A Diverse Agricultural Day

by Dr. Bobby Soileau

Our class got to see quite a variety of agriculture today from crops to livestock to crocodiles. It was even better to be greeted so warmly by our hosts.

We began the day in Delmas which is located southeast of Johannesburg. There we met with Brent Parrot who is the general manager of the crop portion of the Schoeman Boerdery. They grow almost 25,000 acres of corn, soybeans and white navy beans. It was an impressive operation that is predominantly non-irrigated.

Here is where parts of South Africa are different from the U.S. Even though large commercial farmers in South Africa own all of their land, they do not have always have the rights to the minerals or the water. According to Parrot it is a very difficult process to expand their irrigation.

The group also heard more about land redistribution. It is a topic they will see firsthand tomorrow.

After Schoeman we stopped nearby at a Brahman operation where Lood and Ida Lesch greeted us. They have a small heard of Red Brahman but are specifically raising them to sell to emerging black producers. This is a big initiative with the South African government that is directly related to the land redistribution issue.

We ended the day with a late lunch and a tour at Inyoni Crocodile Estate. Everyone saw a true feeding frenzy in a pond full of 15 year old crocodiles that dwarf our alligators in size. It was a sight to remember.

Tomorrow we will be traveling from the Pretoria area toward the Northeastern part of the country. We will have an early market visit followed by a number of farm visits later in the day.  

Some of our class members will begin to write about their experiences in South Africa. 

Dr. Bobby Soileau is the director of the LSU Ag Leadership program.