“We cannot expect a positive outcome with a negative or uninvolved input. Everyone has a choice to be positive and constructive or negative and destructive”, said Francois Wilken, President of Free State Agriculture.
The 2019 Free State Young Farmer of the Year conference, which was proudly sponsored by Senwes, was held on Wednesday, 17 April 2019 at the Monte Bello Estate in Bloemfontein. Afrikaans story teller, singer and television presenter, Andries Vermeulen, opened the conference with a powerful biblical message which brought about positive conversation amongst farmers throughout the day.
The theme of the conference was the accessibility of resources in a modern agricultural environment and expert researchers in the agricultural industry such as Tiaan Terblanche, Phillip Oosthuizen, Divan van der Westhuizen and Prof Johan Willemse, touched on invaluable data and information which could help young farmers in South Africa improve their business strategies and implement smarter ways of farming. According to Sernick's Head of Economics and Research, Phillip Oosthuizen, who addressed the event, technological and marketing innovations can give you a short-term competitive edge, but over the long term it can define your relevance in the industry.