Keith and Jacqui Middleton have faced some tough challenges in 15 years of farming, but this has not weakened their determination to take their business to the top of the emerging commercial farming sector in the next ten years. The Middletons’ farm, African Joy, is part of the Orange-Riet irrigation scheme near Jacobsdal in the Free State. In the late autumn sun on the stoep of their farmhouse, they shared the story of their farming success with Charné Kemp.

The Middletons came to the 1 200ha farm, with 300ha of scheduled irrigation, as tenants in 2007. As land reform beneficiaries, they have a 30-year lease with an option to buy. Their farm, African Joy, was a land reform acquisition on the Orange-Riet irrigation scheme.

The irrigated hectares are planted to maize, lucerne and 10ha to pecan nut trees. The pecans have expansion potential and Keith and Jacqui are in talks with the Industrial Development Corporation about developing 95ha of pecan orchards. They also run 150 Bonsmara cattle and 300 Merino sheep.

Their greatest limiting factor is access to water as they currently have rights to extract water for only 103 scheduled hectares. Keith describes his early days of farming as difficult but says he learnt, and did, so much.

“I met many farmers and developed a valuable network of contacts,” he says. He has been disappointed in some of his business partners over the years and this has affected his health. There was also some racial prejudice in his community, which he worked hard to overcome.

Today’s problems come in the form of the department not granting farmers title to their land and the difficulties with obtaining the rights to schedule more irrigated hectares.

STEEP LEARNING CURVES

Keith explains his agricultural knowledge was limited in the beginning. “I humbly asked the neighbouring farmers for advice, which they gladly gave. People want to help one another. Farmers introduced me to their networks and let me buy products on their accounts at discounted prices.”

He learned about planting, fertilising, harvesting, marketing, water conservation and animal husbandry. The learning curve for many farmers starting out in the business is steep and Keith and Jacqui were no exception.

“At one stage we lost almost everything. We had no running water or electricity. We were scraping rock bottom to provide our children with the best education possible, so much so that a humble plate of tripe and porridge was a weekly treat,” says Keith.

The Middleton’s son, KJ, was a talented hockey player. This earned him a place at Grey College in Bloemfontein where the then principal played a major role in his development. After school KJ studied commerce at Stellenbosch University.

During the university holiday breaks he went back to the farm to work and to learn the practical side of farming. At one stage Jacqui, a teacher, also went back to university to study sustainable agriculture and rural development.

AN EARLY START IN RURAL LIFE

Jacqui grew up on her parents’ farm in KwaZulu-Natal. Her father bought the farm in 1979 during the apartheid era for R60 000. He had permission from the then Department of Coloured Affairs to own land. They farmed dairy, maize and vegetables, like chilies, cucumbers and potatoes. She studied to become a teacher and met Keith, “a handsome young man”, in Polokwane, Limpopo.

Although she did not know it at the time, her husband was a farmer at heart. Keith worked as a lifesaver at a municipal swimming pool and did renovation jobs after hours. He developed entrepreneurial skills and the spirit to go with them.

After a stint in the USA, the couple returned to South Africa and ended up in Kimberley with their two children, aged 11 (Joy) and 6 (KJ). Keith joined his brother’s IT and stationery business and got involved with the National African Farmers Union (Nafu) as he wanted to learn more about agriculture.

“Being involved in the union and becoming its Northern Cape deputy president was my way of helping black farmers get land,” Keith explains. During this time the couple discussed their own farming dreams and started looking at farms but Keith could not get a loan.

“My then white business partner and I approached the Department of Land Reform to buy the farm but the application was denied as we were accused of being a front company,” says Keith.

Soon after this Keith and Jacqui went back to the department and found the official a lot more accommodating as they explained their plans and dreams.

“The department bought the farm. I took a 60% share in the business, and my ex-business partner took a 40% share.”

WATER – THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT

Keith, the chairperson of the national water committee of the African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa), is working with the Department of Water and Sanitation to have all water-user entitlements reviewed and the remaining water rights allocated equitably to black farmers.

