PRODUCER FOCUS
Chairman of the
Hartbeesfontein
Agricultural Union,
Jaco Maré, with
one of the control
room staff members,
Chris Ludick. In the
background is the
Hartbeesfontein
Silo which is one of
the three Senwes
silos being used to
safeguard the area.
The equipped control room has seven screens, by which the
area is secured. One of the members of staff in the control
room, André Roux, even developed an application into which
the model, colour and registration number of a suspicious vehi-
cle are entered. The system then looks through a data base
of previous cases, which means that quick and more effective
action can be taken.
VALUE ADDITION VALUE
The additional value of such a safety system is that veld fires
can be spotted sooner and riots can be dealt with more effec-
tively. In order to be more effective, it is important not to stag-
nate. Expand, upgrade your systems in order to remain relevant.
A few examples are better buildings, user-friendly systems for
operators, strategic places and better cameras. Re-evaluate
your systems regularly. The last bit of advice is that there should
be good co-operation with neighbouring towns, in their case
the Northwest towns of Coligny, Ventersdorp, Ottosdal and
Wolmaransstad are critical. The reason for this is that the organi
sation should be aware of problems which could infiltrate its
area and, since their system works so well, crime often moves to
other areas.
MORE EXAMPLES
Although Hartbeesfontein Safety is one of the best, it defi-
nitely is not the only safety organisation. Discussions with
Agri SA and AgriSecuritas revealed that many farmers' unions
country-wide take outstanding action to promote safety in the
agricultural environment and their communities, such as the
Albany Bathurst District Agricultural Union in the Eastern Cape,
Smithfield and Vierfontein in the Free State. Agri Kiepersol in
Mpumalanga and Potgietersrus Agriculture, to name but a few.
So, safeguard your area and agricultural environment by con-
tacting the leaders in the industry - “It is one of the best invest-
ments that you can make,” Jaco said. And this journalist knows
for sure that he was watched on camera, up to a distance of
40km, when he left Hartbeesfontein.
For more information, contact Jaco Maré at 082 388 4294.
Hinterland winner
becomes world champion
By Phillip Lee
Hinterland Manager: Animal Farming Solutions
T
he credibility of any competition is in its ability to
choose credible winners - a competition is defined by
its winner. When a competition winner bears further
laurels, it confirms the ability of the competition to
choose the right winner. This is exactly what happened at the
world show: the Hinterland National Interbreed winners, which
represented the shows where they won the championships
at ALFA 2018, became international winners! It confirmed
the judgement at ALFA and the manner in which finalists are
nominated, like no other process can do it and confirmed once
again that South Africa has some of the best stud breeders in
the world.
The competition started in 2012 and there were
approximately 1 000 entries from 77 countries for 16 breeds.
The South African flag was flown high in respect of a number of
breeds, with the highlight being when the Hinterland National
Interbreed champion bull, ACE BR 140016, was crowned as
the world champion Santa Gertrudis bull. ACE was showed by
the Santa-Rey Santa Gertrudis stud of Raymund de Villiers from
Sannieshof. Another highlight was when the Hinterland National
Interbreed champion cow, a Simmentaler, won the “Miss World
Silver” medal. Ireland was the winner. The top cow, Dipsie PJO
12-65, is the property of the ChrisMar family's Taaibosspruit
Simmentaler stud in the Lichtenburg area.
These results are good news for the local stud industry,
in that both the Hinterland National Champion cow and bull
received top awards. It is an excellent testimonial for stud
breeding in South Africa - we are not only aligned with the rest
of the world, but often the best in the world.
SENWES SCENARIO | MIND-SHIFT 2019
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