Apologies

I have been very idle, and haven't updated the blog for a long while!














An internet friend Carolyn from San Francisco gave me a much needed kick up the butt and told me to get on with it!



Thanks Carolyn

Dan, Dan the Maintenance Man

Once we were more or less up to speed on the stock management; or as up to date as is possible with sheep, repairs and maintenence became the priority. The major project in the "plan" was to subdivide the main stock handling area into smaller pens, all interleading and gated, so the flocks could be split up, for various procedures. This was accomplished rapidly, and we then moved onto windmill maintenance. For some reason, there would be a windmill breakdown at least once per week. Critical as they are, one just has to put up with their temperamental nature, and fix them as soon as they break down.

Fences and gates were also a priority, and several gates were taken down and rewelded and rewired at the house. The main irrigation system suffered a lightening strike, so that meant a huge amount of expense and frustration.

The biggest frustration came not from the farm directly, but from the local farmer who grazed cattle for a fee on the property. It was a 'grazing only' contract; no management by the farm staff was included in the fee, but this guy would frequently arrive and insist that the staff help him with whatever needed doing - dosing dipping feeding etc. Not wanting to antagonize him, he being a stalwart in the community! I let it go for a month or two. The final straw was when he was busy, in my absense, with his bulls, and the broke the main gate to the handling facility. No note, no phone-call, no offer to repair.

I let it be known in the 'community' that this was not the right thing to do, and a couple of days later he arrived with a new gate which was installed until he returned with the old one, fully repaired. Shortly thereafter, I gave him notice of termination mid month, and he moved the cattle a few days later. He even had the temerity to ask if I was going to charge him for the half-month grazing. Definitely! He paid up without a problem. Such are the joys of living in a small community.

Getting to Grips

I soon settled in, and started getting organized. One thing that I abandoned very quickly was the old "Store". For generations, the staff were able to 'buy' basic commodities ( mealie meal, sugar, yeast, cooking oil, soap washing powder etc) from stocks kept at the house. It soon became clear that it would be a nightmare keeping track, and worse - it was obvious that the staff would spend a large portion of their wages at the store during the month and then have very little left at month end. Inevitably this would result in them requiring a loan which would have to be rolled over the following month. In consultation with brother R, it was decided to pay a portion of salary at mid month so that incidentals could be purchased. We further abandoned the practise of dishing out loans. Once the staff became used to the new system it worked without further problems.

There were several labour issues that had to be dealt with, most were resolved amicably. It was made quite clear that whatever was done in the past would only be continued if it were efficient and reasonable. The staff, as was to be expected, 'tried it on' to their benefit. Farmer I had never been, people manager I have been my entire working life.

The first issue was the Gardener. Like most farms in the area, the staff members all are either closely or not so closely related. This particular man used the fact that he was related to most of the other members to do as little as possible. Since the farm took precedent over the domestic chores, very little time was spent on monitoring his output. It was quite obvious that he was doing nothing, and after about two months, I took the day off from farming, and supervised him directly. It was amazing what he achieved that day. Sadly the work output was never repeated, as he resigned the following morning.

There was a large amount of 'jockeying for position' between the two most senior men, and also between the two wives, who were employed in the house. Again, I tried to ignore most of it and was successful unless it impacted on the operations.

Still the first few months gave a clear indication how hard the staff worked, and how capable they were at the many tasks, both stock management and maintenence, involved in farming in the area.

Home Alone

It was strange to be in the big old farm house all alone. There was a lot to get done and the first thing to do was to make a list. I am an impatient perfectionist, and it is easy to find things that are not up to standard. One of my pet hates is having things that work that is half done, or things that are not fit for purpose.

Yard and Sheds from Road


The yard surrounding the sheds was in a shambles. Fifty plus years of accumulated rubbish had been allowed to accumulate, without any plan. All farmers love to keep 'stuff' in case they can find a use for it. This farm was no exception. The first task was to sort out the used farm implements from the old and obsolete and to create some order. The grass was then cut, the rubbish collected and burned and a start made on sorting through scrap, the junk being discarded; the good stuff being stored in a suitable location.

The second target of attack was the lamentable state of the farm gates. Gates that don't open properly rank up there with washing dishes, shopping and bedmaking on my irritation list. It seems that the "boer maak 'n plan" mentality was very prevalent on this property. Gate hinges were broken, gates had rusted through and been tied together with wire, and worst of all gates had not been hung properly and had to be partially lifted to get them over the rough ground when opening. The staff were tasked with fixing gates as an ongoing priority. Slowly but surely we renovated each broken gate, and rehung those that needed it.

