This year’s rainfall over parts of the summer rainfall region is breaking several records. African Farming spoke to a few farmers in the Free State to hear how the rainfall reflected in their rain measurements.
Rainfall Doubles in Several Places
Cobus van Coller, a farmer from the Viljoenskroon district, says his rain measurements from 1 January to 9 December this year came to 1 135mm. His average annual rainfall is about 550mm.
“There are farmers here who have not been able to start planting at all. I have already started, but planting is progressing slowly. I hope to be finished by Christmas. Other farmers are keeping a close eye on the conditions, but they may not be able to finish planting until the end of December or the beginning of January.”
At the farm of DJ van der Linde, a farmer from the Vierfontein district, most of the rain on his farm this year was measured in the first four months. A total of 749mm was measured from 1 January to 30 April. There was lighter rainfall from 1 September to 9 December when 207mm was measured. A total of 971mm was measured, while the average annual rainfall in the previous three years was 545mm.
Only a few kilometres from Van der Linde’s farm, heavier rain has been falling since September, and in some areas farmers’ crops are rotting in the soil.
Also read: Wet planting season: Maize, soya beans starting to rot in places
On Nicolaas Kotzé’s farm in the Frankfort district, 936mm has been recorded so far this year, of which 598mm fell from 1 January to 30 April. From 1 September to 9 December, he measured 288mm. The total rainfall from 1 September to 31 December 2024 was 258mm.
“My soil is saturated, especially because we had a wet harvesting season. I have had waterlogging damage in some areas. Some of my fields are beautiful, but some of my topsoil and seed have already washed into the Vaal Dam as the water drained away.”
Kotzé’s average annual rainfall in the area is around 600mm to 650mm.
Highest Rainfall Since 1950
Johan van den Berg, independent agricultural meteorologist, says 842mm was measured at a weather station measuring point between Edenville and Kroonstad from 1 January to 30 November this year. The area’s average annual rainfall is about 550mm. Most of the 842mm was measured in March and April this year when 352mm fell.
Van den Berg says since 1950, four similar seasons have occurred – characterised by a weak La Niña phenomenon, which already started to return to more neutral sea surface temperatures in the El Niño areas in December. These seasons were in the summers of 1962-’63, 1967-’68, 1996-’97 and 2013-’14.
Also read: Hail conditions may extend westward and into the winter rainfall region
