Farmers in the Free State and North West find themselves in a very bad situation with above-normal rainfall affecting optimal planting and harvesting windows. If the rain does not clear soon enough, farmers producing maize, wheat and soybeans are in for tough times.
For Free State farmer Karabo Mahlaba, the rain has already delayed his maize and soybean plantings by a week.
“The planting window is closing, which makes it difficult… I was thinking that if we start planting early that it would give us an opportunity to [benefit] from the current prices for maize and soybeans, which are currently very good,” he explains.
If the rains allow, Mahlaba intends to plant 110 hectares of maize and 110 hectares of soybeans, but so far he’s only been able to to plant about 50 hectares.
“[Normally by this time] I would have been able to plant all 110 hectares of maize and I would [only] be [focusing] on planting soybeans. I’m very much delayed this season.”
Mahlaba has spent a lot time and money to get his land ready for this planting season and the above-normal rainfall is putting a spanner in the works.
“Last year we planted at cheaper input rates. This year it’s the other way around, fertiliser prices are crazy expensive. Last year, you could plant maize for about 11 000 per hectare and this year its is 21 000 per hectare, so you can see the difference.”
“It’s kind of a setback. Because we spent money doing land preparations and then we bought inputs. The idea of not being able to harvest anything out of that work [is scary],” Mahlaba tells Food For Mzansi.
Meanwhile, Hugo van Doornick, a farmer in the Bethlehem area, is worried that if farmers plant later than November, frost becomes a major concern for soybean plantings in early April. “Farmers in the area have so far planted very little and what has already been planted is now waterlogged.”
Farmers in this area have already received 208mm of rain for November, he said.
Meanwhile, in the Marquard area, farmers have already received between 100mm and 150mm in the past 7 days. Farmers in the Rouxville area are reported to have already received 160mm of rain, which makes it difficult for them to plant or cut lucerne.
Challenges with harvesting
Naudé Pienaar, deputy general manager at Agri North West, reckons farmers in North West still have enough time to plant. “I don’t think our plantings are in trouble. Of course, farmers would want to plant at the optimum time, but there is still some time left.”
Those who are harvesting crops like wheat, however, are in trouble, he says. Harvesting at the right time, Pienaar explains, is vital. This is because the quality of the harvest deteriorates dramatically when crops stand in water for long periods of time.
“It’s all about quality. If the product is ripe and ready, you need to be able to harvest at the optimal time and get it to the silo as soon as possible. If left exposed to the sun after heavy rains, or left in water for too long, the quality is lost and it affects the price,” Pienaar explains..
A concerning reality is that if a large group of farmers are unable to deliver their wheat, for example, then this will influence the market going forward.
Elmarie Joynt, media representative for Senwes, agrees that farmers are struggling to harvest wheat and grain.
“Senwes has received very little wheat to date – but traditionally in the Senwes area wheat is harvested at the end of November. For summer grain, plantings that were done earlier are now drowning and the risks are that these crops would have to be replanted,” Joynt says.
Unfortunately there is little that farmers can do at this point. According to Pienaar, farmers will have to wait until the ground is dry so that the machines can go back into the fields.
“The fields are so wet that the harvesting equipment and machines get stuck because they are so heavy. It’s one of those things that is out of the farmer’s hands. We cannot influence the rain; we cannot keep the rain away.
“We are grateful for the rain because we need to do plant preparations again for the summer. So, there’s not much we can do about the flooded area currently,” Pienaar explains.
Impact on road infrastructure
The heavy rain also poses a challenge to farm infrastructure, and especially road infrastructure in North West and the Free State.
Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture (FSA), says although they are grateful for the rain, it also has its own challenges.
“Apart from plantings that get waterlogged, the heavy rain also causes severe damage to our already crumbling road infrastructure.”
In the meantime, FSA is cautiously optimistic about the recent announcement by William Bulwane, the province’s MEC for police, roads and transport, that millions have been allocated for the repair of battered roads in the province.
“The risk is currently that a good rainy season over the holiday period will cause further damage to the Free State’s road network even before the initial damage could be repaired. Our hope is that the provincial administration will ensure that the allocated funds will be used correctly and will not ‘disappear’,” says Wilken.
What to expect from the weather
In the meantime, farmers say they are watching the weather channel closely. According to the South African Weather Service’s (SAWS) seasonal climate watch report, strong rainfall patterns will likely continue until early next year.
“The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently in a La Niña state, and forecasts indicate that it will likely remain in this state during the remainder of 2022 and early 2023,” the report states.
The presence of a La Niña event usually has its strongest impact on rainfall during the mid-summer months. With the continued strengthening of the La Niña event, there is a high chance that it will have its usual effect on South Africa, which is generally for above-normal rainfall and below-normal temperatures over the summer rainfall areas.
Mahlaba is one of many farmers who hopes to get more work done in the weeks ahead. To complete planting successfully, Mahlaba reckons he will need at least two weeks of clear weather for the water to clear up. However, he worries that this might not happen.
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