During our first visit to Maria Tswai two years ago, she had just received 35 Bonsmara cows and a bull through the Sernick emerging farmers development programme. She now has a herd of more than 150 breeding cows and has repaid her loan three years ahead of schedule. Lebogang Mashala caught up with her again to find out what drives her and what her future holds.
Maria Tswai, of Hertzogville in the Free State, knows the importance of being hands-on and being aware of what’s going on. She has 150 productive cattle and 80 Boer goats, and she plans to use her arable land to boost her farm’s carrying capacity.
“At the moment, I can stock up to 250 large livestock units on my farm. The farm will be able to accommodate more than 400 cattle easily if the arable land is turned into productive crops, primarily grain, and pastures,” she says. About 200 hectares of the 1 155ha Scheerpan farm are arable.
The main obstacle to achieving these improvements is inadequate equipment. “I’m working on acquiring it, but I’d appreciate the department’s assistance,” she says. In the past two years she has bought a bakkie, which she uses to travel around her land.
As a result of her commitment to excellence and innovation, Maria has earned a reputation as one of the best farmers in the Sernick programme, and was the overall farmer of the year and female farmer of the year in 2021.
Patrick Sekwatlakwatla, head of marketing and corporate social responsibility at Sernick – who has been mentoring Maria – says she is one of the programme’s exemplary farmers and sets an example for other participants, especially some of the men.
“Maria is an exceptional farmer and a role model for her fellow farmers. She is always first in line to help other farmers, and she keeps up with current developments in her field,” says Patrick.
Her journey began when she ran a few cattle on communal land near Theunissen in the Free State. Her parents, Sabata and Elisa Mokoni, grew up working on farms in Theunissen, a village in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality. When Sabata left his job, the family moved to QwaQwa where he opened a butchery.
Maria says her father kept cattle, sheep and goats on communal land. She helped him with livestock and butchery and found a job at a doctor’s surgery, then in 2008 she started a construction business, taking on small subcontracts for RDP houses. “We worked at the surgery from 2pm until 7pm. As a result, I started at the site before reporting to work,” Maria says.
Because her grandparents remained in Theunissen, Maria visited them regularly and met her husband. After her marriage, she moved back to Theunissen and started a piggery, then added cattle. In 2012, tragedy struck when her son Lucas died. She became deeply depressed and isolated herself. “I left my job and my business suffered,” she says.
To cope, Maria turned to farming, which she found easier and less stressful. Gradually, she became involved in community farming projects. She then met farmers such as Michael Ramohudi, Jacob Kgothule, Reuben Maphira and Johannes Setshego, who introduced her to the National Emergent Red Meat Producers’ Organisation.
Maria says she learned some of the basics of cattle farming from these four men. “They have supported and guided me immensely, and they helped introduce me to the Sernick Group through Patrick Sekwatlakwatla. They are the reason I am here.”
Maria was running 20 cattle on communal land when she joined the Sernick study group. By attending farmers’ days, she gained access to experienced farmers who were eager to help aspiring black farmers advance. With the help of her mentors, Maria applied for a farm through the government’s Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy in 2016.
“I was interviewed more than once during an intense process that lasted almost a year. Eventually, I was given a lease contract with Scheerpan for 30 years,” says Maria. She moved there later that year with 25 mixed-breed cattle.
The challenge with farming on communal land, Maria says, is that it’s virtually impossible to manage your animals closely. Bulls belonging to other stock owners inevitably meet cows. “There was always a problem when it came to identifying who the bull’s calves belonged to since all of them looked alike,” says Maria. In communal areas, many farmers do not tag their animals.
Maria was part of the first cohort of the Sernick emerging farmers programme, launched by the Sernick Group and the Treasury’s Jobs Fund in 2018. “We were provided with Seta-accredited training and the opportunity to exchange our old stock for Bonsmara cattle,” she says.
She advanced from the programme’s first tier to its second tier and received advanced training and technical upskilling. This tier also includes financial management training to help farmers develop and maintain a healthy cash flow.
By 2019, she had reached the third tier, where she was able to lease 35 cows and a bull with an agreement to return 40% of their offspring each year.
Maria had to meet some basic requirements to qualify for the third-tier programme. “To qualify, one had to own at least 400ha and a herd of at least 30 cows, which I had. As a result of implementing everything I learned in the training, my livestock and infrastructure, especially the fences, were in excellent condition,” Maria says.
She has achieved a 100% calving rate since 2019, thanks to good herd health and a feeding regime she learned from the Sernick Group.
To keep her herd in peak condition, Maria does not compromise on quality when buying bulls. She considers the bull to be the engine of a herd.
Maria maintains a healthy herd by following a strict vaccination and supplementary feed programme. “We don’t have too many diseases here, but we do have a lot of ticks. Because of our high rainfall, we dip every week,” she says. “We vary the pour-on dips to avoid tick resistance.”
The veld is dominated by Themeda triandra (red grass or rooigras), which provides nutritious grazing. Maria has divided the farm into 13 camps of 90-110ha. “I don’t use all the camps. In summer I slow the grazing rotation down and keep the animals in a camp for a maximum of one month,” she says.
In winter, she speeds up the rotation to avoid overgrazing. “I feed out a ready-mixed winter lick from Sernick to help maintain body condition. We feed winter licks from April to October, because our rain is usually late.” From mid-October, when the grass has flushed, the cattle go onto a summer lick. “There is always a production lick out, especially for cows that haven’t weaned their calves,” she adds.
Instead of having two breeding seasons, Maria has divided the herd into two groups and puts the bulls with the groups a few months apart.
“I used to have a winter breeding season but I phased it out. Calving in March puts cows under pressure as they’re trying to maintain body condition while their calves are still drinking milk off them during the hard winter months,” she says. She had to feed out more supplement as the winter grass frosts off and has little feed value.
Nowadays she puts the bulls in with the first group from October to December, and with the second group from January to end-February. Since making this switch in 2019 Maria has achieved a calving rate of 100%.
In January, she vaccinates with Supavax to protect against anthrax, botulism and blackleg. In September she vaccinates against lumpy skin disease and Rift Valley fever. The heifers get RB51 (a compulsory vaccine against brucellosis, also known as CA, or contagious abortion) when they are weaned at six months, at an average weight of 180-200kg.
“We sell all weaned bull calves at Sernick for their feedlot,” says Maria, “but I do want to keep a few bull calves to raise as breeding bulls for the emerging farmers’ market. I have quality bulls and cows in my herd and some of my bull calves look good enough to use for breeding.”
Succession and growth
Maria has worked closely with her second son for the past few years, and he has taken on most of the farm’s day-to-day tasks. “My son and his cousin now live on the farm with the workers,” says Maria.
Through the proceeds of the farm, Maria has purchased a 2ha plot in Hertzogville town because it can be difficult to do business on the farm since the signal is poor and there is no electricity. The plot is less than 18km from the farm and she travels there daily.
The focus now is on cultivating maize and possibly teff on the arable land to increase her capacity. She says she has been able to accomplish most of her goals in just two years, despite initially setting them over five years. She has increased her goat and sheep flock from 30 breeding Boer goats and 20 Dhone Merino sheep to more than 150 animals.
Maria is speaking to financial institutions about her expansion plans and hopes to acquire the equipment she needs soon. Her plans also include growing vegetables on the plot.
“There is enough water and electricity to set up irrigation on the plot,” she says. With her son taking over major responsibilities, Maria now has enough time to focus on her expansion plans.
