AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Maize harvesting in the western part of South Africa’s summer grain production region was progressing slowly, according to Grain SA economist Petru Fourie.
This was mainly because of late plantings on account of drought conditions during the peak planting season at the end of 2017 and the beginning of this year.
Rain later in the season caused the maize plants to retain moisture longer, she said.
“The late harvesting also had an indirect impact on farming concerns, which included livestock. The access to maize stover for the animals had been markedly limited given the fact that the preparation of maize fields for the 2018/19 season needed to commence shortly.”
