By Lloyd Phillips
It has been a continuous journey of agricultural growth for Meshack Ndongeni (52), from helping with small-scale farming as a child to establishing a machinery-contracting business, to owning and operating multiple farming enterprises. Now, he is also an award-winning commercial farmer.
As a youngster growing up in the former Transkei’s Nkungwini district, Meshack Ndongeni was happiest when the school day was over and he could get back to helping his family grow vegetables on their 4,5 ha of communal land. He remembers learning to operate his family’s John Deere 1120 tractor and its implements.
During weekends and school holidays, he would operate the tractor when other local small-scale farmers hired it for their own croplands.
“In 2005, the Eastern Cape’s then MEC for agriculture, Gugile Nkwinti, launched the province’s Massive Food Programme. I successfully tendered for a government contract to provide machinery-contracting services to 300 ha under this programme. From then on, I’ve never looked back.
“By 2010, I owned eight tractors and various implements, and I continued to supply contracting services to government programmes. But at the same time I wanted to have my own farm.”
At around that time, and under the state’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), Meshack secured a short-term lease from government for 20 ha of irrigated lands in the Eastern Cape’s Umnga Flats district. This farmland was part of the Ncora Irrigation Scheme and, in addition to his ongoing contracting business, Meshack began growing cabbages there.
To be able to make full use of his fleet of tractors and implements, and their employed operators, in 2011 Meshack also began temporarily leasing 100 ha of dryland from government. This was for yellow maize production, and the harvests were sold to grain traders in the Eastern Cape’s Mount Frere district.
“I’d had a business partner for a while already. In 2012, we successfully jointly applied to lease the 2 000 ha Lucknow Farm in the nearby Kokstad district of KwaZulu-Natal, under government’s Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme.
“Lucknow Farm has 700 ha of arable land, of which 500 ha are irrigated, about 1 100 ha of natural sourveld grazing, and about 80 ha of dams and other farm infrastructure.”
The agreement was that while Meshack continued to focus mainly on his machinery-contracting business that now attended to 2 000 ha, his business partner would manage all Lucknow Farm’s operations for five years until 2018. Every two weeks during this time, Meshack spent a full day with his business partner to personally assess the farm’s operations and to hold strategy meetings.
In September 2018, with government’s permission, Meshack and his business partner divided Lucknow Farm in half to begin farming independently. The two men distributed the resources, such as water, arable lands, grazing and infrastructure, as fairly as possible.
“My partner’s half is still called Lucknow and I reverted to the original name of my half, which is Chatwall Farm. Chatwall now has 350 ha of arable land, of which 240 ha are irrigated and 110 ha are dryland. The remaining 650 ha are natural sourveld grazing, dams and farm infrastructure.
“I’m still running the machinery-contracting business, which now covers 3 000 ha, for the KwaZulu-Natal government. My fleet comprises 21 tractors and their implements.”
In 2021, Meshack bought the 1 280 ha Westlands Farm, situated on the opposite side of Kokstad, and about 25 km from Chatwall. Westlands comprises 750 ha of natural sourveld grazing, farm dams and Eragrostis land for baled hay production, and 450 ha of arable land, of which 150 ha are irrigated and 300 ha are dryland.
Meshack and his wife, Busisiwe, have four children. Busisiwe is the financial manager of the family’s Ndongeni Farms business. Their elder daughter, Mbalentle (27), who is studying towards a master’s degree in commerce, is the business’s administration manager. The couple’s younger daughter, Ntando (11), is still in school.
Their two sons, Siyavuya (25) and Sanelisekile (21), are both old boys of Weston Agricultural College and hold national diplomas in farm management.
Siyavuya has been co-managing Chatwall for the past four years, and Sanelisekile is in his first year of working with Meshack on Westlands. The two sons are of particular help given that the machinery-contracting business still occupies so much of Meshack’s time.
On advice from both the Ndongeni family’s bank manager and accountant, Mbalentle and Siyavuya have been made directors of Ndongeni Farms for the purposes of a firm succession plan.
Beef
When Meshack took possession of Chatwall in 2018, he had only 18 mixed-breed commercial beef cows and just more than 100 commercial Dohne Merino ewes for both wool and meat production.
He immediately sold the cows and took “a big loan from the bank” to buy 150 Beefmaster heifers in calf. Some were registered and others commercial.
