Outeniqua Information Day 2023

The Outeniqua Research Farm is celebrating 70 years’ service to the agricultural sector during 2023, having been established in 1953. Over the years various farming commodities were studied and researched, from sheep farming, including the establishment of the SA Mutton Merino and the Dormer breeds together with the work conducted at Elsenburg, through the evaluation of cultivars of various crops, including wheat and vegetables to where it is today, a research farm dedicated primarily to the research of dairy production from cultivated pastures and the accompanying research into varieties of pasture crops in support of profitable dairy production under irrigated grazing. We are also excited to share some beef cattle observation studies’ results and it is believed that significant useful information will be forthcoming from this work in the fattening of beef cattle from
pastures.

The annual Outeniqua Information Days have become a beacon of information sharing about the research being conducted and the results being achieved, all in support of milk production from pastures for big and small scale milk producers alike. The global Covid pandemic of 2022 lead to innovative solutions to the challenges of remaining engaged with the farming community, communicating and conveying new information as soon as possible in the competitive world of milk production. The first “virtual” or online information day was hosted during 2020 and it was very successful and the same formula was again used during 2021. It was decided that the personal interaction between researcher and producer remains crucial and so the 2022 information day was live again. However, the online stream was maintained and the audience both on the day and subsequently online continued to grow through this “hybrid” approach, reaching beyond the borders of the Western Cape while attracting visitors from the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. The benefit of the online version is that it can also be accessed after the event and serve as a reference and a repository of useful information, presented by the researchers who did the work and have a good understanding of the results and how to use them in practice.

For the 2023 version of the information day the department is doing away with hard copies of the proceedings of the day and have, instead, further embraced the possibilities of technology in making the proceedings available through a QR code. They have also gone back into previous information days’ presentations and digitized those in a similar way. One can say it is now possible to carry a library of Outeniqua Information Days’ presentations in your pocket via your smartphone for easy access and reference!

The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is committed to do research that is focused on the needs of the agricultural producers in the province and beyond. To this end information days such as the one presented today is, and will always remain, a very vital aspect of research where researchers and producers meet personally, interact and have the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the farming sector, ensuring research is focused and relevant in support of efficient and profitable production.

We are very happy to see you all at the 2023 Outeniqua Research Farm for the annual Information Day and I trust you will enjoy the day with us while taking home information to assist with keeping pasture-based dairy farming profitable. We look forward to the next 70 years of focused and relevant research in support of agricultural production!

Dr. Chris de Brouwer
Chief Director: Research and Technology Development Services (Acting)