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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