#GOOD HARVEST FULL#
(He has since overcome this obstacle by collaborating with other farmers to source another buyer in KwaZulu-Natal.)ĭespite these challenges, Mbele managed to plant his beans before Christmas and they were progressing well until the dreaded phone call.Ĭonfronted with a land full of stalks early in February, Mbele thought all was lost. He was also unable to secure a WFP contract for 2018. On top of that, the price of sugar bean dropped to R12 500/t, whereas he needed at least R13 000/t to make it worth his while. This was a huge risk, as he did not have sufficient capital to include insurance. Unfortunately, the 2017/2018 season faced challenges from the outset, starting with a delay in the payment of a production loan that had been approved.īy this time, Mbele had already found lands to lease, so he decided to finance his crop inputs from his own pocket. Mbele’s inputs are about R10 500/ ha and he adds to the cost by hand-picking his bean plants before they are put through the harvester. Production and harvesting costs are much higher than for a crop such as maize, however. This, coupled with the stability of World Food Programme (WFP) contracts in 20, has made sugar bean production a lucrative business. Shadrack Mbele displays some of his sugar bean crop harvested on 80ha of leased land. He says that despite its labour-intensive production, it can deliver good returns, especially with the price peaking at R18 000/t in recent years. In 2014, he diversified into sugar bean, recognising its value as a crop. He joined the ranks of the Grain SA 250t maize-producers’ club. But Mbele had the joy of planting his first maize crop in the same year and having a “magnificent harvest” in 2012/2013, averaging 7,6 t/ ha. Unable to access a production loan without a title deed, they could not expand into a cropping venture. The farm had only about 60ha of viable cropping land, where the father-and-son team planted crops such as lucerne, oats and radishes for the cattle. He retired from teaching in 2006 and joined his father at the farm full-time, investing all the proceeds from his pension and taxi business in the farm. Mbele spent years working as a teacher in Bethlehem while investing in his other business ventures. In 1994, he applied for land under the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development process but received the title deed only in 2010. He missed farming so much, however, that in 1993 he leased land at Diyatalawa, and went on to establish his own award-winning Dairy Shorthorn herd. The latter worked as head stockman for a Dairy Shorthorn farmer for decades, then tried working in a taxi business owned by Mbele.
#GOOD HARVEST FREE#
A second-generation farmer, he inherited the farm, located between Kestell and Harrismith in the Free State, from his father, Ephraime. Mbele lives on his own farm, Danielsrus (226ha), near the leased sugar bean lands, and runs a mixed farming business called Tugela.
We have made many friends and memories along the way and will miss seeing you in our store.Yet some months later, Mbele managed to achieve a harvest of 1,5t/ha, thanks to getting the right advice at the right time. We will, however, be closing the doors on the Good Harvest Supply Retail Store, 336 Bunker Hill Road, Strasburg, PA.įrom the bottom of my heart, I wanted to thank our Strasburg neighbors and all of our customers for your support in making our retail business what it was. We are still here for you and look forward to continue being a part of the community in that way.
If you are a wholesale, church group, fundraiser or market customer, please do not worry. As our children leave the nest and have their own goals for careers, I thought it was best to mainstream our business. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end.Īfter a lot of deliberating and having to make some very hard choices, I have decided to concentrate our business on wholesale, large group and fund-raising sales, as well as our market stand at Lancaster County Farmers Market in Wayne, PA. You watched our business and family grow and have become friends with many of the employees that worked here over the years. For 31 years our customers have supported our Strasburg Garden Center, Good Harvest Supply.
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