Welcome to The Dairy Mail

• Kortliks Nasionaal

DairyBelle verlaag produsenteprys
DairyBelle het ’n verlaging in die produsenteprys van melk van 1 September aangekondig. Dit volg nadat prysverlagings van 30c/liter en 60c/liter verskeie melkprodusente in die Wes- en Oos-Kaap in Julie hard getref het.

Gerugte dat Nestlé Suid-Afrika ook sy produsenteprys verlaag het, het die ronde gedoen. Ravo Pillay, direkteur van kommunikasie by Nestlé SA, het egter aan Landbou.com bevestig dat dit nié die geval is nie.

Die gemiddelde prys aan produsente is tans tussen R2,80/liter en R3,00/liter. Parmalat het in Julie sy prys aan produsente met 30c/liter verlaag.

André van Heerden, uitvoerende bestuurder van Samelko, sê Lancewood het ’n prysverlaging van 60c/liter in totaal aangebring, maar die verlaging is in werklikheid by sommige boere al 80c/liter. Ladismith Kaas het op 31 Julie ’n verlaging van 10c/liter aangekondig, sê Van Heerden.

Dr Koos Coetzee, MPO-ekonoom, sê Dairy­Belle se verlaging sal tot 15c/liter wees, maar dit verskil van streek tot streek. – www.landbou.com

Petrol price to increase again
While the price of petrol and diesel fell by 10c/liter and 13c/liter respectively, economists expect prices to increase again by the end of the year.

According to a statement from the department of energy, these decreases can be attributed to weaker international oil prices and a stronger rand-dollar exchange rate last month. www.grainsa.co.za

Zimbabwe verbied hoenders uit SA
Zimbabwe het ’n verbod geplaas op die invoer van alle hoenders vanuit Suid-Afrika. Zimbabw­e beskuldi­g Suid-Afrika dat hy geneties gemodifiseerde hoenders (GM) verskaf, aldus die Commercia­l Farmers’ Union (CFU).

Luidens ’n berig op www.cfuzim.org sê die Suid-Afrikaanse Pluimveevereniging (SAPA) Zim­babwe se beskuldigings is ongegrond. Kevin Powell, die uitvoerende hoof van SAPA, sê GM-hoenders kom nêrens in die wêreld voor nie. “Selfs as ’n mens, ’n hoender of ’n koei GM-mielies voer, maak dit nie daardie persoon (dier) geneties gemodifiseer nie, aangesien jou gene nie deur voedsel verander kan word nie.” Volgens Powell soek Zimbabwe verskonings om nie met Suid-Afrika se gesofistikeerde pluimveebedryf mee te ding nie.

Zimbabwe wou vroeër ook invoere van Suid-Afrika verbied deur valse aantygings van Slenkdalkoors, maar hoenders kan dit nie
opdoen nie.

Solomon Zawe, voorsitter van die Zimbabwe Pluimveevereniging (ZPA), sê Suid-Afrikaanse produsente neem hulle plaaslike mark oor en plaas druk op produsente. “Die bedryf sal nooit ten volle herstel as hoenderinvoere die mark voortdurend oorvloei nie. Die verbod het groot Suid-Afrikaanse invoerders hard geslaan wat nou ingevoerde hoenders die land insmokkel.”

SAPA gaan die saak na die Suid-Afrikaanse buitelandse ministerie verwys. – www.landbou.com

Agri Wes-Kaap kies voorsitter
Agri Wes-Kaap het tydens sy algemene jaarkongres sy voorsitter en adjunk-voorsitter aangewys. Kosie Loubser, van Durbanville, is herverkies tot voorsitter en Cornie Swart, van Gansbaai, is as die nuwe adjunk-voorsitter aangewys. Loubser het laat weet dit is sy laaste jaar as voorsitter. “Ek wil graag sien dat die grondkwessie moet rigting kry en soek ook sinvolle vordering van die staat sodat ’n werkbare oplossing gevind kan word.” Swart, wat by Neil Hamman sr oorneem, sê hy wil graag Wes-Kaapse boere tot ’n groter eenheid sien saamsnoer.

“Ons het ’n duidelike opdrag van die kongres gekry en sal nou meer as ooit moet saamstaan om dié opdrag uit te voer. Oud en jonk sal saam aan oplossings moet werk om die kwessies van grond en voedselsekuriteit die hoof te bied.”
– www.landbou.com

Mining company eyes Nylsvley
Farmers in Limpopo are worried about the recent mineral prospecting rights application by the state-owned mining company African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC) involving certain farming properties in Nylsvley and the Nylsvley Nature Reserve near Modimolle (Nylstroom). Philippe de Beer, chairperson of the Potgietersrus District Farmers’ Union, said they were shocked to hear an open-cast coal mine could be opened on five farms in Nylsvley.