It has been a very wet summer, and some of the roads on their farm can only be reached with 4×4 vehicles. Heavy, continuous rain caused waterlogging in the lands and damaged crops. On the positive side, the rain has flushed the system and improved water quality in the Orange-Riet irrigation scheme.

WORKING THROUGH CHALLENGES

When they arrived, the farm’s infrastructure was dilapidated with derelict workers’ houses, broken dams and pivots that were not working, says Keith. And to make matter worse, the relationship between Keith and his business partner broke down.

It was a difficult time and Keith suffered stress-related health problems. The Middletons felt unsupported by the people in their area. “We had running battles with some farmers, who later became my friends. We now have a mutually beneficial relationship,” he says with a smile.

“As soon as people learn to respect each other, they can work and achieve together.” At first the Middletons felt the commercial farmers did not respect them. But they put in the time and effort to get the recognition they deserved. Keith explains that agricultural ignorance has its origins in the apartheid era
when there was unequal access to education
and opportunities.

“It is time now for the privileged few to plough back as much as they can so that we can all rebuild the country,” he says. The number of successful emerging farmers in the scheme can be counted on one hand, Keith says, but he plans to improve that number.

“Small-scale farming can be a poverty trap. This government needs to develop commercial black farmers by giving them access to land and water so they can compete on an equal footing with commercial farmers. We are about to stage a protest as we feel we are set up to fail.”

CONTINUITY AND STABILITY THROUGH THE SECOND GENERATION

Jacqui and Keith are both proud that their son will be a second-generation emerging farmer. KJ was a boy of three when he told his parents he would one day be a farmer with lots of tractors and cattle. Now, with an honours degree in management accountancy and three years of corporate experience, he is taking the business to the next level.

“Since I got here I have introduced a lot of technology,” KJ says. “Instead of wasting fuel driving to the pivot to switch it on, I do it on my phone. Using this system also saves us 40% on our electricity bill. By being more efficient, we can be more profitable.”

He has also installed security systems to prevent cable theft on the farm. They have invested in precision technology to plant straighter and more accurately, which they hope will increase yields by 20%. Although they have fewer staff members than before, production and productivity have increased.

“My dad and I do the thinking and planning, while the staff are trained and know what is expected of them daily,” says KJ.

“I have developed an app that provides farmers with management tasks, education, resources and practical tips for each stage of sheep and cattle production. I’ve been testing the app and use it to keep track of my daily tasks and to plan weeks ahead.” As a second-generation farmer he has several generations to catch up, unlike his white counterparts who have many generations of agricultural knowledge and experience passed down over the years.

“It will take me a decade or so to catch up.” KJ suggests that government hand over leased farms to successful emerging farmers. “Our 30-year lease is reassuring but does not mean much when it comes to doing real business,” he says. Without title, farmers cannot get decent production loans. Inflation and rising input prices also make flexible production loans critical to success.

“We can’t afford to buy this farm from government as officials have suggested; it is a multimillion-rand asset in which we already have invested a lot,” KJ explains. Farmers without title cannot compete with commercial agricultural businesses nor can they rely on commercial organisations to approve unsecured loans.

The loans they can secure are not enough to increase annual production and accompanying turnover. Where funds are short, they make up deficits by using profits from the previous season. The Middletons think this government policy does not promote profitable, sustainable and self-sufficient farms.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

KJ has ambitions for the farm and aims to market produce directly from the farm to the consumer. “We are in the middle of expanding pecan nut country. We want to develop tourism alongside agriculture. It would be wonderful to have an annual pecan nut festival in which other produce is also marketed, with live music and stalls, accompanied by related tourism ventures in the countryside,” he says.

KJ wants to provide an opportunity for tourists to enjoy farm life, to buy produce directly from the farm, to learn about where their food comes from, to create the necessary space for small local businesses to sell produce at a market, and to increase general traffic to the area.

KJ also believes there is the opportunity to market visits to working farms as educational school tours, something that could benefit society at large. Keith’s plan, from the start, was to be the pioneer and lay the groundwork for the future generation, who would get educated and take the business to the next level.

“My descendants will farm here long after I am gone.”

