JJ de Nysschen, the 2023 Agri Limpopo and Toyota Younger Farmer of the Yr’s interest for agriculture shines via. JJ discusses how he combines innovation and sustainability to power good fortune in Limpopo’s farming panorama.
Picture: Provided
JJ de Nysschen, the 2023 Agri Limpopo and Toyota Younger Farmer of the Yr, grew up in a farming circle of relatives and believes this was once the rationale he selected farming as a occupation.
After attending the Dr Annecke Number one College in Letsitele and finishing his secondary faculty schooling on the Ben Vorster Top College in Tzaneen, he realised he had by no means sought after to do not anything else than farming.
In 2010, JJ joined his circle of relatives’s farming operation close to Letsitele. In 2015 the farming operation break up, with every workforce inside the circle of relatives setting up their very own farming operation.
JJ and his father, Koos, endured to farm at the farms Junction, Delhi and Hornby within the Letsitele house in addition to a 2 300ha sport farm, Vluchtkraal, close to Bandelierskop. They farm citrus, sport, farm animals and rooster broilers in Limpopo.
JJ’s technique specializes in making improvements to the farming industry and he’ll best extend when and the place it makes industry sense.
“I all the time try to extend the yield, reinforce at the high quality of the fruit, in addition to to stay winning. I wish to focal point at the issues I will be able to trade and reinforce, and now not waste time on the ones issues which are a given,” JJ issues out.
He produces oranges, Famous person Ruby pomelos and lemons on 250ha within the Letsitele valley. At the moment citrus manufacturing constitutes the core of the farming operation, however JJ says the broiler manufacturing supplies a gradual and dependable source of revenue.
Significance of diversifying
“One must diversify to unfold the danger. Even if citrus will stay the primary focal point, the broilers, farm animals, and sport farming, to a lesser extent, assist to unfold the danger in addition to supply a gradual source of revenue all the way through the 12 months,” says JJ.
Of the 250ha, about 25ha include lemons, with JJ favouring the Genoa selection. “The Genoa tree grows right into a bushier form of tree and the fruit are kind of seedless.” The opposite citrus produced comprises Famous person Ruby pomelos, in addition to Turkish, Nighttime and late-season Valencia orange types.
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He selects citrus types that are compatible into his control programme and elegance, particularly referring to pruning, spraying and diet.
He controlled to acquire a yield of 88t/ha on one in every of his citrus blocks however recognizes that this was once now not the norm. “Generally we download yields of between 60t and 65t/ha, relying at the season.”
With an approximate 90% packout proportion, they export 500 000 cartons a 12 months from their very own trendy six-line packing facility. Those are all exported to Eu markets.
He makes use of probes to help with water scheduling within the drip and micro-irrigation gadget that has been put in within the orchards. About 80% of the bushes are underneath micro-irrigation and the opposite 20% underneath drip irrigation.
The place he makes use of drip irrigation he makes use of liquid fertiliser and, at the others, granular fertiliser. He prefers scattering the granules by way of hand within the root zone of the bushes. After harvesting he’ll take soil samples to ship away for research.
The effects, along side the former season’s yield effects, will point out which and what sort of fertiliser to make use of.
Whilst now not underestimating the benefits of mechanisation and the usage of era, he additionally realises the significance of activity introduction, particularly of their house. Subsequently, he’s nonetheless the usage of quite a lot of guide and seasonal labour at the farm.
His farmworkers are liable for pruning the bushes after harvest. “We don’t do a summer time pruning.”
The pruned branches are mulched within the orchard and used to hide the soil. This is helping to forestall water erosion in addition to stay the soil cooler and more fit.
The seasonal labourers are remunerated according to the prescriptions within the legislation and minimum wages law, however they’re paid a certain quantity in keeping with bag.
JJ does now not paintings via a dealer when hiring seasonal staff: the extra baggage the pickers pick out in keeping with day, the upper their remuneration will likely be.
“Within the packing facility, we additionally introduced guide labour again to kind the oranges earlier than they pass at the computerized strains,” he says.
“We discovered that we succeed in a greater packing proportion this manner.”
He follows an built-in pest control gadget via a mixture of organic, cultural, bodily, and chemical keep watch over strategies.
