A passionate cattle breeder with a heart of gold. This is how Free State farmers are remembering 29-year-old Christian (Chrisjan) van Tonder who was shot dead in Gauteng.
Tributes have been pouring in following the news of Van Tonder’s passing. His body was found by police on the R59 in the Marlbank area in Barrage, after they had seen his bakkie standing next to the road. He had reportedly just concluded a cattle sale.
Hannetjie Human, family friend and local farmer who has worked closely with Van Tonder in the past, told Food For Mzansi that the farming community in the province was devastated by his sudden passing.
She said that it was especially difficult because he was a young farmer with much potential.
“As a young man, Chrisjan had to take over the dairy farm after his father’s death. It was very expensive to continue with the dairy farm at that time, but with the advice of other farmers he decided to switch to cattle farming,” Human said.
Van Tonder farmed with livestock around Lindley in the eastern Free State on 1 200 hectares. There he bred Drakensberger cattle, often referred to as “black gold” in those parts.
His business, FCC van Tonder Boerdery, was a third-generation farming enterprise which he took over after his father had passed away from cancer.
“Chrisjan always bought very good bulls and had a terribly good support system with the farmers. He even went on to buy animals that he would tend to and resell.
“As a young man and young farmer, Chrisjan did very well in farming. We really take our hats off to him for being able to achieve what he has,” Human said.
Food For Mzansi learned that following Van Tonder’s passing, many farmers have reached out to the family conveying their heartfelt condolences and sharing personal stories about the interactions they had with him.
“He actually helped so many people. There are many people who came and said that he lent them equipment and implements and they wanted to bring it back.
“It just shows that he had a very good heart. He even rented out some of the land that he could not cultivate himself,” Human said.
She further said that the young farmer had a huge impact on the agricultural community in the province and that they will miss him dearly.
ALSO READ: Free State ‘black gold’ breeder shares his secrets to success
Another food producer gone
Another farmer who had a few encounters with Van Tonder, Annalea van Niekerk, told Food For Mzansi that agriculture in the province experienced a difficult week with the killing of three farmers in one week.
Apart from van Tonder, Johan Prinsloo (73) and workers were attacked on Monday on his farm around 07:30. During the attack, Prinsloo was shot.
Another farmer, Godfrey Venter (59), was also attacked on Monday on his farm Yukon in Bothaville.
“When I think of Chrisjan van Tonder who is a young farmer, he had so much waiting for him. He made such a huge difference in the agricultural industry. He left a very big gap that will be felt by many Free State farmers,” Van Niekerk said.
The contribution he could still have made to the agricultural industry would have made a big difference considering his passion and love for agriculture, she added.
“I sometimes wonder if the attackers realise that every time a farmer is killed, it is a food producer who is taken out of the food chain; someone who even produces food for robbers and murderers.
“I wish farm attackers and murderers could realise what they were doing to farmers. They are causing farmers to live in fear with some no longer wanting to farm.”
Extra alertness needed during festive season
Meanwhile Jakkals le Roux, chairman of Free State Agriculture’s rural safety committee, expressed his sincere condolences to the next of kin of the deceased farmers.
With the festive season upon us, Le Roux is seriously appealing to farmers to be extremely alert and make sure safety plans are in place.
“Criminal activities are unfortunately escalating at this time of year and especially agricultural communities must be very alert and attentive to any suspicious persons or vehicles,” he said.
ALSO READ: Free State rocked by 53 farm attacks, 10 murders in 10 months
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