Tongaat farmer best in SA

Tongaat farmer Anthony Goble is the 2015 Agri SA Toyota Young Farmer of the Year!

The enterprising young farmer received the provincial title of KZN Young Farmer of the Year in September, pitting him against the winners from all nine provinces for the coveted SA title and a brand new Toyota Hilux 2.5D-4D single cab.

To reach the national stage, Goble and the other provincial winners went through a rigorous evaluation process.

All finalists were tested on a multitude of aspects, including their financial and business skills, farming skill and proficiency in management focusing specifically on their own contribution, independence and decision making authority.

Goble is a fifth generation farmer who has grown the farming footprint passed down to him from his father Neil to an impressive 1050ha. Aside from the 280ha sugarcane family farm, Evelyn Park Farm, Goble runs another five separate farms including 430ha of land under cane and another 340ha that he leases from land reform beneficiaries.

He farms sugarcane, bananas and macadamias, and the effort he has put into training his staff has resulted in an extremely efficient operation.

He is currently also assisting the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) with sugar cane trials.

“We would like to congratulate Anthony Goble for winning this prestigious award. Farming is not an easy profession and farmers often have to tackle all areas of the business by themselves, handling marketing, distribution on top of the day to day running of their farms,” said Calvyn Hamman, vice president of sales and marketing at Toyota South Africa Motors.

The evaluations were done by a panel of well-known agricultural specialists led by Prof Carlu van der Westhuizen, agricultural production economist, department of agriculture at Central University of Technology; Prof John Annandale, agronomist, department of plant production and soil science at University of Pretoria and Prof Louw Hoffman, distinguished professor in meat science, department of animal sciences at the University of Stellenbosch.

Prof van der Westhuizen said that what set Goble apart was his “excellent strategic business thinking skills and his relevant educational background and practical understanding of farming that have ensured his success.”

Jacky Goliath, a farmer from the Western Cape, was awarded the 2015 Toyota New Harvest of the Year award.