6 000 acres of productive farmlands surround Bartholomeus Klip, with wheat being the major crop and oats, canola and clover pastures grown on a rotational basis. On an operation of this size there is always something interesting happening, especially in autumn when the crops are planted and early summer, when they are harvested. 

The 4 000 merino sheep are kept primarily for their wool, which is sold on auction in Cape Town.  Guests at Bartholomeus Klip particularly enjoy the lambing time (usually after the early winter rains, when there is grazing for the ewes), and visiting the shearers in the big shed near to the farmhouse, where the wool is shorn, graded and packed into bales.

At present approximately 6 000 acres of fertile agricultural land is being used for crop farming at Bartholomeus Klip.  Since we fall within the winter rainfall region of the Western Cape, the crops we are able to produce successfully here on the farm include winter wheat, canola, lupins, oats, barley, triticale and clover.  Some of these crops are used for human consumption whilst others are used for fodder, but all are meticulously produced to ensure top quality and high productivity.

We use a rotation system of farming, changing the crop on each individual field yearly.  This system has huge benefits, the most important being reduced diseases in the crop, a lower weed burden, increased soil fertility and increased profits.  A factor emerging as a major threat to wheat yields in recent years is the increasing incidence of root diseases.  The only practical control strategy is a well planned and executed crop rotation system, which is aimed at eliminating annual grasses and volunteer cereals at least 12 months prior to crop establishment.  Weeds compete with crops for moisture, nutrients, light and space, and can significantly reduce yields.  By alternating crops and changing herbicides, it is possible to control a different spectrum of weeds.  Effective weed control in one crop often means that the following crop can be grown without the need for expensive herbicides.  Changing crops and herbicides reduces the potential for herbicide resistance to develop in target species, for example wild oats.  This can also reduce the potential for herbicide residues to accumulate in the soil. The aim of any good rotation is to balance the system where the legume phase replenishes the nitrogen and organic matter exploited by the cropping phase.  Yield and production increases in wheat following legume crops have been widely demonstrated.

Here at Bartholomeus Klip, the land is prepared and contoured if necessary before the first rains of the winter season.  This ensures that planting can begin as soon as the first few drops of rain hit the ground, usually towards the middle of April.  The rain is essential for planting as it loosens the soils, making it easier for the machines to get the seed into the ground, and also allows the seeds to germinate.  Throughout the growing period, the crops need plenty of rain to develop but rains should preferably stop towards the end of this time so that the ears can ripen.

As the Western Cape also has strong winds to contend with, many of the crops are cut and the stalks left lying on the ground until the ears have ripened safe from the wind, and these are later picked up and processed.  Combine harvesting also takes place.  This is a process of cutting the stalks, removing the ears and spitting out the straw all in one.  Harvesting usually starts around the beginning of November and finishes towards the middle of December.

Complementing the crops are the sheep.  About 4 000 sheep, mainly Merinos, are kept at Bartholomeus Klip.  Merinos are kept for their wool and this is our main interest, although there are a few Suffolk rams as the Merino/Suffolk cross is better for meat production.  The sheep are shorn three times in two years, giving enough time for the wool to grow back after each shearing.  Usually the sheep are shorn in winter as this is when their coats are at their thickest.  The wool is then classed according to its thickness, texture and stretchiness, packed into bales, and sold. 

During lambing season up to 2 000 lambs can be born, a wonderful sight to see gambolling in the fields.  Most of the ewes are artificially inseminated, which often results in the birth of twins.  When the ewes are pregnant, a local vet scans the sheep (in the same way as an ultrasound scan is done on a pregnant woman) and the ewes pregnant with twins are separated out and kept close to the farmyard, as special care needs to be taken with them.  A not uncommon occurrence is that the mother favours one of the lambs, which could result in the second lamb not surviving.  In order to prevent this from happening the mother, along with her two lambs, is confined to a small shed for up to 72 hours until she has formed a bond with both of the lambs, thus increasing their chance of survival.

 During the winter months the sheep are able to feed on the clover which is planted as a rotational crop, thus successfully combining crop farming with sheep farming.  During the long hot summer though, when everything has been harvested, the sheep need supplementary feeding and a combination of mielies (corn), meal, grain and molasses is mixed and fed to them.

ne of the important aspects of the farming at Bartholomeus Klip has been to empower the staff on the farm by enriching their lives with skills training and work experience, and this has been very successful

An interesting and unusual project at Bartholomeus Klip is the breeding of disease-free buffalo, which was embarked on in 1999.  As most of the buffalo in Southern Africa are infected with corridor disease and foot and mouth disease, ‘clean’ animals from Bartholomeus Klip are in great demand on game ranches especially as buffalo are one of the ‘Big Five’ (the others being lion, elephant, rhino and leopard) that tourists always want to see.

The breeding programme has been managed along basic farming principles since the original founder herd of 20 buffalo calves were raised on dairy cows.  The herd is now breeding at a sustainable rate and numbers are kept at around 60 animals, with offspring being sold to areas that need stocking. 

This programme provides a wonderful insight into the successful combination of modern farming and conservation, as well as allowing you the chance to get up close to view these magnificent animals.

Buffalo today, while not rare, have decreased greatly in numbers due to hunting and various diseases.  Historically they occurred in large herds throughout South Africa but are now found only in game reserves, where these formidable animals, with their massive curved horns and powerful frame, are in great demand by tourists and trophy hunters in search of the Big Five.

The Cape, or African, buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is classified as either ‘clean’ or diseased, with diseased buffalo carrying one of all of the diseases that affect buffalo, including foot and mouth disease (FMD), bovine tuberculosis (TB), corridor disease (CD) and brucellosis.  In South Africa, the largest buffalo populations are found in the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga and the Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park in KwaZulu Natal, but both of these populations are infected with FMD, CD and TB.  Since these diseases are highly infectious and damaging, if not fatal, to domestic livestock, buffalo have been strictly confined to well-fenced protected areas and clean animals are highly valued outside these ‘red-line’ areas.

The founder members of the buffalo herd at Bartholomeus Klip, kept more or less constant at 60 animals, came from a ground-breaking project set up at Phalaborwa in 1998.  22 pregnant females, as well as some bulls, were obtained from the neighbouring Kruger National Park and when the calves were born, their mothers were darted and the calves immediately removed to prevent the transmission of disease to them through suckling.

The calves were taken away to a rigorously quarantined enclosure where the Jersey cows who would become their foster mothers were waiting.  The breed was chosen for its placid and affectionate temperament, as well as the quality and quantity of its rich milk, and bonding took place with no problems.  The Jerseys proved to be highly successful as surrogate mothers, even running eagerly to the fence of their enclosure to welcome the arrival of newly born buffalo calves. 

However there was no protocol in place to ensure that the calves thus reared would be allowed to leave the red-line area.  A great deal of negotiation took place with government officials, and the buffalo calves were tested twice for any disease, before permission was finally given for 19 disease-free buffalo calves, along with their Jersey foster mothers, to be transported to Bartholomeus Klip in August 1999. 

Since then this original group of buffalo have successfully bred and many animals have been sold to game ranches all over South Africa, thus helping to increase the genetic diversity of other populations and ensure the long-term future of the species.