DURING the week of June 25 to 28, a group of 29 applicants registered for the annual mohair short course at Grootfontein College of Agriculture.
The course was co-ordinated by former student and employee of Grootfontein, Beauty Mokgwamme, who is now the empowerment and training officer at the Mohair Empowerment Trust. On behalf of the Mohair Industry, the trust aims at identifying emerging farmers on a suitable property that shows a potential to make a success of farming with Angora goats.
Their target is that one qualifying beneficiary will be identified every year.
The ultimate goal of the trust is to train, uplift and empower large scale, commercially viable (BEE) mohair farmers, who will be able to participate positively within the mohair industry and serve in various mohair organisations at a high level.
The 29 applicants who registered for the course included four graduates from the Department of Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), hosted by the mohair industry (two at Grootfontein and two at BKB), 10 of the Empowerment Trust farmers and 15 attendees from the Western Cape (3 officials and 12 Angora farmers).
The entrance of the course consisted of a practical demonstration on mohair classing and identification by Mokgwamme.
Sarel Hayward, from Mohair South Africa, presented the sustainability guidelines, after which Natasja Burger from the South African Mohair Growers’ Association explained the principle of flock health management for small stock, as well as the monitoring of health and vaccinations.
Gary Willows, from Cape Mohair and Wool, handled the judging and selection and standards of excellence, while financial management, cost of production and record keeping were presented by Marco Coetzee, from Mohair South Africa. Fleece typing and the mohair classing wheel were explained by Mohair South Africa’s Riano Greyling.