We take a look back at African Farming’s Beef Farmers’ Day event that took place on Monday, 7 February in Polokwane. Our editor Peter Mashala and the legendary Doc Faffa Malan share their thoughts on the successful event along with other farming experts and local farmers.

This week in African Farming, host Tony Ndoro finds himself in the Free State with the Middleton farming family. Keith, Jacqui and KJ Middleton farm with livestock and lucern and discuss the many challenges they face. Our panel experts are also back in the studio to chat about growth in farming despite challenges. Tune in this Thursday on Mzansi Wethu at 19:00.

by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie

Avoidance is one of the more sinister patterns that we adopt. Firstly, by avoiding the discomfort we’re trying to escape, we ironically make it permanent in our lives. Secondly, as a function of avoidance, we make our power to improve our situation invisible to ourselves. We make the cycle of pain and avoidance perpetual and even permanent for ourselves.

If avoidance is something you practice, please know that you are NOT ALONE in this. We, ALL OF US, are highly skilled at avoiding things. We don’t even consciously set out to be avoidant. We might start out simply procrastinating .. which over time can develop into full-blown avoidance.

We must remember that our core responses to uncomfortable, challenging and fearful situations, is fight, flight, freeze, and appease. We develop these strategies well before our ability to communicate or to reason logically has developed. BECAUSE we develop these strategies at such a young age, we are pretty powerless in most situations. As a result, the avoidance patterns of freeze and appease becomes an almost automatic response in so many situations.

As such, our minds present less as “thinking machines” and more like “distraction & avoidance machines.” And the incredible thing is that we aren’t even usually aware that we’re avoiding thinking about something.

Avoidance presents in countless different ways:

• We are constantly checking messages, news feeds, notifications … to avoid doing something we don’t want to face or that is just awkward and uncomfortable … however minor the discomfort may be.

• When we’re facing difficulties in life, that we are fully capable of overcoming with some effort and possibly some inconvenience or discomfort, we persuade ourselves that’s it’s OK because of whatever reason our mind manufactures, or we get busy with some activity or numbing agent (like alcohol) so we don’t have to face the difficulties.

• When a problem comes up, our reaction is to want to go do something else, put it off.

• We put off paying bills, doing taxes, dealing with long emails, dealing with clutter, because we don’t want to face the awkwardness, discomfort, or focus required.

• We put off exercise because it’s uncomfortable or because there is something else, we register as more enjoyable.

There are thousands and thousands of examples, every day, that come up and that we don’t even notice, because they are parts of our patterns that have become invisible to us over time.

Try this right now: pause for a minute and think about what difficulty you’re avoiding thinking about right now. You will either notice a difficulty you don’t like, or your mind will quickly turn to doing something else before the minute is up.

Avoidance Doesn’t Work

Our minds are magnificent in their design. As I mentioned earlier, our minds are designed to keep us safe from even the tiniest discomfort, It wants to flee from whatever discomfort, pain, or difficulty we’re facing … and this is a good strategy for temporarily not having to deal with difficulty and pain. So in the present moment, we might feel some temporary relief.

But what it does is create a life of running

A life of distraction and never facing what is troubling us and keeping us from the ease, the comfort, and the growth we seek. In our busyness and in our distractedness, we simply don’t learn to deal with what’s inside us, and with what is ahead of us. Consequently, we remain at the mercy of our fears, of our discomforts, and the unwanted feelings that travel through us almost constantly. We find ourselves not too different from the child versions of ourselves who would rather do ANYTHING than the chore of hard work. And so, we avoid the important work until it becomes unbearably painful. The same is true of exercise, healthy eating, finances, clutter, relationships, and more. In the end, we still have to deal with these things, except that by the time we do, it’s gotten much worse. It would have been better to face them early on when they weren’t such a big deal.

The Face Everything Technique

This technique is based on the idea that it’s better to be aware of things, and to deal with them like an adult, instead of running. And if we do, none of it’s that big of a deal.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create awareness by asking, “What am I doing right now?” Throughout the day, set reminders or put little notes that remind you to ask, “What am I doing right now?” The answer might be, “Checking Facebook,” or “Switching to a new browser tab,” or “Eating some chips.” Something simple and mundane like that, but just ask yourself what you’re doing, to start to bring awareness.

