There’s no stopping a man like Zabion de Wee, a Free State farmer who’s successfully rocking his managerial position at John Deere helping other farmers reach their goals.
In this episode of Farmer’s Inside Track, De Wee talks about how John Deere has made strides in developing new-era farmers. “When we started, we only did two farmers and this year we could proudly say we did 15 extra farmers,” he explains.
Changing farmers’ lives
“We helped commercialised black farmers who ordinarily would not have been able to access our machines. That for me was one of the proudest moments of my life. Seeing so many black farmers owning John Deere tractors in a rural area, I felt like crying that day.”
In the episode, De Wee also shares how their mechanisation is changing the lives of rural farmers, how he sees the programme growing, and how the perception around John Deere tractors is changing.
He also gives some sound advice when it comes to working alongside family in farming.
“There was a time I struggled to find a balance between the two (work and farming). I am still finding a way to find balance. I will see now that my brother is here,” he says.
In this episode, De Wee also discusses:
- Impact on the farmers that the development team is working with;
- His progress as a farmer; and
- How he uses his YouTube channel to document his journey.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
Option 1: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices).
Option 2: Click here to listen on any Apple device.
Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
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