Koöperasie Stories Vol 9, 2022

Kersboodskap

Geagte hoofbestuur, bestuur, personeel, lede, asook nie-lede van ons Koöperasie.

2022 is stadig maar seker besig om soos mis voor die son te verdwyn. In die verbygaan het die jaar ook sy spore van pyn, leiding, hartseer en trauma by baie van ons mense agtergelaat. Ons gebed is dat almal wat op een of nader manier geraak was, vertroosting by ons Hemelse Vader sal vind en Sy genade en liefde julle in die tyd van hartseer sal omvou.

Die uitdagings van die droogte, swak ekonomiese toestande, lae produkpryse, gepaardgaande met hoë insetkostes plaas Geweldige druk op ons lede en ons glo,

hoop en vertrou dat 2023 vir ons groot seëninge vanaf ons Skepper sal inhou en Hy in al ons behoeftes sal voorsien.

Ek wil 'n vriend van my aanhaal: “Besef ons Suid-Afrikaanse boere dat ons besig is om Kilimanjaro met tekkies/plakkies, kortbroek en t-shirt uit te klim?” Ons wag vir mekaar daarbo, en in die opgaan, reik 'n hand uit na 'n mede-boer wat hyg na sy asem en bemoedig en inspireer ons mekaar soos net ons kan.

Ons dank en waardering gaan uit aan elke boer in Suid-Afrika wat daagliks voedsel produseer vir ons land en sy mense. Ons afhanklikheid van ons Skepper hou ons

Voorsitter Marius kleyn

nederig op ons knieë en is ons dankbaar vir Sy genade oor ons gesinne elke dag. 'n Spesiale dankie aan al die mammas wat elke dag sorg vir etes op die tafel en wat ons kinders elke dalk versorg.

Dankie aan ons lede vir jul getroue en lojale ondersteuning aan u Koöperasie en spreek ons groot waardering uit vir jul betrokkenheid by ons gemeenskappe en jul oop hande wat altyd bereid is om te gee en te deel.

Ek wens elke leser en u gesin 'n geseënde Kersseisoen en voorspoedige 2023 toe. Mag GOD se liefde alomteenwoordig wees waar u ook al mag gaan in hierdie Kerstyd.

Feeswense

I hope you will take a moment to reflect on the difference you have made this year as you celebrate the holiday season, regardless of how you celebrate it. And, that you will join me in ringing in the New Year with anticipation of all that we will accomplish together in 2023.

The holidays are a special time, a time to connect with all that grounds us in

purpose, and a time to welcome peace into our lives.

My wens is dat jy maniere vind om hierdie tyd te deel met die mense vir wie jy lief is en dat jy 'n kans kry om 'n gevoel van vreugde en vrede te ervaar tydens die seisoen van dankbaarheid en danksegging.

Namens Die Koöperasie se Bestuurspan bedank ons lede en kliënte vir hul volgehoue ondersteuning van ons besigheid en hoop jy kan kosbare tyd saam met geliefdes spandeer oor die somervakansie.

Geseënde Kersfees.

Deur

Deur Waarnemende HUB Jannie Louw

Plan your journey:

What do I do

Always obey all the rules of the road

The Co-op Funding

I have always been inclined towards selfdevelopment as one of the best things one can do for himself/herself. Pursuing a Master's degree in Business Administration has not always been the idea. Initially, before I joined Die Humansdorpse Landbou Kooperasie Bpk (The Co-op) in 2015, I had registered for a PhD in Agricultural Economics with the University of Fort Hare. My then academic supervisor suggested that I focus on the new job first, as the learning curve might be steep and compromise the quality of the PhD. Indeed, the learning curve was steep, having joined the private sector from the government and also we were pioneering the Farming Development Model for The Coop. My job at the time was to develop enterprise budgets with commercial production assumptions, negotiate and structure businesses and source funding for these farming businesses. Moreover, putting systems in place, both financial and administrative for the implementation of these businesses while serving as a board member in most of the businesses. These responsibilities, besides developing enterprise budgets, needed me to acquire and develop additional skills. Furthermore, given

Capacity Building –My MBA Journey

Thulani Magida Operations Manager, Farming Development

the growing trend of mismanagement of businesses and unethical conduct by boards and executive managers the country was seeing, I had to learn more. Therefore, the decision to pursue an MBA was based. Nonetheless, the degree was not cheap, the transport to the university and back exacerbated the situation. The Co-op through its skills development program provided me with the bursary for tuition fees and a transport arrangement.

Content Relevancy

The degree was even more challenging. New finance and accounting concepts, manufacturing industry jargon and group dynamics were some of the leading difficulties. However, the work load compressed in so little time was the straw that broke the backs of other fellow students who couldn't see the degree through. The course was a very practical and application based, which resonated very well with my job at the time. One of the main focus areas was to solve business problems through information sourcing and team work. Leadership was the course that dealt directly with ethical conduct as an employee, as a manager and as a board member. Most of all, the MBA degree allowed

me to research further about a fundamental business problem we are facing in the development of emerging farmers. The main problem we were and still facing as The Co-op is access to the right structure of finance to successfully implement our model of farming development.