“Should the underground water in the area become polluted, all farming activities on the affected farms will come to an end. We need a guarantee on the water safety or a guaranteed pay-out for affected farmers, should their water become contaminated,” he said. Prospecting could also pose a security risk for farmers. De Beer said with all the farm murders in the area, farmers are very concerned about unrestricted movement on their farms.

The area is the third ecologically sensitive region the mining company has shown an interest in. Earlier this year, AEMFC attempted, without success, to mine the winelands in the Western Cape. They also now have a prospecting application in the highly sensitive Chrissiesmeer area, in Mpumalanga. – www.farmersweekly.co.za

OVK toon wins in moeilike tye
Oos Vrystaat Kaap Bedryf Beperk, die land­boumaatskappy, se netto wins voor belasting, het ondanks ’n daling van 16% in omset van R103,4miljoen tot R106,3 miljoen gestyg.

Manie Botha, voorsitter, sê OVK se omset het van R2,5 miljard verlede jaar tot R2,1 miljard vanjaar gedaal. ’n Dividend van 27c per aandeel sou op die jaarvergadering op 20 Augustus vir goedkeuring aan aandeelhouers voorgelê word. Die verdienste per aandeel het van 122,5c tot 124,8c gestyg.

Hardie van Niekerk, besturende direkteur, sê veral die winsgewendheid van graanproduksie was die afgelope jaar onder groot druk, hoofsaaklik weens die lae koring- en mieliepryse.

Hoewel die prys van vee en vesel deurgaans goed was, het stygende koste ook tot laer winsgewendheid vir dié produsente gelei. Die styging in Eskom se tariewe is ’n groot bron van kommer vir veral besproeiingsboere.

Hoewel dit die afgelope boekjaar nie behaal kon word nie, is dit OVK se strategie om die maatskappy meer te diversifiseer in die toevoeging van waarde in landbouprodukte.
– www.landbou.com

Outbreak escalates
The lower Orange River area, including towns such as Upington, Onseepkans, Prieska and Hopetown, is the scene of a serious outbreak of black fly, according to Agri Northern Cape’s Hoffie Joubert from Upington. “Nothing is being done to curb the problem. The agriculture department helicopter used to combat the outbreaks has been out of order for eight months. And apparently so is the boat used for the same purpose,” he said. “As a result, the black fly larvae in the river have been allowed to develop unhindered and the situation has escalated to crisis proportions.”

Joubert said it’s the department’s responsibility to combat and prevent black fly outbreaks. “The river was monitored diligently every week for black fly in the past and the larvae were destroyed with the organic bacterium Vactobac.”

Black flies attack livestock, with sheep being especially vulnerable. The animals flock together in a tight formation in an attempt to escape the insect bites, often trampling lambs to death.

The insects used to be limited to the Upington region, but can now be found in the entire Orange River region, as well as the Vaal River, the Southern Cape and the Eastern Cape. – www.farmersweekly.co.za

• Briefly International

Namibië toets nuwe grondmodel
Die Namibiese ministerie van landbou toets ’n model wat grondeienaars aanmoedig om landbougrond vir hervorming beskikbaar te stel, sê die Namibiese Landbou-unie (NLU). Luidens die NLU se nuusbrief is grondeienaars positief oor dié stap.

Dié regering is voornemens om 15 miljoen hektaar se landbougrond teen 2020 oor te dra. Altesaam 5 miljoen hektaar van dié grond moet deur die staat aangekoop word vir hervestiging.
– www.landbou.com

UK school milk scheme saved
Dairy farmers breathed a collective sigh of relief after the prime minister vetoed plans to axe free school milk for children under five.

David Cameron scrapped the proposal just hours after education minister David Willetts appeared on television to discuss the money-saving measure early in August.

Junior health minister Anne Milton also announced that the government would consider cutting the third of a pint of milk given free to children under five, with officials claiming the move would save the government £50 million (R550 million) as part of its bid to slash public spending and reverse the budget deficit.

But in an abrupt U-turn Cameron said the government would continue to pay for children to have milk. The decision is a boost to the country’s dairy industry, which has seen poor prices and a decline in the number of dairy farmers over the past few years. – www.fwi.co.uk

Finse suiwel weer in Rusland
Ná ’n terreininspeksie van 23 Finse vleis- en suiwelmaatskappye in Mei vanjaar, het die Federale Diens vir Veeartseny en Fitosanitêre Toesig in Rusland ’n tydelike beperking geplaas op 14 aanlegte. Dit het op 23 Julie van krag geword. Russiese owerhede het egter ingestem om die beperking op 6 Augustus op te hef, ná samesprekings met die Finse Voedselveiligheidsowerheid.

Die twee partye het ingestem dat die insameling van melk op Finse plase soos gewoonlik sal voortduur. Sekere laboratoriumtoetse sal aangepas word om aan die vereistes van Russiese wetgewing te voldoen. – www.dairyreporter.com

Sustainability an opportunity
Dairy and food product manufacturers are coming under increasing pressure to reduce unnecessary packaging. Bulk and secondary packaging is an easy target because it is commonly viewed as not being integral to the finished product.

