Speaking candidly about “behind the scenes” of TropicalBytes interviews
So, this one’s going to be a little different to the others… it’s an overview of TropicalBytes’ latest Road Trip with snippets and behind the scenes insight from each interview along the way … an appetiser of sorts …
For the past year I’ve been struggling to get macadamia farmers who are both top farmers (worth learning from) and willing to share. My usual recommendations had dried up and the few that I had were not willing to engage with TropicalBytes; something felt off … had I depleted the pool of top farmers with enough vision to invest in others? Surely not! Was everyone just too busy? Probably … Did I need to change something intrinsic to TropicalBytes? Mmmm … The internal and external factors are so vast and I was only spiralling through over-thinking it all. I had to snap out of it and move forward.
Remembering how much we all learnt from the trip we did ‘up north’ in early 2020 I decided that that was where I should head … and perhaps a crop change was also in order … TropicalBytes has been covering macadamias since midway through 2019, over 3 years now. Whilst I know that we all have so much still to learn from this fascinating nut perhaps it was time to let the industry mature a little more and come back when there’s more to learn.
The next crop has always been avos so perhaps now was the ideal time to change but I know NOTHING about avos! Not how they’re grown, ‘processed’ or marketed … and especially not how to find the top farmers! Blindly I felt around for people who could help connect me with avo farmers we could learn from. I found a group of consultants – all very busy men – who gave me some time and started the ball rolling. It was anything but easy but I slowly started piecing together a plan …
Whatever possessed me to embark on a THREE-week road trip escapes me now but I vaguely remember something about it being a long way to travel and while I’m in the area I should get as much done as possible. Sounded reasonable at the time but now, as I am entering the third week, it’s just feels absurdly drawn out. (Note to self: 2 weeks is the longest road trip you’ll ever be doing in future!) The weekend pauses are the most difficult as they are long and lonely. The week days energise me again as they’re (mostly) full of fun and fascinating farm interviews. Come with me as I share the journey and the highlights along the way …
STEP ONE: LEAVE KZN
DAY ONE: This was a Thursday. My husband and I drove to Johannesburg so that he could be at the truck dealer early the next morning to take delivery of the truck and trailer he’d bought for his small plant hire business. Friday was spent sorting out the disasters of Thursday (exhaust brake issues, leaky radiator, clouds of black smoke), very typical when what you can afford is second-hand.
He nervously began the trip back to KZN on Saturday and an hour in realised he was going in the wrong direction! The truck salesman obviously wasn’t clear on where Durban is when he gave directions … but hubby eventually reached home 8 hours later – both truck and trailer survived the trip.
On Saturday I began the journey east …
STEP 2: MBOMBELA. Here the rural landscape continues to change; less timber, more macs and avos which means more fences (security is a huge cost for these farmers). The townies who have enjoyed cycling through timber plantations are unhappy with how the agricultural changes have restricted their access to riding paths etc. Added to this is their concern over increased chemical use especially as smaller farms, closer to towns, are planted to macs. Perhaps the current (low) prices in both macs and avos will halt this encroachment …
DAY FIVE: Monday. Interview 1. One of the consultants I’d engaged in planning this trip kindly met with me and kicked off my avo-apprenticeship. It was a short meeting (by TropicalBytes standards), at a local Wimpy, and he had to rush off all too soon. But he did help me understand the challenges I’d experienced in setting up interviews for this trip … until people know you, they’re sceptical and reluctant to engage. I fully appreciate this and hope that word about TropicalBytes spreads faster so that farmers appreciate that there are ONLY good intentions, TropicalBytes is a low-key, farmer-friendly platform and that I’m a harmless, middle-aged woman with no ulterior motives. 🤣 Anyway, that “interview” was brief …
DAY SIX: Interview two – JAFF OWNER & JAFF MANAGER. This farm is slightly west of Mbombela on the banks of the Crocodile River. It’s relatively small and they farm both macs and avos and will soon be adding some citrus. The temptation to cover macs in the interview was strong but I decided to rather embrace the vulnerability and take my first tentative steps into a proper avo farm interview. After setting some valuable farm context Jaff Owner left me to cover the details with Jaff Manager who was astoundingly insightful especially as he has a financial background and helped set the scene that is currently playing out in the industry and how this farm is choosing to navigate it. There’s a lot to learn in this one so stay tuned.
DAY SEVEN: Interview three – LADY JAFF. Moving north-east for the next one I immediately connected with this very special lady. Despite being born and bred on farms in Zambia and Vivo she wasn’t planning to become a farmer herself but fate decided otherwise when, she was just 23 yrs old, both her parents were killed in a small aircraft accident. Jaff stepped up to the plate and, a couple decades later, is standing tall as a curator of the land and people in her care. Regarding avos, Jaff said she can teach us all about how NOT to farm them but, if I wanted to learn anything useful from her, it would have to be macs. So, I was back in a comfortable spot and have a GREAT mac story to bring you from this interview.
