Professionalism pays: How Jantjies built a thriving lucerne business

Technical skills alone won’t grow an agricultural business – credibility and compliance will. Farmer Mentor Tshepiso Jantjies shares how maintaining strict financial discipline, transparent online branding, and detailed quality certifications enabled his lucerne enterprise to surpass its five-year growth targets in just three years.

When farmers talk about growing their businesses, the conversation often centres on finance, production or market access. For North West agripreneur Tshepiso Jantjies, however, one factor underpins them all: professionalism.

As the founder of Jantjies Boerdery, an agricultural and agro-processing company based in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati Municipality, Jantjies has transformed a small lucerne enterprise into a business that produces, processes and exports lucerne while supplying livestock producers across Southern Africa.

Along the way, the company has grown from five employees to 25, trained more than 100 young people, and secured partnerships with major industry players.

His journey began on a 10-hectare communal farm previously worked by his grandparents. While the area traditionally produced crops such as maize, sunflower, barley, soya and cotton, Jantjies identified an opportunity in livestock feed by growing lucerne (Medicago sativa), a high-protein forage crop used in beef, sheep and dairy production.

Building credibility before chasing growth

Although agriculture was not his first career, Jantjies says the business has been built on continuous learning, financial discipline and professionalism rather than farming skills alone.

Jantjies entered agriculture without a formal agricultural qualification, teaching himself lucerne production through research, conversations with experienced farmers and hands-on experience.

He believes technical knowledge alone is not enough. “If you want serious clients, you must present a serious business,” he explains.

For Jantjies, professionalism begins long before a buyer visits the farm. Many farmers underestimate how potential clients perceive their businesses, particularly online.

“I made sure that my business had a professional online presence, a proper website and communication that accurately reflects what we do. Every photograph and every post shows the real business, not something created just to impress people.”

Rather than exaggerating achievements, he encourages farmers to ensure their online presence accurately reflects their operations. Consistency between what clients see online and what they experience on the farm helps build trust.

That credibility has opened doors. One opportunity came when Heineken approached him with a barley production contract after seeing his company’s work and reputation.

Let your business speak for itself

Professionalism also means creating a business clients can trust.

“Whether your office is a container or a small building, have a place where people can meet you professionally. Clients want to know they are dealing with a real business.”

He advises farmers to maintain a portfolio that demonstrates credibility, including business registration documents, certifications, product testing results, production records and photographs of their operations.

“When you approach a client, don’t simply tell them about your business. Show them,” he recommends.

For feed producers, that also means proving products meet industry standards.

“If your product requires testing or certification, have those documents ready. Buyers want assurance that what you’re supplying is safe and meets industry standards.”

Financial discipline & compliance fuel growth

Jantjies credits much of his company’s success to disciplined financial management.

“I’ve made mistakes, especially with financial decisions,” he admits. “But I learned that every rand must work for the business.”

Instead of funding a more luxurious lifestyle, he consistently reinvested profits into equipment, infrastructure and expansion rather than relying on bank loans. This approach enabled the business to achieve its original five-year growth targets in just three years and is now supporting plans to expand processing capacity and grow into Botswana.

Jantjies believes compliance should never be viewed as a burden.

“When you’re producing food or animal feed, you must be able to prove your product is safe. There are inspections, grading systems and certification processes for a reason.”

He also encourages farmers to understand water-use legislation before developing irrigation systems.

“Just because a river passes through your property doesn’t mean the water belongs to you. Farmers must understand and comply with water-use regulations,” he cautions.

Professional farmers attract professional opportunities

Looking back, Jantjies believes many opportunities came because people trusted both the business and the person behind it.

“Professionalism is not about pretending to be bigger than you are,” he says. “It’s about consistently doing the right things, keeping good records, being honest about your business and delivering what you promise.”

He encourages emerging farmers to focus less on projecting success and more on building transparent, dependable businesses. In agriculture, he believes, trust remains one of the industry’s most valuable assets.