Farmers have more to worry about these days than the weather and the price of fertiliser.
The past few years especially have seen many farmers facing theft and burglary in the form of violent, and often fatal, home invasions. One might wonder why they carry on. Why do they not move on to safer ways of earning their living?
Long-time local resident Ms Leana Oosthuizen has been game farming in the Alldays area for many decades. She recently passed the torch to her son, Dean, who is now running operations there. Their 6000-hectare farm, Tshwarelano, has until December 2017 only held game, once a very lucrative sector of the industry.
With the recent collapse in the prices of game animals, as well as the high incidence of poaching, the Oosthuizens had to downsize game operations radically and move in another direction quickly. They began running cattle and planting crops such as butternuts only a year ago, and their hard work and determination in these undertakings that are completely new to them have produced a first very successful crop.
They bade a tearful farewell to their rhino herd, choosing rather to send them to a safer environment than to hang on to them, with the huge extra expenses required to guard them from the constant violent poaching attempts. Leana's father was responsible for the importing of the first disease-free buffalo to Limpopo, and she and Dean have continued to breed these beautiful creatures. The family have been keen conservationists throughout, hence their breeding of rhino and other rare breeds of wildlife, thereby helping to ensure their continued existence as a species. Unfortunately, this is no longer viable in terms of running a profitable business.
In addition to the stress of such huge and expensive changes, they have been the victims of three farm burglaries in the past six months. For the past several years, brutal farm attacks have been in the news with alarming regularity, with many of the country's farmers and their employees murdered or viciously assaulted and lucky to escape with their lives. Farming in South Africa seems to be a dangerous occupation at this point. Currently, public hearings are being held from 26 June to look at amending Section 25 of the Constitution with a view to allowing the expropriation of land without compensation.
We asked the Oosthuizens what kept them farming successfully after such dramatic changes in such a short space of time.
"There is no choice," said Leana. "Selling is not an option with the market for farms as it is right now. We have many years invested here, having built this farm to what it is now in time, money, and labour. Apart from the practicalities, there is also the emotional aspect of wanting to protect all that we have worked for. We changed focus to what the country needs - food - and that is now the way forward for us. We will carry on with game breeding on a smaller scale. We need to ensure the preservation of as many species as we can."
The Oosthuizens are perfect examples of our farmers continuing to do what they have always done: buckle down in times of adversity and do what needs to be done.
"I believe that there is a great future in farming in this country," said Dean. "I view getting it right as a challenge; a challenge that excites me. This is where I was born, and I don't want to change my lifestyle or lose all that my family has worked so hard for. I can't imagine a life without my animals and crops to work with every day, and I would never dream of giving up."