DAY EIGHT: Interview four – Consultant 2. Although semi-retired, this grand-master of agriculture agreed to meet me at his home. A quick dump of all he could share with regards to avos and he was off to prepare for his trip to Kruger. He also, very kindly, convinced an extremely busy man to make time for me the following day … and what a win that turned out to be.
DAY NINE: Interview five – Corporate JAFF duo. Today I ventured north, towards Hazyview, and then landed in Kiepersol, on a beautiful operation that included a packhouse in addition to the farm. I am so grateful for how much value these two invested in our time together. Being able to understand things from a corporate perspective will add another layer to our understanding and exposure to the packhouse operation was priceless.
Slowly, I am building a foundation from which to conduct more meaningful avo interviews and am so grateful to these Jaffs for nurturing my growth.
Then came the weekend and time to move into phase 3 of the journey (yes, just getting to JHB was a whole phase for me 😅).
I travelled to Louis Trichardt and set up residence in one of the most beautiful B&Bs I have ever had the privilege of staying. I can’t recommend www.cuckoosnestguesthouse.co.za enough.
DAY TWELVE: Interview six – this Jaff has a wealth of experience across both traditional corporate and farming with ongoing business interests in many sectors. Despite this, his student-nature (always learning) opened up some fascinating discussions and explorations – can’t wait to bring you the detail.
DAY THIRTEEN: Interview seven – this turned out to be the longest TropicalBytes interview to date – 9 hours! And you know what that means … piles of juicy insight and learnings. The pair of Jaffs that shared their knowledge on this visit are young but so very experienced. One is part of a highly esteemed entrepreneurial farming family whose investments extend across the country. The other is, in my view, a prodigy – since he completed his post-graduate studies, the best companies have been snapping him up and so his short career to this point has been diverse, serving only to add depth to his extensive capabilities and value.
DAY FOURTEEN: Interview eight – this is a trip back to Jaff 11’s farm. They farm both macs and avos and I promised, when here in 2020 covering macs, that I’d be back for Part 2: Avos. Thankfully they agreed and here I am … catching up on the macs (which haven’t behaved well in the last 2,5 years) and being introduced to the avocado side of the operation. This business is fully integrated vertically and so we get a good look at a highly professional nursery, right through to a world-class packhouse. Given that the last time I was here, it rained 400mm in ONE week, it was nice to be able to take photos this time …
DAY FIFTEEN: Interview nine – another redo. This time to Jaff 10 whom I find exceptional. Last time I was here he said “I’m an avo farmer but I have a few macs” … we did the mac interview anyway but I knew I HAD to come back when TropicalBytes moved to avos and here we are. Of all the farmers on this trip, Jaff 10 is least partial to English, despite having lived in England for 8 years (or maybe that’s why).
Anyway, there’s a very special reason why this farm will go down as one of my most favourite ever and I can’t wait to share why …
DAY SIXTEEN: Levubu Farmers Day – I’ve already shared everything there is to share about this experience, if you missed it, catch it here … https://www.tropicalbytes.co.za/2022-9-newsfromtheroad/
Straight from the Maclands Estate, I moved to Tzaneen to start the penultimate phase of the trip. I won’t share this B&Bs details as it just doesn’t compare to Cuckoos Nest … but perhaps I am just spoilt!
Or perhaps it was just because I was now in week 3 and it’d been too long away from home. By this point I was really digging deep to resist the urge to get in my car and forget any of the remaining interviews …
DAY NINETEEN: Today was a tough one. I interviewed the Marketing Manger of a really large commercial operation that has farms all over the country in numerous crops including macs, avos and many others. The actual farmer was too busy. So, while the farming technicalities are very light in this story, there is some valuable insight into how “the big boys” do things.
DAY TWENTY: Today more than made up for yesterday and I was blessed to spend many hours lapping up the valuable experience of a farmer I have aspired to interview for a LONG time. As this farmer is currently expanding, I was able to capture the detail of his land-prep and planting in action. Although he has both avos and macs, this was a mac interview so you’ll be getting that this year still. Happy day indeed!
DAY TWENTY-TWO: The only other consultant who met with me was today … we sat drinking very strong but delicious coffee for many hours, crafting what I will deliver to you as an Avos 101 manual early in the new year.
DAY TWENTY-THREE: Friday. Finally, I had ticked all the interviews off and could start my journey home and, after stopping for a quick visit with my dad who lives on a pecan farm in the Muden valley, I reached home on Sunday afternoon.
The next few months will see many changes in TropicalBytes, the least of which is a change to avos, so I hope this sneak preview has whet your appetite and you ‘stay tuned’.