By Greg Lamp, CHS Inc.
A dangerous country, razor wire and electric fences surround farmsteads, hotels, businesses and often even homes.
From one end of South Africa to the other, the landscape changes almost mile by mile and so does agriculture. From raising lions and other exotic game animals for hunting expeditions in the east to vineyards that produce world-class wines in the west, this country is full of surprises…some astonishing and some horrific.
Farming remains one of the most hazardous occupations in the U.S. But if you farm in South Africa, that level of vulnerability takes on a whole new meaning.
We visited Mike Bosch’s crop, livestock and poultry operation south of Pretoria. In 1987, Bosch joined his father in the operation and it has grown to include 3,500 Beefmaster cows and 20,000 hens that produce 12 million eggs a year.
What’s surprising is that he’s bred a new, hearty type of indigenous chickens that can withstand poultry diseases and thrive in free-range conditions. They’re also bred to control insects found on the backs of cows. He’s turned it into a money-making enterprise by selling fertile eggs to be incubated so the resulting birds can be used for parasite control on cattle, sheep and goats. He also sells eggs and chickens into the more traditional egg and meat protein market.
Bosch also has developed a unique portable, affordable chicken coop that is easy to assemble. Each coop can house about 80 chickens. He sells the coops to non-government organizations that place them in poorer African communities to help residents learn how to raise chickens.
What’s amazing is that on top of the coop, he’s added a solar panel to generate electricity for villagers to charge mobiles phones and laptops, and to provide lighting at night. The coops are meant to be moved monthly so manure can add nutrients to soil, which can be used to grow vegetables. So far, Bosch has built 5,000 of the portable units and has sold them into 17 countries.
While on Bosch’s farm, I talked with his young farm manager Marchand Smith, who I noticed was wearing some funky, out-of-the-ordinary work shoes. He told me they were part of a clothing line he started called Boeretroos, which means “console the farmer.”
Since Apartheid ended in 1994, more than 1,500 South African farmers have been terrorized and murdered. Crime is everywhere in this country and especially targeted toward large farmers.
Smith uses the money he makes selling shoes, caps and tee-shirts to assist local farm families that have experienced some of these horrific acts. For more details (warning: some are gruesome), do a Google search for farm murders in South Africa. Prepare to be shocked.
I asked Smith if he worried about his safety. He said, “Yes. Every day, all day, all night.”
Far from a typical family operation, ZZ2, one of the largest farms in South Africa with more than 10,000 employees, braces for rampant crime with a trained crew of 248 security people. Guards are stationed at every entrance gate to their farms scattered across the country. Razor wire and electric fences, common at farmsteads and even hotels, are everywhere. Personal safety concerns never end and our group was reminded to be vigilant every day.
ZZ2 was started in 1880 and now is headed up by CEO Tommie van Zyl. Tomatoes are the farm’s main crop and are sold directly into local consumer markets. Some tomatoes are shipped around the world, with 80 percent marketed in Europe. In addition to the farm’s 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres) of tomatoes, it also produces the following:
- 750 hectares (1,850 acres) of avocados, with plans to add 500 more hectares (1,235 acres)
- 300 hectares (740 acres) of onions
- 150 hectares (370 acres) of mangoes
- 200 hectares (494 acres) of deciduous fruit
- 100 hectares (247 acres) of dates
- 12 hectares (30 acres) of cherries
ZZ2 also has 6,000 head of Pinzgauer and indigenous Nguni cattle. From these two breeds, a new breed called PinZ2yl has been developed.