The biggest factor in human population decline
Farmer Angus Blog
by angus
3w ago
Not even the most ardent supporter of conventional/chemical/poisonous agriculture can claim that the chart below (60% increase in the use of poisons over 30 years) represents progress. What is even more scary is that over this period of time global cropland has decreased by approximately 1 million square kilometres. Despite this increased use of pesticides etc we lose 20 – 40% of crops to pests and disease. Most pesticides damage a broad spectrum of beneficial insets and microorganisms, not just the target pest. This disrupts the biological controls that are essential in keeping pets and dise ..read more
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10 steps to change our country for the better.
Farmer Angus Blog
by angus
3w ago
Ever since one of my mentors, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia, USA, wrote about the 10 things he would do in the USA if he were running for President, I have been thinking about what are the top 10 things we could do to our the beloved country. Joel’s list is here. Mine is below. Execute every rapist and child trafficker. Until our women and children are safe we are going nowhere as a country. I have heard folk say that the death penalty is not a deterrent. That is only because they don’t understand English. A rapist or child trafficker who is dead is permanently deterred from comm ..read more
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On radio I was called a lofty idealist.
Farmer Angus Blog
by angus
1M ago
It is of all the insults that I have received, the one I am happiest about. It took place yesterday morning on Cape Talk with Lester Kiewit. You can click here to listen. I start speaking at 11.45. It was a discussion around the boat that docked and stunk out Cape Town last week with 19,000 cattle on board. Fortunately Lester gave me a chance to have the last word. I talked about how South Africa could be fed regeneratively. I wrote this blog on the subject a few years ago. It is possible but not probable that we could be fed regeneratively. Furthermore if we embraced regenerative agricul ..read more
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The role of the retailer in the farm strikes.
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
Alternative title “It is not only the farmers fault” Hello Dear Reader The recent farm strikes need to be viewed in a wider context. From the farmer right through to the end consumer. We are all farmers by proxy, each and every one of us exercises that vote at least three times a day, and by choosing what food we eat and where we buy it, we choose which farmers we support. I am not attempting to absolve farmers of responsibility to treat their staff well, pay them well (the ANC government set the minimum wage so their comments are mere political opportunism), treat their animals humanely and e ..read more
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Test
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
[contact-form-7 ..read more
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The mislabelled meat that you likely eat
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
I updated my blog on the meat that we offer that will never make it into City Press. Please click here. Thanks. Also please make time to watch this amazing talk by Allan Savory on how cattle grazing can reverse desertification. We graze our cattle in the way he refers to in this TED talk. Allan Savory TED talk     ..read more
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Our egg price went up yesterday. Below is an explanation.
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
We last increased our price for our Pasture Reared Eggs in March of 2011. The picture above was taken this afternoon after I received the Roche Yolk Colour Fan whose values were set in 1931. Our egg is a 15. The highest number on the scale. The eggs you buy in the shop are closer to a 1 which is also in picture. The reason is simply that our chickens get to eat a lot of grasses and legumes growing in our pastures whereas the only green thing the battery hens (24 million out of 25 million laying hens in South Africa)  and the “free range” hens see is the overalls of the worker. Here is a ..read more
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Photos of recent activity on the farm, 27 May 2013
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
All these photos have been taken by the amazing Eva van Niekerk over the last month. Click on her name to get to her website. This is SP 1301.He will be given his Zulu name at weaning. The first Limousin Bull calf born this year and he is exactly a month old on the photo. Not brave enough to venture too far from Mamma’s legs…yet. Here is our eldest son, Hamish, stirring the BD 500. The foundation biodynamic preparation (horn manure) which is stirred for an hour and then sprayed out onto the land. All these photos were taken in the Ezibusisweni vineyard which produces Chenin Blanc grapes from ..read more
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Low stress stockhandling course on our farm, 27 September 2013
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
Dear fellow livestock lovers. I read about Bud Williams in the Stockman Grass Farmer. He was the godfather of low stress stock handling and designed the Bud Box. Our cattle handling has changed dramatically for the better since we built and use the Bud Box. Now there is an opportunity for us to learn from a man who was trained by Bud. David McLean is running a 1 day workshop on our farm, Spier in Stellenbosch on the 27th of September. The document below goes into the relevant detail about the day. Suffice to say apart from the actual course, both theoretical and practical, the highlights will ..read more
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The scariest document I have read this year – Roundup in chicken manure
Farmer Angus Blog
by faadmin
6M ago
Dear Reader The two main issues are first, that by using this manure you could be inadvertently be applying a herbicide to your land and second, you could be endangering the health of your cattle if you feed them this manure. Fortunately for me, the plants on Spier Wine Farm and for the readers who eat our beef and our eggs there is no need to worry. Our chickens eat a non GMO diet and our cattle NEVER eat a grain. Neither do we feed our cattle chicken manure. You need to click on this weblink twice to see the lab result that shows Roundup in broiler chicken manure of 1,103 ppm BROOKSIDE ..read more
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