Posts

Fungi, the gateway to farming sustainably

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Did you eat today, then thank a farmer!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

South Africa has a population of around 59 million people. Of this population, there are only around 40 thousand commercial farmers. This means that each farming unit provides food for around 1475 people. Now that is a lot of mouths to feed!

Cover crop

Cover crops – restoring soil

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Cover crops are one of many mechanisms that can help shift agriculture from destructive and sick to regenerative and healthy.

Variety of vegetables

Should we always trust agricultural research?

Reading Time: 5 minutes

There is a huge issue in agriculture that most of the research, especially prominent research, is driven by the agrochemical agenda.

Man planting plant

Soil restoration principles

Reading Time: 5 minutes

The goal is to restore agricultural soils to a healthy state – every farm is different, but the principles always apply.

Cows grazing lucerne pastures

Case study: Improving nitrogen fertiliser efficiency

Reading Time: 8 minutes

I hope this case study encourages farmers who are in the process of adapting their management in order to achieve greater nitrogen fertiliser efficiency.

FAQ about legumes and root nodules

Reading Time: 2 minutes

These are some questions I was asked by a farmer in the Tsitsikamma the other day about legumes and root nodules.

Farmer in field

A land managers’ responsibility

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The amazing thing is that all these ecosystem services support greater agricultural production. They can only be unlocked when the soil is viewed as a valuable natural resource that needs to be conserved.

Earthworms in soil

Keeping your eye on the prize

Reading Time: 3 minutes

I would challenge any farmer that desires to improve their farm to think about the “why” behind the regenerative agriculture approach. What is the prize?

What is nature telling you?

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Often farmers treat the farm as a whole and that is completely wrong. Fields within a few meters from each other can have completely different characteristics, especially with regards to soil biology.