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Look! These farms are covered with snow and we’re loving it!

by Vuyile Madwantsi
15th July 2021
in Farmers, News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Budding agriculturist Aiden Abrahams on the snow-covered farm of Laastedrif Agri in Ceres in the Western Cape. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Budding agriculturist Aiden Abrahams on the snow-covered farm of Laastedrif Agri in Ceres in the Western Cape. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Many farms across the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape are covered in snow after nearly 20cm of snowfall was measured on mountain peaks, according to the South African Weather Service.

The Matroosberg in the Western Cape is currently covered in show. Photo: Supplied/Aiden Abrahams
The Matroosberg in the Western Cape is currently covered in show. Photo: Supplied/Aiden Abrahams

In the Matroosberg, the highest mountain in the Boland, farmers woke up to a blanket of snow earlier.

In this region, 15cm of snowfall was measured on Wednesday, 13 July with a further 8cm predicted for Tuesday, 20 July, according to Snow-Forecast.

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The Matroosberg lies just outside Ceres which is the home of many top deciduous fruit producers. This includes Laastedrif Agri, an family farm that first gained accreditation to export fruit to Europe in 1887. The farm is owned by Rossouw Cillié, a multi-award-winning farmer.

Sheep moved to snow camps

One of Cillié’s employees, Aiden Abrahams, tells Food For Mzansi that farming in the snow is an “incredible” experience. He says, “You’re driving absentmindedly and the next thing your windscreen is covered in snowflakes.”

Abrahams (26), a budding agriculturist, is a graduate from Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute. He is most impressed by how the agricultural sector in this part of the country was well prepared for the cold winters that are often accompanied by snow. “We usually move our sheep to snow camps.”

According to Abrahams, the snow brought plenty of water and Laastedrif has opened three of its weirs for water storage to allow water to flow freely.

The farm Beeldhouersfontein in the Murraysburg district of the Karoo is covered in snow. Photo: Linda van den Berg/@ReenvalSA/Twitter
The farm Beeldhouersfontein in the Murraysburg district of the Karoo is covered in snow. Photo: Linda van den Berg/@ReenvalSA/Twitter

“We also have contingencies in place. We have dug trenches and cleaned our roads so that as the snow melts, the water can flow smoothly to our dams and our boreholes as well.”

Freezing week ahead

The South African Weather Service tells Food For Mzansi that most of the country can expect low temperatures for the rest of the week.

Besides Ceres, it also snowed in the Central Karoo, Stellenbosch mountains as well as parts of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape over the last 24 hours. In the Eastern Cape, road closures have been put in place due to the snow flurries.

“While we do not have the proper technology to monitor snowfall in the mountains, our forecasts indicate that 15cm to 20cm of snowfall has fallen on the mountain peaks,” says Mhlongo.

She adds that cold weather generally poses a significant risk to livestock and crops.

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ALSO READ: Fruit farming: What starter farmers need to know

Wys mens net hoe koud Sutherland is. Die sneeu is op plekke klip hard, skaduwee dele nog sag maar nie gesmelt. En dan die krag af in ons kant van gister aand net na 6. Dis koud, baie baie koud.
📸Chantel Fourie@SAWeatherServic @maroelamedia @JoelGuy_ @peoples_weather pic.twitter.com/LJRQVBUZMe

— ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) July 14, 2021

Sutherland sneeu 13 Julie 2021
📸Hannetjie Theron@SAWeatherServic @maroelamedia @JoelGuy_ @peoples_weather pic.twitter.com/HrQ3xAHl1R

— ReenvalSA (@ReenvalSA) July 13, 2021

Tags: Cerescold frontSA Weather ServiceWestern Cape
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ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

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