My research topic was “The Development of a Theoretical Framework to Facilitate Increased Financial Inclusion of Emerging Farmers in South Africa.” My research was based on the premise that 25 years after democracy, there is too little success on commercialising new generation black farmers. I believed that this is so because the problem is complex and it requires complex solutions. Therefore, multiple stakeholders must get together and share resources such as knowledge, finance, risk sharing, etc. However, the research shows that for these multi-stakeholders to solve the finance problem, they need to engage optimally.

Literature showed that Optimum Engagement is affected by trust, organisational structure, culture, communication, partner selection, information asymmetry, risk management, legislation and transaction costs.

Due to a smaller sample size, the research found organisational structure, power asymmetry, risk management and transaction costs affect the optimum engagement of stakeholders. The research used Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Cronbach Alpha coefficient. As part of the recommendation, the research suggested further research with a larger sample size as an overwhelming majority of literature suggest that, amongst others, trust and culture plays an important role in optimum multi-stakeholder engagement.

Practical Applications

As a board member is seven farming businesses, the degree has taught me a lot on how to deal with issues that may affect ethical conduct of the board. From a leadership point of view as an individual, it taught me how to be an authentic leader, to delegate responsibility and decision making. Within The Co-op itself, amongst other things, I suggested to our CEO to put an independent Ethics Committee that can deal with ethical issues without bias. From a financial and

accounting point of view, management statements, audited financial statements remain key tools in pursuit of achieving accountability and transparency in the farming business we partner in. Career wise, it has helped me to land entry to the management echelon where I became an Operations Manager for all the operational farming business. This allowed me to craft and implement strategies to enhance operations through continuous improvement and in some cases, through complete change of systems.

History

acoupleofyearsago.

Colin Wellbeloved: “We trust Fanie Ferreira to carry forward the needs of our farmers, as he is one of us. He understands the life of the dairy farmer and he is easily approachable and will listen to our concerns. It was a hard year, filled with challenges, especially because of the economy. The industry is not growing as it should be, but we can't afford to rest on our laurels. I trust that the MPO has our best interests at heart and Fanie will lead this organisation to fulfil its essential purpose in the dairy industry. The restructuring was a difficult process, but it was necessary and I believe that, overall, the organisation will benefit from the decisions we made.”

The MPO is currently putting a lot of time and effort into making necessary changes to current structures in order to be in a position from where we can serve to farmer to the best of our ability.

The Road Show hosted earlier in 2022 was funded by GWK and four meeting were held through the Eastern Cape. Dr Wolsey Barnard as well as Dr Theo Kotze and Beyers Mallo joined us for these meetings and shared some very important industry information with farmers. We would like to thank farmers for their attendance at these meetings. It is during these get togethers that we are able to communicate with our members, get your opinions and plan the way forward

Everything dairy was celebrated during the first-ever Melkfees held on 23 and 24 September at the Ferry Hotel in Gamtoos, near Jeffreys Bay. The long queue at the gate and the large group of locals visiting were testament to the success of the festival. The goal of the Melkfees was the generic marketing of milk, creating awareness for the dairy industry and educating people about dairy farming.

Denise, the dairy cow stole the show. People lined up to take a selfie with Denise, one of

MAKINGA DIFFERENCE

the 'ladies' from Puttergill Farming, owned by Brett and Grant Puttergill, who brought in some of their friendliest cows.

Children walked around with their milkshakes, enjoyed tractor rides offered by Valtrac and enjoyed endless slides and jumps on the giant inflatables. Apart from the food stalls, visitors could browse through various stalls to shop early for Christmas gifts, and there were ample agricultural stalls also. Jakkie Louw and Altus Theart made sure each day ended on a high note with an evening show. Jakkie Louw even wrote a special song about milk! The melktert eating competition was a hit and the German Shepherd training demonstration was attended by a large crowd of locals. The dairy industry made new friends and definitely gained many more fans! an enormous success!

Anri Wolmarans, MPO Eastern Cape regional manager, thanked all our partners who made the day happen, namely, The Co-Op – Die Kooperasie, Valtrac, Waikato SA, Standard Bank, AfriVet, Altech, Crickley, DeLaval, Jeffreys Bay Tourism, GEA, Perdigon, Camelus, Pioneer, Fegan Agencies and Nutribase. This event really highlighted the awesome team spirit between everyone servicing the dairy industry. Each one of these sponsors played a major role in the success of this event and ploughed back into the dairy industry thanking farmers for their loyal support.

The art competition for World School Milk Day in partnership with Crickley succeeded in creating excitement about the dairy industry between younger citizens and we are planning on making this an annual event together with school outings to dairy farms and even educational visits to schools.

2022wasanabsolutelyrevolutionaryyearfor theMPO(MilkProducersOrganisation).Froma verysuccessfulRoadShowtothefirstever MelkfeesandappointingFanieFerreiraasCEO, thisyearhascertainlybeenveryeventfuland wearepleasedtosaythatwebelievethatthe MPOisdefinitelyheadingintherightdirection fromwhereitwas.

