Farmers everywhere will tell you that as much as anything, they are all too often in a race against time - whether mustering stock or harvesting crops.
I recently was privileged to travel to South Africa with the Australian contingent taking part in the annual Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) – the peak body representing the world’s rural journalists, broadcasters and photographers.
It’s an opportunity for many of us to step away from the pressures and priorities of deadlines for a few days and gain some insight and understanding into how our international colleagues confront the same challenges and opportunities as we all do.
Two of the farmers we met as we travelled around this remarkable country visiting ag-businesses great and small, offered some thoughtful perspectives on time.
Chris Roussouw is a former South African Farmer of the Year.
He and his family own the biggest integrated farming operation in the country – possibly on the entire African continent.
The Roussouw Group exports citrus to 56 countries, raise beef cattle, broiler chickens and egg-layers, as well as growing thousands of hectares of maize and soybeans.
If the name seems familiar, it should be. The patriach’s son – also called Chris Roussouw - played in the only Springboks team to win a rugby World Championship back in 1995.
They maintain a very close relationship with the sport through their turf business, which supplies the playing surfaces for many of South Africa’s premier rugby stadiums.
There’s a photo of Chris Roussouw – the elder – in the company’s boardroom along with a quote in Afrikaans: “Die belangrikste deel van ‘n horlosie is die sekondewyser”, which translates that the most important part of your watch is the seconds hand.
Chris Roussouw believes none of us have time to lose and that we should all make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.
Earlier that day, we met an equally impressive young black farmer, Karabo Mofokeng.
He recently graduated from the Buhle Farmers’ Academy which is helping to train the next generation of South African farmers through a range of entry-level short courses covering animal husbandry and crop production through to farm business management and life skills.
Like the Roussouw family, Karabo Mofokeng is into broiler chickens and he’s fixated on the seconds hand sweeping around his watch.
He and three other Buhle graduates are impatient about fulfilling their dream of feeding their families, contributing to their local community and being profitable and sustainable.
After all, as they see it, their time to farm has come and there’s no time to lose.
– Freelance journalist and consultant, Peter Lewis.