This is according to Willie Nel of the farm Moolmanshoek near Rosendal in the Eastern Free State, which is one of the farms visited during a media tour hosted by Free State Agriculture (FSA). 

Nel and his family operate an eco-tourism establishment at Moolmanshoek in addition to farming with cattle, horses and wildlife. He says when they first settled there in the seventies, they tried to do crop farming but after more than a decade realised the marginal soil in the area meant they were barely breaking even.

“We tried – because the people before us also did crop farming and coming from the southern Free State didn’t know any better. However, we very quickly realised that it’s only in very wet years that there’d be a decent harvest.

“After twelve years we realised we would have to draw a line because the tractors and so forth were getting old. We made some very careful calculations – looked at all the inputs and income over the twelve year period – and we realised we were barely breaking even.”

He says they started questioning the true purpose of the land, which is located within a mountain catchment area. Years of ploughing had damaged top soil and erosion was taking a toll. Nel says that is when they implemented a new strategy that focused on purpose, people and profit rather than just the bottom line.

“We said to ourselves we have an alternative. We don’t just have to stick with a commercial beef farm that provides only three or five jobs. We realised we could start an eco-tourism thing that still produces just as much meat with wildlife and cattle, but has so many other benefits.

“We ended up going that route. The economy per hectare was much better than it would have been with just a beef farm, which was already much better than with the crop farming because there was no profit in crops.”

He says he personally has made a mind shift from being a land owner to being a land steward. Nel says by following the current business model they have been able to maximise profit, maximise job creation and leave a legacy of rehabilitated land for future generations.

OFM News