The drier weather conditions, which have been a hindering factor for maize planting activity in the western parts of South Africa, could ease as the weather forecast for the next two weeks shows prospects of higher rainfall over most parts of the country.

Every year, agricultural writers working in different parts of South Africa (SA) nominate their local candidates for farmer, agriculturist and new entrant into commercial farming as regional winners.

Heatwave conditions will prevail over the western and northern interior with isolated thundershowers in the eastern to northeastern interior until the weekend. Thundershowers in the northeast will become more widespread from Sunday.

Staffing firm the ManpowerGroup has released its Talent Shortage report for 2018, showing the difficulties faced around employment.

Agri SA confirms its position that expropriation without compensation (EWC) will have dire socio-economic impacts. The danger of EWC is especially pertinent as the constitutional review committee (CRC) is expected to finalise their recommendation on the amendment of section 25 of the Constitution this week.

Agri SA will today roll out the next phase of its tactical plan against expropriation without compensation (EWC).

So folks, today the review Committee made its recommendation and got everybody talking about land reform in South Africa. It is largely what we expected, but there’s still a long way to go before we know what the amendments are really going to look like. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but this is a topic for another day. 

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday, dismissed accusations by opposition parties that the process which led to the adoption of a draft report by members of Parliament (MPs) in favour of changing the Constitution to explicitly provide for land expropriation without compensation was a sham.

Why data could be the deciding factor in Africa’s agricultural transformation. The world has a palm oil problem.

A messy and protracted fight over property rights is looming in South Africa after a panel of lawmakers said the constitution must be changed to make it easier to seize land without paying for it.

Wine industry representative body Vinpro expects 2019 wine grape crops will return to normal levels in most regions, owing to good rainfall after a three-year-long drought.

In the absence of major data releases, the weather was again a primary focus in the South African grain and oilseed market this week.

The Republic of South Africa (SA) and the European Union (EU) engaged in a dialogue on soil information between 10 February 2018 and 23 October 2018. The dialogue was conducted within the SA-EU Strategic Partnership and supported by the SA-EU Dialogue Facility.

 
The Northern Hemisphere is taking over the orange season from the Southern Hemisphere. While the last oranges from South Africa are sold in Europe, the supply from the Mediterranean countries is getting under way.

Yellow and white maize prices and soybean prices have increased significantly in the past two months. This is in line with industry expectations, the Rand drooped tremendously in the past 2 months which supporting maize exports, hence supporting prices. The harvesting pressures that were weighing on prices have subsided as we now in the new planting phase.

The South African wine industry expects, at this early stage, that the 2019 wine grape crop will return to normal levels in most regions, thanks to good rainfall hot on the heels of a three-year drought. The Klein Karoo, however, is still experiencing a serious water shortage.

A panel of expert judges has put a fleet of 39 vehicles under scrutiny as part of the testing phase for the fourth annual Cars.co.za Consumer Awards powered by WesBank.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has forecast increases in South African production of apples, pears and table grapes in 2018-19, thanks in part to greater water availability.

At a gala event held in Stellenbosch on Friday evening, the Agricultural Writers SA announced the winners of the 2018 National Farmer, New Entrant into Commercial Agriculture and Agriculturist of the Year. The main sponsors of the event are Bayer, Santam Agriculture, Sanlam and Rovic Leers.

There is still limited activity in the sunflower fields due to lower soil moisture on the back of drier weather conditions in the past couple of weeks.