I know ignorance is a poor and cowardly excuse. However, as someone born in the early 1980s, I was oblivious when growing up of the terrible and unfair reality that most South Africans were subjected to at the time.

The fuel price increase that comes into effect on Wednesday, 4 August as announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, will wipe out any gains made from earlier lower prices.

Rina Belcher runs Belnori Boutique Cheesery, a Saanen goat-breeding and cheesemaking operation near Bapsfontein in Gauteng. Pieter Dempsey spoke to her about raising her animals and creating a diverse range of products, including soft and hard cheeses, a number of which have garnered prestigious awards.

The future growth of the game meat industry is being hindered by meat sales that do not meet legal specifications and health regulations.

Apart from possible livestock losses, the widespread cold weather experienced across South Africa has also increased the risk of wildfires.

Part-time farmer Tsakani Mhlongo is the founder and owner of SwaTsakani Farming in Tzaneen, Limpopo, which produces vegetables such as okra, tomatoes and spinach, as well as broilers. She is determined, however, to turn her part-time operation into a full-time career.

Arsonists burnt down a Rainbow chicken processing plant and several trucks during the riots in KwaZulu-Natal last week. Looters also stormed 10 farms and stole about two million birds.

The devastating drought in the Northern Cape that lasted from 2018 to 2020 taught award-winning new sheep farmer Etienne van Wyk many lessons about sustainable farming. Annelie Coleman visited him on his farm, Spes Bona, near Marydale.

Disruptions in Transnet’s IT applications following a cyber-attack has brought agricultural imports and exports to a standstill, according to role players in the industry.

Anti-dumping tariffs on frozen French fries imported from the Netherlands and Germany have expired, leaving the South African potato industry vulnerable to ‘dumping’.