AREA FOCUS
Petrusburg
The Petrusburg branch
opened in 1977.
Not just somewhere in the middle
Most people would wonder where Petrusburg is. In his poetic voice, Elvis Blue sings of
a place where he finds himself: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. However, most
people in the Free State and Northern Cape know exactly where Petrusburg can be found
in South Africa. Not just somewhere in the middle, but right in the middle of the country.
By Aubrey Kruger
Senwes Scenario Editor
T
his is true in more than one
respect. Petrusburg is situated
at the geographic centre of
South Africa, at Emmaus, which
is approximately 20 km from Petrusburg.
Petrusburg is also exactly in the middle
of the Free State capital, Bloemfontein,
and its equivalent in the Northern Cape,
Kimberley, 80 km each from Petrusburg.
DIE BEGIN VAN DIE MIDDELPUNT
At 127 years Petrusburg has gone
through many phases. Petrusburg was
founded in 1928 and was named after the
owner of the farm, Petrus Albertus Venter.
The area first became known as a
horse and mule breeding centre, then
came king potatoes, followed by Jersey
cattle and diversified farming opera-
tions and wheat. Also Bonsmaras, which
28
SENWES SCENARIO | WINTER 2019
Senwes producer Johan Myburgh farms
with.
BRANCH ALSO A CENTRAL POINT
A stone's throw away from the centre of
town, you will find the Hinterland branch,
with branch manager Lourens Brand at
the helm. Lourens tells us that the branch
is 36 years old and was officially opened
on 22 Auust 1983 by the former managing
director of the Land and Agricultural Bank
of South Africa, TC de K Pienaar.
10 members of staff work at the branch
and Lourens has an interesting view
about the town. He sees Petrusburg as
a very strategic branch for Hinterland
and Senwes. “It is basically in the middle
and in a sense a barrier to entry, with
all the agri-companies around them.
Mechanisation-wise Senwes Equipment is
a leader, with staff going out of their way to
ensure customer satisfaction in respect of
spares - some drive past the opposition to
make use of our good service.
SENWES GRAINLINK SILO
Diagonally behind the branch you will find
the Senwes Grainlink Petrusburg silo, with
8 members of staff.
The silo was erected in 1977 and
was inaugurated by the then Minister
of Agriculture, Hendrik Schoeman.
Commodities received include wheat,
white and yellow maize and soybeans.
At this stage they mostly receive yellow
maize, followed by wheat and sunflower.
The silo has 16 bins with a total capacity
of approximately 60 000 tons -12 bins
with a capacity of 4 500 tons each and 4
smaller bins of 1 200 tons each.
Years ago, in 1979, wheat was deliv-
ered in bags. The largest volumes of wheat
in the history of Senwes was handled from
1990 to 2000.
Although Petrusburg is situated at the
centre of South Africa, it is the most south-
ern silo of Senwes. The surrounding silos
are De Brug (40 km) and Bloemfontein (80
km).