Mealybug is an issue within the citrus orchards and initially of the citrus season he’ll spray for this and different bugs.
Organic keep watch over
Closer the top of the season, he’ll transfer over to organic keep watch over strategies. They use the services and products of Insectec, an insectarium within the house.
“An area analysis and building staff is hired within the insectarium to assist farmers deal with particular wishes inside the season, and the sphere body of workers help us on-farm with technical recommendation,” he says.
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At the moment, JJ operates 12 broiler properties on a space at the farm that’s not fitted to fruit manufacturing. Right here he produces 600 000 broilers in 8 to 9 31-day cycles a 12 months.
He erected the primary 3 broiler properties in 2018, adopted by way of an extra 3 in 2019, and in 2023 he added some other six. He produces for Bushvalley Chickens.
Even if he makes use of water from the Letaba irrigation scheme and a canal gadget, he makes use of borehole water for the broilers.
“Within the dry years, once we struggled with water availability, it was once unimaginable to extend the citrus operations, and I used to be given the possibility of development broiler properties and handing over to Bushvalley Chickens.”
Biosecurity is terribly vital in broiler manufacturing, says JJ. “We applied strict laws to cut back contamination. With the present state of affairs within the nation referring to avian influenza and the supply of vaccines, we must be prudent and make certain that we observe strict biosecurity rules on-farm.”
He rentals further land from probably the most neighbours, the place he assists in keeping a 200-head industrial red meat farm animals herd. He places Bonsmara bulls to the crossbred cows.
“The usage of Bonsmara bulls offers me wholesome calves. I purchase in heifers after which promote the weaners,” he says.
JJ averages a calf proportion of 80%, and follows high-density grazing to assist make certain that he makes use of the land optimally and sustainably.
“This kind of grazing in some way mimics the movements and result of herds of grazers in nature, the place they graze widely earlier than they transfer directly to some other house. The contest is excessive, and the animals can’t be selective of the grass species they devour. Because the animals transfer directly to some other camp, the grazed house is authorized to get well earlier than the farm animals are installed that exact camp once more.”
Looking season
With reference to the sport farming operation, they farm with plains sport close to Bandelierskop in Limpopo. Those come with sable, kudu, eland, impala, nyala, blue and golden wildebeest, zebra, gemsbuck, warthog, giraffe, waterbuck, and hartebeest.
All through the looking season they open the farm to hunters, however most commonly the sport farm is for their very own enjoyment. Some of the major demanding situations that sport farmers face is poaching.
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“Poachers are available with canine and create havoc in a space. Warthogs, sable, gemsbuck and eland are probably the most susceptible. The antelope don’t flee however face and struggle the canine after which after they, are exhausted after a duration of time, they’re killed with spears.
“Warthogs are trapped of their burrows and both smoked out or trapped in nets, and then they’re additionally stabbed with spears.”
The long run
His plans for the long run come with increasing the citrus operation if water availability lets in. He’s going to additionally believe rising the broiler manufacturing and changing apparatus.
“When the upkeep of a tractor or put into effect exceeds the volume that you’d have paid to carrier a per 30 days instalment of a brand new tractor or put into effect, you will have to believe changing it. To deal with one thing will have to now not price greater than purchasing one thing new.”
Load-shedding is a burden on any farming operation’s base line. Except the traditional electrical energy prices, all over levels 5 and six of load-shedding, the price of diesel had to run turbines for the irrigation, broiler properties, farm families and workplaces is terribly excessive.
In his unfastened time, JJ loves to head looking and deep-sea fishing, and he has a pilot’s licence. He additionally loves flying his drone and says this is useful when he must rely sport and when he desires an total view of the orchard from the air.
“I take pictures with the drone and use them to watch orchard well being. One can simply see if one thing is amiss in an orchard when having a look from above,” he says.
“Even if farming isn’t all the time simple and one has to take care of one’s justifiable share of stumbling blocks and demanding situations, I don’t wish to do anything. I focal point at the certain and really feel that I’m rather blessed.”
JJ was once lately elected directly to the control staff of Agri Letaba. He believes that it is very important make a favorable contribution within the house the place you farm and are living.
He’s married to his faculty sweetheart, Freda, and they have got two sons, Cobus (4) and Pienaar (2).
E mail JJ de Nysschen at [email protected].