Farming for the future

His fourth generation farming roots coupled with modern thinking and a keen interest in the latest tech have made Rex Talmage the perfect hybrid farmer.

“We have diversified crops after the drought and now have two dams – you cannot order rain during your peak growing months after all.

It has greened up a lot, but because of the cost price squeeze on sugar cane over the last decade, we constantly have to fight to reduce and contain costs,” said Talmage in the most elegant Hilton College English.

He runs the beautiful 682 hectare farm Baton Rouge, set next to the Amatikhulu Sugar Mill, with his brother, Earl.

While sugar cane is their base crop, they have diversified into vegetables, fruit and snouted waste gobblers.

“We grow five hectares of papayas and alternate cabbage and butternut crops. We have quite a bit of fruit and vegetable waste, so the pigs have been a good synergy for the farm. We will start growing macadamia nuts soon.”

To stop the monkeys from depleting all the crops, they gave them their own private garden to eat from.

“We have three troops with about 60 to 80 monkeys a troop. We planted a small block of granadillas and noticed the monkeys moved from the papayas to the granadillas, so we left that block for them.”

As the vice chairman of SA Canegrowers, Talmage has seen the industry go through some of its toughest times.

“The drought, market dynamics, changes in the organisation and the negative sentiment towards sugar has forced some reinvention and work to find a way forward. Farmers by nature are resilient people – you have to be optimistic and live with strong faith. It has been an interesting journey and I look forward to watching the industry evolve and embrace change.”

Talmage is enthusiastic about sugar cane farming being one of the most labour intensive forms of farming and therefore a major employer.

“Many people do not appreciate what sugar cane farming means for the area. Entire regions are often dependent on it, because of its huge multiplying effect on rural livelyhoods,” said Talmage, who employs 96 farm labourers.

He believes, despite the difficulties, the many pros of farm life are starting to pull younger people back home.

“Global statistics state the average farmer’s age is 62 years, which is probably accurate for our area.

“This is understandable as it is difficult to gain access to farming from a financial point and the lifestyle is different, but I have noticed a renewed attraction to farming.

“People who have gone overseas in search of greener grass are starting to come back home,” said Talmage who has three children with his wife Claire: Tessa who is studying in Stellenbosch and Abbey and Thomas who are both in high school.

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