“I chose the Beefmaster because I was chasing heavier weaning weights. There are lots of Beefmaster genetics available in our region. This makes it easier to source quality stud bulls that are well adapted to local production conditions.”
The Ndongenis’ commercial Beefmaster herd on Chatwall currently numbers 300 cows and 12 stud bulls. Meshack is also growing a second commercial Beefmaster herd on Westlands Farm to 300 breeding cows by the end of 2025.
The beef herd allows the family to maximise on running an integrated livestock and cropping farming business. During winter, the animals graze harvest residues of the summer crops. Their dung and urine deposits help to improve soil health.
Meshack prefers to grow out the ox weaners to a minimum of 14 months old before selling some of them for the first income from beef for the year. The remainder of the steers are kept until they are about 18 months old before they too are sold as the second income from the beef for that same year.
The main buyer of these is Karan Beef’s black farmer support programme, for the company’s own feedlots and abattoirs. This programme offers participating black farmers a slightly higher price than the prevailing market price, there is no sale commission fee, and it pays within 24 hours compared with the industry norm of within seven days. Transport of the animals is also free.
Every year, Meshack selects replacement breeding heifers from his latest crop of commercial Beefmaster calves. Heifers that are not selected are sold together with their mothers.
“I sell the mothers too because I want to avoid them producing more of the heifers that I don’t want.”
These sales are through FLA (Farmer Livestock Agents) and AAM Livestock Agents and Auctioneers. Meshack finds that most of the buyers of his culled females are small-scale cattle owners.
Meshack’s ideal Beefmaster animal is one that conforms to breed standards.
“When I look at it, I must see a distinctly Beefmaster animal. Even during my herd-building, if a heifer doesn’t show the right conformation, she’s out. It’s non-negotiable.”
Meshack schedules his cattle breeding programmes to have the cows on Chatwall calve in and around July, and those on Westlands to calve in and around March.
Before each bull is bred to about 30 females for 60 days, the bull is first tested by a veterinarian for the sexually transmissible bovine trichomoniasis disease, and has a semen sample collected and tested. Every bull that passes this test then undergoes sheath-washing to enhance conception among the females he covers.
Meshack mates heifers when they are 16 to 18 months old. Cows are mated when their calf at foot is 3 months old. All females must produce a calf every year otherwise they are immediately culled from the herd. Each culled cow is currently replaced by a bought-in Beefmaster heifer in calf.
“Our conception rate is currently from 89% to 92%, and our average calving rate is 85%. We wean at 6 months old. Weaning weights are not a priority until our herd building is complete.”
Sheep
Over the years, Meshack has continued to build his commercial sheep enterprise on Chatwall Farm to where it now comprises 950 breeding ewes, split into two breeding flocks. Last year, he began with a twice-yearly – instead of annual – breeding programme. The first lambing season is in March and April, and the second in August and September.
Meshack runs 25 ewes to every ram.
The two breeding seasons allow Ndongeni Farms to have marketable animals ready for sale during Easter as well as the Christmas and New Year festive season, when red meat prices are most favourable.
Managing two breeding flocks and their lambs separately is also easier when one factors in that many ewes will birth twins. For example, the sheep enterprise’s average lambing percentage is currently about 140%. So a single flock of 950 ewes would produce 1 330 lambs all at once, which would come with its own added management demands.
Meshack buys at least 10 replacement rams every year from mainly Dohne Merino stud breeders in the Eastern Cape. To maximise the genetics of these and of other top rams already on the farm, Meshack will move them from the one breeding flock to the other during the following breeding season.
Ndongeni Farms’ sheep are shorn in September every year and the clip marketed through Lapersonne Wool in Port Elizabeth.
“My son, Siyavuya, is a certified wool grader. So all our wool is first sorted, compacted and baled on Chatwall before it is delivered to the local depot. Last year our sheep produced 28 bales.”
Meshack creep-feeds his lambs from when they are 1 month old until weaning at 4 months old. All maiden ewes are being retained to grow the sheep enterprise to the target of 1 500 breeding females.
Castrated male lambs, correctly called wethers or hamels, are feedlotted on Chatwall until they are 45 kg liveweight. They are then sold directly to a local abattoir. The Ndongenis currently produce and sell at least 500 wethers annually.
“Our ideal Dohne Merino must have a good balance between wool production and producing good-quality marketable lambs.”
“The nutrition and health management programmes for both our beef and cattle are developed by nutritionists from Voermol and by our local livestock veterinarian.”
