Farmer's Inside Track

With childhood stunting affecting over 21% of South African children under five, ensuring adequate nutrient density during early growth is a critical national priority. Anke van Waveren, a registered dietitian and lactation consultant, says animal-sourced proteins like red meat in early diets supply essential building blocks, from complete proteins to bioavailable heme iron, that protect brain architecture and drive lifelong learning potential.
Van Waveren explains how nutrition during the first 1 000 days fundamentally shapes neural connections, gut health, and immune development. She outlines the vital role of essential amino acids in building brain neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, preventing blood sugar crashes, and supporting classroom concentration and academic stamina.
In this episode, she also breaks down budget-friendly ways for families to include red meat in lunchboxes, such as biltong and mini meatballs. She also explores how the Red Meat Producers Organisation (RPO) and primary livestock farmers can help bridge the gap between agricultural supply chains and national public health strategy to combat child stunting.

With hotter, drier conditions threatening crop yields, livestock losses, and tight cash flows, proactive financial management is critical for South African producers. In this Nedbank podcast episode, Kudzayi Mazikana and Daneel Rossouw explain why farmers must adjust management practices and engage early with financiers to safeguard business continuity through climate risks.
Mazikana, head of sustainability, and Rossouw, head of sales for agriculture at Nedbank Business and Commercial Banking, unpack how El Niño risks impact summer rainfall regions like the Free State, North West, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo. They outline key steps to protect production, including adjusting planting dates, conserving soil moisture, securing livestock feed, and managing short-term capital needs.
The experts explore how early financial planning, tailored insurance, and climate-smart practices such as grazing management and water catchment build long-term farm resilience. They also highlight why opening conversations with banks while operations remain financially stable ensures better support and flexible funding options.

With scattered spreadsheets and lost notebook entries cutting into farm margins, using data effectively has become a critical business priority for modern agriculture. Dinah Nel, general manager at Agritistics, says turning everyday farm records into actionable business intelligence does not require expensive software or complex sensors, but rather a clear understanding of how to make existing information work harder.
Nel explains how tracking key metrics like livestock mortality, input costs, and field yields helps producers identify hidden financial leaks and optimise daily operations. She outlines the transition from disconnected records and WhatsApp messages to centralised systems, demonstrating how simple tools like customised Excel sheets or digital dashboards can transform raw numbers into clear visual patterns.
In this episode, she also breaks down practical steps for emerging and commercial farmers to structure their record-keeping without overwhelming daily farm routines.

Water use compliance is essential for farmers looking to operate legally, secure funding and protect South Africa’s scarce water resources. In this episode of Farmer's Inside Track, legal expert Katlego Ngwane, founder and director of Katika Consultancy, unpacks the National Water Act, water use licences, application requirements and the consequences of non-compliance. She also explains why farmers should verify water rights when acquiring land and plan for compliance before seeking agricultural finance.

As crop protection technologies evolve and regulations tighten, relying solely on years of experience is no longer enough to ensure safety on the farm. Speaking on Food For Mzansi’s Farmer’s Inside Track podcast, CropLife South Africa’s stewardship lead, Quade Sing Jam, and strategic partnerships manager, Elriza Theron, highlight why responsible agricultural remedy use must extend across the entire farm life cycle, from storage and application to container disposal.
Jam and Theron unpack common operational gaps, reminding producers that “the label is the law” and that formulation changes mean outdated practices can pose severe health and environmental risks. They explore why personal protective equipment (PPE) is far more than a compliance tick-box exercise, how to prepare for farm emergencies before they occur, and why proper container disposal is critical to protecting crop protection tools from regulatory bans.
In this episode, they also detail CropLife South Africa’s self-paced “Train the Trainer” online course. Designed to equip farm managers and supervisors with the tools to pass vital stewardship knowledge down to their entire team, the course ensures farm operations remain safe, compliant, and sustainable for the future.