By Alani Janeke
Sporadic grade problems are experienced in areas where earlier maize is being harvested, while some farmers have driven livestock into their soybean fields because conditions are still too wet to harvest.
Some of the silos in Mpumalanga have set up storage areas for grade 3 maize due to problems with the quality of the early maize that is now being harvested. “It is particularly maize planted at the beginning of summer, which first had to deal with drought and then very wet conditions, that has grade problems,” says Ryk Pretorius, farmer of Ermelo and regional representative of Grain SA.
According to Pretorius, the yields of this maize are favourable, providing a glimmer of hope about farmers’ income and input costs. Around 95% of his region’s soybeans have already been harvested, although many fields between Bethal and Ogies have not been harvested yet because farmers have been unable to enter them after the late, heavy rains of March and April.
Gys Olivier, chairman of Agri Hertzogville, says farmers in the Hertzogville district in the Free State are also experiencing grade problems with maize planted in October and early November. “We expect the yields of maize planted in December to be more favourable.” Soybean harvesting in the area has largely been completed, and the last peanuts will be harvested this week. Harvest time for potatoes is also underway.
“After the concern about the late rain and muddy conditions, it is as if calm has descended on our community. The usual problems are there, but we are not experiencing any crises. We are very excited about our full soil profiles. The prospects for next season look very promising.”
Egon Zunckle, a farmer in the Winterton district in KwaZulu-Natal and Warden in the Free State, says all his crops at Winterton and Warden have been harvested. However, some of his neighbours in both districts have many fields with summer crops such as soybeans, maize, and sunflowers that have not yet been harvested.
Around one more week for last soybeans
“Every week we start again and try to get into the fields,” says DJ van der Linde, farmer of the district of Vierfontein in the Free State. A lot of heavy rain fell in that area during March, but especially during April. “We still get stuck in the fields every day, even farmers with caterpillars get stuck in places.
“The coming week will be the last week we try to harvest soybeans, but in most places where they are still standing, they have already popped open. We realised that there are areas in the fields that we will not be able to harvest this year. We will have to drive our livestock there to get some use out of those crops. At least we get 80-90% of every farm harvested.”
From the second week of June, Van der Linde and his fellow farmers in the district will begin to concentrate on harvesting maize. “We generally expect an average to below average harvest. At least we will be able to pay our invoices.”
‘Let’s call it the season of getting stuck’
Pierre van Eeden, farmer of the district of Edenville in the Free State, has finished harvesting around 65% of his sunflowers. “We basically get stuck somewhere every day in a field where we try to harvest. We are used to it now. Let’s just call this the season of getting stuck.”
Van Eeden says his one neighbour recently noted that he had learned a new skill this season. “He now knows how to haul out a harvester without breaking it.”
In the Eastern Free State, farmers began to harvest sporadically, with soybeans still being harvested there. “In some places, farmers have given up and know they will not be able to harvest soybeans, but the wet areas are becoming smaller each week,” says Jaco Breytenbach, farmer of the district of Fouriesburg and regional representative for Grain SA.
After the heavy deposits in that area, springs began to flow in areas that were not permanently flowing. “But at least some of these springs are not flowing anymore. So, the moisture moved deeper into the ground.”
Breytenbach says the new soybean cultivars on the market have resulted in fewer soybeans opening. Although the harvesters are already operating in some of the maize fields, wet spots in those fields also cause problems. “With the tall maize, the sun cannot shine on the soil in the fields. The wet spots therefore don’t really get a chance to dry properly.”
Excited and satisfied
According to Naudé Pienaar, general manager of Agri Northwest, conditions around harvest time vary widely in the Northwest. Farmers still get stuck in fields in some places, while other farmers have already driven their livestock into their fields in January or February this year due to drought damage.
“Generally, the farmers are excited and grateful for what they can harvest now. Many farmers are satisfied with the harvest they are getting after a season with varying conditions.”
