A farmer from Jansenville lost 130 Angora goats, 10 Boer goats and several kilometres of wire fencing when 110mm of rain fell on his farm within an hour.
By Amelia Genis, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Sakkie Taljaard of the farm Olyvenfontein, which also operates the hunting company Noorsveld Safaris, on Friday said since last Monday night’s cloudburst he had not been able to enter the veld to assess the full extent of the damage. He may have lost even more animals.
Conditions were extremely dry before the rain and he has been feeding the goats since weaning in November. He says water of about 1m deep ran through the camp where the animals were kept and they were swept away.
“It was higher than the mesh of the fence wire. The goats didn’t really stand a chance.”
Even if he had known that heavy rain was on its way and could move the goats into the shed, the damage would have been just as severe, because the water also ran through the shed.
Fences Flattened And Washed Away
Large sections of the farm’s boundary fences and internal fences were flattened or completely washed away. He estimates it will take at least a year to restore everything.
The game on his farm are “just gone” and he cannot repair the holes in the fences fast enough. According to him, the animals are now scattered, but they cannot gather them to assess the full extent of the losses.
The !Khukaǁgamma or Sundays River runs through his farm and the water level rose above vehicles and pumps that had been positioned “metres high”.
“I have never seen the river come down like this. It even swept away thorn trees and my neighbour saw cattle being washed away.
“If cattle are washed away, it is serious.”
Taljaard also farms with Van Rooy sheep, Boer goats and Bonsmara cattle.
“Never Rained Like This”
He says although it is currently their rainy season, it has never rained like this.
“We get at most an inch – 25mm – at a time when we receive rain. It is usually a thunderstorm that lasts 10-15 minutes. A little water runs off, but most of it soaks into the soil.”
As if the damage were not severe enough, the farm roads and the road to town are also impassable, says Taljaard.
“I have been struggling for two days with a backhoe and a trencher to repair the road so that we can take our workers to town. Ditches 2-3m wide have been washed into the road.”
Also read:
WATCH | Masses of water stand in fields after cloudburst near Bloemfontein
Severe storms and tornadoes: How farmers can stay prepared
WATCH | Bakkie washes away as rain brings relief for some Northern Cape farmers
WATCH | Are we getting too much rain?