A Typical Farm Gate

One amusing incident occurred. One Monday, a staff member had not returned from his weekend and was absent without permission. He returned the following morning very hungover and was barely staying awake during the daily rounds. We arrived at one gateway where the gate had been removed for repairs. I stopped the vehicle and I gave him the keys and told him to unlock and open the gate. The rest of the staff caught on immediately, and mocked him about being "babbelas" and blind when he protested that there was no gate to open. It kept them amused for the rest of the morning. Once the gates were done, a start was made on fixing fences where strands were broken and droppers were replaced. It took no more that two weeks to get the gates and fences up to standard.

Once the gates and fences were up to standard, we set about subdividing the stone 'kraal' attached to the shed. it is here that all the sorting dosing and handling of sheep, lambs, cattle and calves is carried out. Without smaller pens to hold those sorted, the exercise is futile. This was soon completed and we were in business.

Learning The Ropes

The OVK Co-Op

Steynsburg from the R56

The Main Street

The first few days were dull and involved getting used to the many trivial things that go with farming; the most difficult was trying to learn the names of the farm camps, and trying to remember which key went with which gate lock. Most of the camps are accessed from a public road, so all the access gates are locked to minimize theft of livestock. We spent some time learning our way around town; not so difficult as it is really small. Still we had to find places such as the Co-op (OVK is the only one represented in Steynsburg). They carry an amazing amount of stock, and employ really nice and helpful staff; the small supermarket; the Post Office, the Pharmacy etc.

Getting used to the idiosyncracies of farm life was not a problem for brother R as he had done it for most of his adult life. For me it was different. The sameness of the daily routine and the long-term nature of the operations were the most difficult for me to deal with. We had the usual problems; windmills needing repairs, fences that required fixing, and sheep that required doctoring. All in all it was not unpleasant, and quite edifying. Time went quickly, and it was soon time to return to Johannesburg so that brother R could return to Zimbabwe and get on with the long drawn out process of emigrating.

He left for Zim from Johannesburg, on 21 March 2004 and I collected the cat and returned to the farm the same afternoon.

On Our Own

So! We were irrevocably committed, and for better or worse, we were now sheep farmers. The first few days were trying learning the roads, learning the idiosyncrasies of windmills, pumps and more specifically the animals. There is a saying that when two sheep stand together, they are discussing the newest way to commit suicide!! For an animal that endures the very harsh climate in the Karoo, they are remarkably susceptible to disease.

Round worms, tapeworm, wireworm, hook worm, nasalworm, pulpy kidney, bluetongue, pasteurella..............., and the ecto-parasites, bot flies, mosquitoes, ticks. They die from urea poisoning, eating green lucerne, getting stuck in the mud and lying down badly (sleg gele). Not easy at any time of the year.

We had a remarkable amount of support from the neighbours and cousins and managed to muddle through without too many incidents. We had a lightening strike on the main irrigation boreholes, and had to replace about 3 submersibe pumps, as well as motor control switches etc. The upside was that we had remarkable rains the first season - second highest recorded rainfall in 100 years.

Brother R had to go back to Zim after 3 weeks, as his visa had expired, and he needed to finalize arrangements for emigrating. We left to return to Johannesburg on the Friday, and he left for Zim the following day.

Shear Madness

Shearing usually happens once per year. We have settled on a shearing time of 1st week in October as it is usually a certainty that the last of the winter cold snaps will have passed. This year, we retained a number of ewe lambs to increase the size of the flock, and, since they were not shorn in October, we decided it was now time. We usually use BKB as our shearing service, but since they are becoming very expensive, and their service is starting to slip, we employed a gang of independent shearers.

Shearing has to be the best local example of union monopoly tactics. You have to transport them to the farm, provide accommodation, provide all their food, tea coffee tobacco etc, sweep up after them, then pay them and transport them back home. Still they are quick and this gang doesn't inflict too many serious injuries on the sheep.

Wool is classified by length and fineness, among other parameters so the classing is the most important aspect of the entire shearing. Most of the sheep were lambs being shorn for the first time. A large percentage was AA length, so hopefully we will get a good price when we sell in November.