyear-old septic tank emptying firm Suckwell (which also operated a bigger honeysucker vehicle named Bill) has closed up shop. Business had become quiet 6 www.sasmallholder.co.za and cut rates for septic tank emptying services from fly-bynight operators, as well as financially punitive licensing fees and restrictions, meant that Suckwell's business model had become unsustainable.