Cropping
Ndongeni Farms has a diversified 800 ha cropping enterprise, of which 390 ha are irrigated and 410 ha are dryland. The various crops are grown in rotation to break pest and disease cycles, and to help maintain soil health.
Every year, the operation produces 70 ha of the Valor and Panamera potato varieties grown from certified seed supplied by Wesgrow. To avoid having to plant seed potatoes that are too small for his liking, Meshack demands there be a maximum of 400 seed potatoes per bag he buys.
The Ndongenis plant their potatoes from September to mid-November every year. Harvesting stretches from late January until July. Harvests – which average 55 to 65 tonnes/ha – are washed, graded and packed by Ndongeni Farms.
“We sell some of our potato harvest directly to South African supermarkets. We also have buyers from Mozambique who send 34-tonne trucks to collect potatoes. Any remaining potatoes are sold through Durban Fresh Produce Market.”
“Where possible, I use my soil as the cold storage for my potatoes so that I can market potatoes for seven months of the year for a consistent income. When finances eventually allow, I will probably invest in a proper cold storage facility for the business.”
Ndongeni Farms grows various grain crops. These are produced using no-till practices as much as possible. Tillage is only used when unavoidable, such as deep ripping to alleviate sub-soil compaction or discing to work lime into the soil.
Also to help improve soil health, Meshack grows the self-seeding cover crop WonderCover between his grain crops. An added benefit is that WonderCover can be grazed by livestock during winter.
The summer grain crops grown by Ndongeni Farms are 350 ha of yellow maize, of which 170 ha are irrigated and 180 ha are dryland; and 380 ha of soya beans and/or sunflowers, of which 190 ha are irrigated and 190 ha are dryland.
In winter, up to 60 ha of irrigated wheat is produced.
“We have our soils grid-sampled every three years. We also have soil samples taken and tested every year. Our planter, fertiliser spreader and lime spreader are all precision implements that apply inputs at variable rates according to recommendations based on the results of the soil samples.
“I find precision technology to be very beneficial because it helps save money on production inputs.”
Average yields currently being achieved by Ndongeni Farms are 10–11 tonnes/ha of yellow maize, 2–3 tonnes/ha of soya beans, 2 tonnes/ha of sunflower seed, and 7 tonnes/ha of winter wheat.
Meshack sells most of his grain harvests via SAFEX (South African Futures Exchange) because it allows him the flexibility to lock in the best prices possible. He also prefers potential grain buyers who can offer the most favourable transport differentials.
“We have a 2 000-tonne-capacity grain storage silo. So we can store grain when prices are less favourable until they become more favourable.”
Learning
Meshack has always placed great importance on continual learning and development in his farming career. To this end he is a board member of Potatoes SA and chairs its transformation committee, and he is a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu).
These memberships and activities enable Meshack to be at the forefront of access to the latest information and other developments in South African agriculture.
“I also attend the NAMPO agricultural exhibition in Bothaville in the Free State every year. It showcases all the latest technologies, and I always learn something new. A farmer can’t afford to be left behind.”
Although Meshack is now officially a commercial farmer, he has not forgotten that there are many other black farmers still on their own growth journeys.
For this reason he provides free mentorship to developing black farmers in the Kokstad district who are determinedly putting in the effort to continually improve themselves and their operations.
“I’d like to see NAMPO’s organisers and exhibitors making themselves and their information more accessible to black farmers at all scales of production,” Meshack says. “Have more information available in English. Be open to proactively approaching black farmers to ask what help they need and to offer advice, instead of waiting for them to approach you. Remember, small-scale black farmers now could be large-scale commercial farmers in a few years, and they will remember who was helpful to them and who wasn’t.”
Looking ahead
Meshack feels that with the major strides that he and his family have made with their Ndongeni Farms, perhaps it is soon time to hang up the reins of the machinery-contracting business.
“I want us to start focussing 100% on our farming operation to make sure that it can support all six of us into the future.
“To help with this, I’m considering starting to lease land in northern KwaZulu-Natal and in Zululand, where we can increase our potato production. It will allow us to harvest and supply potatoes throughout the year.”
Meshack is also currently in discussions with the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development to hopefully soon secure full title to Chatwall Farm.
Enquiries: Meshack Ndongeni, Tel 039 797 0008, email masiqhame@ndongenifarms.co.za
WATCH: African Farming visits multi award-winning farmer, Meshack Ndongeni