A common example of secondary packaging in the dairy industry is the carton wrapped around yoghurt multi-packs. Danone is working to reduce or even remove a lot of this carton from its yoghurt products. For secondary packaging specialists such as Van Genechten (VG) Packaging, this could be seen as a threat but the company claims that sustainability actually provides an opportunity to innovate and find new products. – dairyreporter.com

IDFA disheartened by Codex project
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has described a decision from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) to approve recommendations to work on a new standard for processed cheese as ‘disheartening’. At a recent meeting in Geneva, the UN-backed CAC adopted the recommendations from the Codex Committee on Milk & Milk Products to scrap existing processed cheese standards and work on the creation of a new one.

Allen Sayler, IDFA vice-president of regulatory affairs and international standards, said the US-based trade body welcomed the decision to scrap the existing standards, claiming they were outdated and failed to reflect the processed cheese currently traded internationally.

But the IDFA opposed the move to start work on the creation of a new standard. “The decision to continue efforts to revise the processed cheese standard is disheartening because, after 12 years of work, there have been no positive outcomes,” Sayler said. The IDFA believes Codex resources would be better targeted in other areas. – dairyreporter.com

Making mozzarella with steam
GoldPeg International and Scan American Corporation are marketing a new cooker stretcher that uses only steam to heat the curd. The GPiCS so-called ‘dry’ cooker stretcher from Australia’s GoldPeg International produces natural mozzarella and pasta filata cheese varieties continuously with no bath cook water, the company said.

GoldPeg worked with the Australian government and CSIRO for over a year and extensively modified the RotaTherm to come up with the flexible GPiCS, which is described as a low-pressure, low-shear, direct steam-injection continuous-cooking system. The flexibility of the GPiCS allows it to produce a full range of natural mozzarella, string cheese and pasta filata varieties. – www.cheesereporter.com

Grass a lifesaver for livestock farmers
A new drought-tolerant Festulolium hybrid grass species could help livestock farmers worried about future grass shortages. Perseus, a cross between a fescue and a ryegrass, is about to make its UK debut in grass mixtures available from Countrywide.

The species has been developed by DLF-Trifoilium and is said to be particularly effective in areas prone to dry conditions or where grass is short. This grass has been specifically bred to produce a high-quality, high-yielding grass that is drought tolerant and can withstand higher levels of stress and climate extremes, compared to traditional ryegrass species, explained Simon Trenary, Countrywide agronomist. “These new advance hybrid ryegrasses are now suitable for both catch crop requirements and grass mixtures.”

In the first year of UK trials, where stress was not a limiting factor, Perseus out-yielded perennial ryegrass by 31%. The variety also showed quality improvements over Italian ryegrass and was only slightly below perennial ryegrass with an ME of 11,3 MJ/kg DM compared to 11,4 MJ/kg DM. – www.fwi.co.uk

Hulpooreenkoms onderteken
As deel van President Obama se verbintenis om in vennootskap met instansies van Afrika saam te werk, het die Verenigde Stade se Agentskap vir Internasionale Ontwikkeling (USAID) en die Afrika-Unie hul eerste langtermynhulpooreenkoms onderteken ter bevordering van welvaart, vrede en stabiliteit in Afrika. Die ooreenkoms strek tot in 2013 en dek programme ter waarde van $5,8 miljoen (R40,5 miljoen) in die 2011 finansiële jaar.

USAID en die AU werk tans in verskeie sektore saam, insluitend demokrasie en regering, asook ondersteuning vir landbou en voedselsekuriteit deur middel van die Omvattende Afrika-Landbou-ontwikkelingsprogram, een van USAID se vennote in die Feed the Future-inisiatief. – www.usaid.gov

Kenya signs agricultural deal
Kenya has officially launched its Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and signed Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), showing the country’s commitment to domesticating the continental agricultural programme.

Speaking during the launch in Nairobi at Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), President Emilio said the new strategy would propel further development of the country’s agricultural sector in line with the CADP. The strategy will see the country move towards aspirations of Africa heads of state Maputo Declaration of 2003, where they pledged to support the agriculture sector in their respective countries by scaling up budgetary allocation to 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The new programme appreciates private sector participation as key to sustainable growth in agriculture, aims at positioning the sector strategically as a key driver for sustained economic growth. Kibaki said his administration will create conducive conditions for the private sector to take over many commercial enterprises currently with the government. “The strategy’s overall objective is to achieve an agricultural growth of 7% per year over the next five years. It aims at positioning the agricultural sector strategically as a key driver for sustained economic growth,” he said.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Afric­a (COMESA) saying they have provided technical support to member states to sign and implemen­t nationa­l and regional CADDP compacts.
– www.caadp.net