Article by MPO

Plans for 2023 include another Road Show, Melkfees and also a few other awareness projects. One of out big focus points for 2023 is creating awareness for the #ChooseRealMilk initiative. It has come to our attention that many products have creeped onto the supermarket shelves which are marketed as dairy products, but are in fact an inferior product to that of it's foregoer. More information regarding this is available on our social media pages. Just type in “ChooseRealMilk” and follow the links to more articles.

The MPO is committed to providing the best service possible to dairy farmers with a myriad of benefits to members like:

Ÿ updates on, and interpretation of, local and international economic trends relevant to you;

Ÿ current industry information and vital statistics;

Ÿ monthly monitoring of dairy imports to identify possible fraudulent transactions and to investigate these;

Ÿ monthly dedicated publication for the dairy industry;

Ÿ liaison with government, private sector, and organised agriculture;

Ÿ fortnightly electronic newsletter;

Ÿ information on the latest technological advances;

Ÿ training and transformation services;

Ÿ guidelines and practical tips to improve stewardship;

Ÿ information and support with animal health and biosecurity;

Ÿ events where delegates are exposed to the latest expertise, both local and international; and

Ÿ promotion of milk and milk products.

During August the MPO started with a project to create awareness for the dairy industry by putting up “This is Dairy Country” signs in different areas of the Eastern Cape drawing people's attention to the fact that they are driving through dairy farming areas. The goal is to encourage people to look around and notice our beautiful dairy farms alongside the road, growing awareness and a fondness for the dairy industry. These signs will also carry the message of #ChooseRealMilk to encourage people to educate themselves about the different products on the market. The first two signs which can be found between Gamtoos and Eersterivier was sponsored by Afimilk and Valtrac and we would like to thank them for investing back into the industry in this manner. To become part of this project, please contact Anri, the Eastern Cape regional manager for the MPO.

Anri Wolmarans has also been appointed as regional manager for the Eastern Cape and is available on 064 934 3951 or ec@mpo.co.za. Please do not hesitate to contact her should you require any industry information or need help with anything.

KOUGA

The Co-op Community Trust is actively involved in socio-economic development. One of our socio-economic investment strategies is Agri-tourism development. Early during 2021, we formed the Kouga Agritourism Route Association and the Kouga Agritourism Route, is the result of the incredible collaboration and hard work of our members. It’s been an exciting journey!

&

Adventurers Await!

Kouga Agritourism

Unique agricultural experiences are waiting to be discovered by adventurous tourists in Kouga. Agritourism is a mix of agriculture and tourism, almost like strawberries and cream or gin and tonic. Agritourism is an experience where tourists are introduced to

agriculture. Through agritourism you can fulfil your lifelong dream of milking a cow, picking some strawberries, packing a few oranges and harvesting some honey from a beehive. It offers rich experiences, from standing barefoot on our soil, smelling citrus in the air, handling compost in one of our vegetable gardens, planting seedlings to honey tasting, strawberry picking and eating traditional KhoiSan roosterkoek with ghaukum jam.

Kouga offers a gold mine filled with hidden treasures. Come pick your own strawberries, do some honey and Gin tasting, visit a citrus farm, cycle through the orchards, listen to Khoi-San stories, take a donkey cart ride or just take a leisurely stroll through our beautiful country side.

www.kougaagritourism.co.za

Strawberry Picking

Berry Barn Venue is available to hire throughout the year for weddings or functions up to 80 guests.

Berry Barn Restaurant is only open during December.

For more info: Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/mooihoek Website: https://www.mooihoek.com/

Honey Tasting

Join us for a Honey Tasting at The Venue @ Pabala (requires 48hour prior arrangement).Upon arrival you will receive honey tasting samples, be educated about bees, their importance to nature, farmers and our everyday lives, followed by the actual tasting.

Honey comes in different tones, tastes and textures! Pabala Pure Honey are all naturally raw, harvested, spinned and bottled at Pabala. You will never look at

honey the same way. After the tasting and education session, you will make your way to the local Restaurant for a nice lunch with selected menu choices. We may share a few secrets also…

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/PabalaGF Website: www.pabalaprivatenaturereserve.co.za

DAIRY FARM VISIT

Grass Ridge Farm offers comfortably furnished self-catering accommodation on a dairy farm, just 2 km from the Oyster Bay beach. See how a rotary platform can impact the efficiency of a dairy. Maybe the farmer would even allow you to milk a cow.

Phone Willie Oosthuizen to make arrangements 066 485 2121

KHOI-SAN STORIES, CULTURE AND FOOD

Kouga offers unique cultural experiences! Enjoy indigenous food like Offal, Roosterkoek with ghaukum jam and Karri, a traditional honey drink, while listening to stories of the past. Chief Maarman is ready to share the stories of Kouga with tourists around his camp fire.

Chief Maarman: 074 872 6829

COMMUNITY PROJECT VISITS

Take a tour with us in support of our community projects and experience first-hand asset based community development. Plant seedlings, make compost and bake Stroopwafels, all within a few action-packed hours.

Arrange with Willie Oosthuizen 066 485 2121 for a project tour.

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Facilitatedevelopment Website: www.communitydevelopment.co.za/

Beer-braised Lamb Shanks

WITHMIELIEPAP

Woordsoek