PRODUCER FOCUS
Buks van Wyk (far right) with his wife Alet next to him with their children JJ and Edith on the left.
graze on the crop residue. “However,
my son proved to me how much weight
the cattle put on, which convinced me to
allow them to graze on the crop residue.”
Something which we have been struggling
with over the past two years is cattle theft.
However, during dry years the cattle com-
ponent is his saving grace. "It is essential
for me to have cattle, since I don't have
high potential land.”
SENWES
He became a Senwes customer four
years ago and buys seed, fertiliser and
animal remedies. He also buys fencing,
poles and droppers, as well as overalls
at the branch, due to the competitive
prices. His fleet is made up of four John
Deere tractors and a sprayer and he uses
the services of Senwes Equipment and
Senwes Credit. He says he would also like
to learn more about grain trading.
HIS STAFF IS HIS PILLAR OF
STRENGTH
Buks and his son JJ, as fourth-generation
producer, focus on the total farming oper-
ations. His wife, Alta, handles the wages
and contracts and his daughter Edith
does the books. He also has four foremen
and thirty other members of staff.
GAME
You may see a few blesbuck on the farm,
but they are just for the amusement of the
farm personnel and don't generate any
income.
More about the diamond industry
• It usually takes 100 tons of gravel to
find 1 carat of diamonds. At present
it takes 100 tons of gravel to find 0,25
carats of diamonds.
• Stones smaller than 34 mm are anal-
ysed and sorted. The rest of the gravel
is returned to the diggings for rehabili-
tation purposes.
• Flow-Sort X-rays catapult the diamonds
into a safe.
• The best colour diamonds are found
here.
• Most of the diamonds are destined for
the export market. The rest of the dia-
monds are bought by local jewellers.
• Diamonds are becoming scarcer.
When they are found, they are very
expensive.
• Take care. Locals try their luck by
Animals and grain account for 50% of
their activities.
attempting to sell diamonds to you in
public.
HOW DOES HE SEE THE FUTURE?
To no longer plant on marginal ground
and to leave some fields fallow. Since he
has been doing deep cultivation and soil
analysis and applying the right fertiliser,
his yields have increased dramatically. As
far as soybeans are concerned, he will
really have to think about it long and hard
before trying his hand at it.
This is Buks. A farmer who has literally
mined himself out of difficult times.
SENWES SCENARIO | WINTER 2018
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