2. Next, ask yourself, “What am I avoiding?” When things get difficult or uncomfortable, we automatically switch to something else. We run. We avoid, like crazy. You’re doing it all day long, but not realizing it. Ask what you’re avoiding: some fear, some difficult task, some difficult emotion, some discomfort, or just staying present in the current moment? Name what you’re avoiding.

3. Now face it. Just stay with this fear, discomfort, difficulty, in the present moment. Not your story about it that you’re telling yourself in your head, but the actual physical feeling in your body in the present moment. How bad is it? You’ll find that it’s No Big Deal. Stay with it for a little longer. And a little longer after that — challenge yourself.

4. Take appropriate action. Now that you’ve faced it and have seen that it’s not such a big deal, you can act like an adult rather than a little child: you can decide what the best action is right now. If you’re afraid of doing some task, but you’ve faced it and seen that the fear is not such a big deal … you can remind yourself that the task will benefit you and others and is much more important than your little fear. If you’re avoiding a difficult conversation with someone because you’re angry, you can see that the anger and offense is not such a big deal, and you can talk to the person calmly and appropriately, with empathy and compassion, and figure out a solution.

Granted, not all your problems will be resolved simply as a result of this approach. At times, you will be challenged to do significant inner work to overcome some of the self-limiting beliefs you may have adopted that created your problem in the first place.  What I do know, is that zero of your problems will shift if they remain concealed by your consciousness.

Over time, by confronting the things you have become accustomed to avoiding, you will develop the fitness needed to sit with and to work through the things and the patterns of behaviour that keeps you from your growth, your ease and your sense of fulfilment. Over time, you will relieve yourself of regret and shame.

Book Review

When you are starting out in business, learning the art of media relations can be a daunting prospect, but Felicity Cowie in her new book Exposure, provides a practical and insightful playbook for doing just that. She genuinely empowers entrepreneurs to take control of their own media coverage generation and journalist relationship building instead of having to layout precious cashflow on external agencies. This is a great book that provides all the insider secrets you need to make your business a go-to authority for journalists. 

So how do you break through the media noise as an entrepreneur and get your business noticed by journalists and audiences alike? Felicity Cowie in her new book Exposure has the answers, and importantly, the tips and advice you need to start making the media work for your business. This is a genuine Playbook which takes you through the process of building your media relations strategy, creating your authentic media voice, getting to know and build the trust of journalists, and then importantly, getting that ongoing coverage and share of voice.

So, if you have ever seen a competitor get great media headlines and thought, ‘Hey! Why wasn’t that us?’ then you definitely need to read Felicity Cowie’s book Exposure. Tap into a wealth of insider secrets to find out how to set your business apart and cut through the noise, using media coverage. You will learn:

• How to prepare your business to become a go-to authority for journalists from day one

• The end-to-end process of getting media coverage, demystified

• How to align media relations with your growth strategy and scale coverage

Also included is an invaluable media relations toolkit with actionable templates, scripts and cheat sheets for transformational results. So what are you waiting for? Get your business noticed by journalists, find those media messaging opportunities, and become that thought leader in your industry sector that has journalists coming to you for comment, insight and analysis. It’s all good for personal and business branding and will help you to take both to the next level in the media space. 

Author Quotes

I felt compelled to write this book. I wanted to put something that I know works into the hands of businesses. I wanted to help businesses view media relations as an extension of their business strategies and a negotiation rather than an adversarial situation. 

Stories are the currency of all journalists, so if you have a good story to tell, then it’s entirely possible for you to be on the same page as them.

You don’t need to create a marketing team to devise a media relations strategy. You don’t need proposals from communications or PR consultants or agencies. What you do need to do is make media relations integral to your growth strategy from day one. Boom!

About the author

Felicity Cowie has worked as a media relations troubleshooter for some of the world’s leading organisations and is a former BBC News and Panorama journalist. She’s worked on 100,000 story pitches from both sides. She now makes her insider secrets available to the founders and leaders of today’s early-stage businesses, helping them gain exposure and competitive advantage.  

www.themediarelationscoach.com