By Alani Janeke
Grain farmers report this is one of the most challenging harvest seasons in recent memory. While harvesting is occurring in some areas, for many farmers, this is a ‘get stuck and pull out the harvester’ season.
Grain SA has requested that cooperatives accept soybeans at a higher moisture level this year because they are still wet.
“Silos usually accept soybeans at a moisture level of 12.5-13%, but due to the wet conditions, we have requested that they be accepted at 15% this year,” explains Corné Louw, senior agricultural economist and head of applied economics and member services at Grain SA.
“If farmers have to wait for the level to drop to 12.5-13%, the first fields they harvest will meet the correct levels, but the soybeans that are harvested later will have moisture levels that are too low by the time they reach the silos.”
Grain SA is currently awaiting feedback on this request.
The organisation is also struggling to get imported tracks for harvesters released through customs at OR Tambo Airport so that farmers who need them can start harvesting. “The farmers urgently need those tracks, and we’re trying to resolve the delay as quickly as possible,” says Louw.
The demand for these tracks has skyrocketed this year because they assist farmers in harvesting in very wet lands.
Louw says the market demand for maize is sharply increasing because early maize cannot be harvested this year due to wet conditions. The demand for maize for both human and animal consumption is rising.
Getting stuck and trying again
Meanwhile, farmers across the summer grain region are trying to harvest crops where possible. “There are some patches on farms where the water has drained off and it is dry enough to start harvesting, but mostly farmers are struggling with harvesters that are getting stuck in the mud,” says Ryk Pretorius, a regional representative of Grain SA who farms near Ermelo in Mpumalanga.
In the eastern Free State, the harvest season is also proceeding in fits and starts, says Jaco Breytenbach, a Grain SA regional representative who farms near Fouriesburg. “In our area, there are parts where you can start harvesting, but you must concentrate very carefully just to get to the lands because you can get stuck on the way there. Around Bethlehem, there are still very wet areas.”
Pierre van Eeden from the Edenville district in the Free State says he has begun harvesting, though he can only harvest certain sections. “This morning, I harvested about one load, but I got stuck three times in an hour. The tractor stays next to the land to pull out the harvester, but it’s using almost more diesel than the harvester.”
Van Eeden says he and his farm manager drive to the lands every morning to see which are dry enough to harvest. “That’s how we approach this harvest season. Meanwhile, moisture loss from the sunflower seeds and large swarms of birds eating sunflower seeds are the other major challenges on the farm.”
For DJ van der Linde of Vierfontein, the harvest season will only begin in about three weeks. “We also check daily for sections dry enough to harvest, and I have already put three wheels on the harvester and wheels on the harvester table. In my 40 years on the farm, I have never experienced a year like this. Over the weekend, my neighbours and I said that after the harvest, we must let our soil rest for a long time before we can rip and begin preparations for next season.”
Measuring lines
For Riaan Taljaard, a farmer from the Hoopstad district, the measuring lines fell into place nicely this year. Between December 18, 2024, and February 18, 2025, he experienced severe drought conditions, and afterwards, it started raining. He farms on sandy soil. “We’ve had about 600mm of rain this year, of which 413mm has fallen since February 18. Our average annual rainfall is 460mm.”
“The dear Father knows how to make things work out on your farm. I believe that because it was so dry before February 18, there was enough space for all the fallen rain. We can harvest and are very excited about the potential of our crops.”
Taljaard says he dug a few profile holes during the last weekend of April and is very excited about the soil water levels for next season. “And to think, at the beginning of this season, we thought we wouldn’t be able to plant at all. But I know it will be rough in the eastern areas trying to harvest. I feel very sorry for those farmers.”
Derek Mathews, a farmer from the Sannieshof district in North West, says this year he had to purchase equipment from the Western Cape that wheat farmers typically use to separate wheat from chaff as part of his plans to ensure the grains are sufficiently dry. He has already harvested his sunflower fields and is working on the soybeans. Although he can harvest, he says he would also be very grateful for sunshine to harvest his soybeans, peanuts, and maize. His average annual rainfall is about 520mm. So far this year, he has received 767mm, of which 180mm has fallen since April 1.
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