Most startup farmers are faced with one critical decision; deciding what mode of farming to take. If you thought deciding on this is as easy as milking a cow, think again. Lets face it; farming is a highly glamourised sector. It has now become the ‘in-thing’ and those who are lucky to have made it further than others waste no time reminding us of such. 

Gone are the days of traditional farming where glamour was not even a consideration. The traditional farmer only cared about increasing his stock and providing for them so they could provide for him in return. It was that simple. 

Today’s farmer has upped the game and quite rightly so. But somewhere along the way, we have given in to allow this noble sector to be turned into somewhat of a fashion statement. It is now all about that land cruiser, khaki shirts with matching shorts and expensive tailor-made boots. What happened to the good old vellies? We used to trend those veldskoene, especially the ones with real car tyre rubber for the sole.

Then came the advent of social media and farmers just lost their minds, figuratively! It’s now all about a snap with my new Brahman bull here and another where the farmer is working the fields for the world to see. Working the fields and the pants are as clean as hotel linen? What happened to dirty hands, clean money?

That is what the noble sector has now been turned into. And you think starting up as a farmer and making a success of it would be easy with all these camera flashes and flaunting? Most probably not.

So, how does one decide what to go with? By remaining with both your feet on the ground. Don’t follow the glamour, do what best suits you. The main determining factor, however, would be the climate of the environment where you intend to carry out your farming operations. 

You need to determine what type of farming is most probable to succeed in the area by looking at what is already farmed there. If you intend to go into livestock production, for instance, some areas may not be suitable for both small stock and cattle. Also, consider other factors such as what type of predators roam the area as some may cause you greater risks when farming with small stock as opposed to cattle.

Small stock such as goats and sheep require constant nurturing and need to be looked after more closely than cattle. Sometimes they will not return home to their kraal and need to be searched in the field where they usually browse and graze. For a weekend farmer, this could be a headache lest you have good herd men on the farm taking care of the livestock for you.

The positives of small stock amongst others are that they multiply faster, are less expensive to feed in times of drought, and require lesser grazing areas.

Cattle, on the other hand, require much larger grazing areas and go far in search of food. This puts them at risk of thieves who thrive on stock theft. 

Also, in times of drought, feeding them is much more expensive. But large stock hold greater economic value when sold. You could buy a car faster by farming with cattle than when rearing small stock.

If crop farming is what performs best in your area, then go for it by all means. Study the type of vegetables, fruit or produce that is best suited for your area and get to work. Most importantly, remain focused and do not be taken in by the ‘glamorous carrots’ being dangled in front of you. -tjatindi@gmail.com