Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Producing top-quality pears on a farm ‘no one else wanted’
When Kitty du Plessis’s husband lost his farming job, they decided to buy a farm no one else wanted. She and her son, Mario, spoke to about their journey to success.
Kitty du Plessis and her late husband, Marius, never dreamt of having their own farm, thinking there was no way they could ever afford one. Then in 1999, the owners of the Daytona farm in the Warm Bokkeveld of the Western Cape, where Marius was the farm manager for over 20 years, passed away soon after one another, and their heirs, who lived abroad, wanted out of the business.
Daytona’s stud was bought shortly thereafter, but the new owners weren’t interested in the fruit division, Aurora, leaving Marius, who had been in charge of everything but the horses, without a job. Potential buyers of Aurora were also put off when they realised the farm was situated behind the Nduli informal settlement.
In the end, the attorneys who managed the estate invited Marius and Kitty to bid for the Aurora farm. Having no idea what to offer, they discussed options with Ceres Fruit Growers, which helped them develop a business plan for the purchase.
They were over the moon when they heard that their offer had been accepted, but what followed were eight tough years.
“We had lots of experience on the management and production side of farming, but the business side was all new to us. With no farm records, we also had no idea what the cash flow would be like. Many people thought we would not last for more than three years,” Kitty admits.
THE FARM
When the couple bought Aurora, most of the orchards were old, and only 9ha of the original 24ha were still financially viable. To make ends meet, Kitty kept her day job at Ceres Fruit Juices, and she and Marius tried to do much of the farm work themselves.
“We made a great team. Marius was incredibly hands-on and skilled on the production side, whereas I am good with admin and numbers,” she says.
They realised it would take time for the orchards to generate income, so they focused most of their attention on cattle and grain production to keep the pot boiling during those early years, while systematically replacing the old orchards with new ones as of 2002.
They also had a strict cash policy. “We carefully considered the way in which every penny was spent, with most of our spending aimed at interventions that would boost farm income; there simply was not money for luxuries, holidays or any other nice-to-haves. The four tractors that came with the farm were already old back then, but Marius kept them in working order, and we still use three of them today,” says Kitty.
Their finances became even more strained when Ceres Fruit Juices moved its finance offices to Paarl. “The company offered [me]
transport [to and from the office], but I decided to quit my job a year later because of the 160km daily commute,” Kitty explains.
She then started raising broilers, which she sold from the farm. Sales went well, but by the third year, she began to suffer losses due to stock theft. Thereafter, she placed more of her energy into fruit and cattle production.
Their cattle operation got under way with seven cows they got from a neighbouring dairy farm. They used an Angus bull on these cows, but at times the calves were too big, resulting in birth complications. “It was really labour-intensive, as you had to aid the cows with every single calving,” Kitty says.
The birthing problems have since been addressed through the selection of bigger replacement cows. In 2019, when the new Angus bull was too young to service all
55 of the cows they had by that stage, they bought a Limousin bull. “We like Angus bulls, though, as they produce fast-growing offspring with good-quality meat,” Kitty says.
While cattle and grain production are no longer their main source of income, they still keep 55 cows and produce 220ha of wheat and 30ha to 35ha of oats each year. The oats is used as animal feed, with surpluses sold to other farmers. Hay is also gathered and used as mulch in the fruit orchards, which helps to reduce evaporation, keep the soil cool and improve the soil carbon content.
“Sowing and harvesting equipment are expensive, so we hire contractors to do the work for us,” Kitty says.
PRODUCTION
By 2008, the business had become too big for Kitty and Marius to manage themselves, especially since it was so diversified. Their son, Mario, who studied farm management at the Boland College Worcester Campus, then joined Aurora, bringing 12 years of work experience on other farms with him.
By 2021, they had replaced all the old peach orchards with Kakamas and fresh cultivars, such as Keisie, Cascade and Supreme, bringing their total area under peach production to 8ha.
“Peaches are great when you’re strapped for cash, as the costs of plant material and planting are much less than that for apples and pears. They also reach commercial production yields within three years of planting, in