Consolidating our arable lands
Many years ago Pine trees were planted throughout the Eastern Free State area. These trees are not indigenous and appear to have been planted in fairly random locations although undoubtedly there was a purpose at the time. They have now reached enormous proportions and are difficult to remove but we have a project designed to liberate areas of land that are dotted with Pine trees.
Modern Farming
Daily life on the farm
Harvesting Sunflowers
Sunflowers with our complex in the background.
Farm used as venue for happy wedding photos
Mphaphathi Molapo and Lekeme Rafoneke recently got married in Hlotse, Leribe in the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, but they fell in love with Sandstone Estates across the border in Ficksburg with its antique trains and tractors and wanted their wedding photographs taken there.
They kindly allowed us to show some of them on our web site for all to share.
Update on Sandstone’s wildlife
Sandstone's policy of limiting the number of fences and allowing wildlife free access to our lands without disturbance is definitely paying dividends. We can see no downside to it. Springbok and Blesbok roam the farm in large numbers now, as well as Steenbok and duiker that have been seen in ever larger quantities. There has been strong evidence that there are a number of leopards operating in the area which we welcome. They may feel free to help themselves from our Antelope herd which can probably breed faster than the leopards can cope with.
Contractors arrive on site to prepare the foundations for the new Afgri silo complex at Sandstone Estates.
In a matter of a few short weeks Afgri appointed a professional contractor to carry out the earthworks which provide the foundation for the construction of the new bulk storage silos at Sandstone Estates.
The company C&F Construction commenced work early in the new year. Their priority was to reprofile the landscape where the new storage facilities will be constructed. This involved removing the top soil and replacing it with high quality gravel from a quarry at Sandstone Estates. Our photo gallery below clearly shows the work that is currently underway. The contractors will complete their project this week.
An outside observer would quickly note how extremely efficient this company was in completing this project.
The rainy season gets wetter
We have had good rains throughout the summer season but the volumes of rain reached new heights in February. In the period 28th - 30th January we received a total of 109mm at Sandstone Estates. This was accompanied by some light hail, which was worrying, but no crop damage was recorded.
Sandstone’s cattle enterprise continues to grow steadily.
The bulls are now with the cows so we can expect a bumper crop of calves around about August/September this year.
When Sandstone Estates was acquired we joined a number of farms together and in many cases took down the fences so we could have a more open landscape which made arable farming easier. What we are now doing is identifying the grasslands which sit between the cropped lands so that we can fence them off as part of a better husbandry programme.
Sandstone and Afgri announce major developments at Sandstone Estates.
First load to bunker
An historical moment occurred at Sandstone Estates on 5th June when thefirst load of maize arrived at the new Vrystaat Mielies bunker managed byCMI.
Sandstone’s agricultural infrastructure continues to grow and expand.
This week saw a Natal company carry out a very professional and well executed aerial survey of our main complex and surrounding farmland. Highlights include the first aerial photograph of our 150-metre long locomotive storage facility, the earthworks being prepared for the new Afgri silo complex, and an expansion of 2-ft Narrow Gauge storage lines in various locations.
Update on Sandstone's Wildlife
There seems to have been an exponential explosion of wildlife at Sandstone Estates lately. Of particular significance is the way in which our Springbok and Blesbok have been breeding. We used to know exactly how many animals were on the farm but we have now lost count due to the fact that the herds are fragmenting into different breeding groups.