I grow no-till maize and soya beans on rain-fed fields. The soya beans are grown as a rotation and sold as a cash crop. 

Most of my maize is fed to my cattle. I buy about 2,200 weaner oxen every year. These “calves” are grown out on pastures, both cultivated (kikuyu) and natural (veld).

They are then finished off on the grain from the farm, ready for market weighing between 450-500kg and less than 18 months old.

See also: How to farm in South Africa’s baking heat

No-till is a passion of mine for many reasons, most of which pertain to our weather. 

The farm on average receives about 800mm of rain a year, almost exclusively in the summer months. However, what an average doesn’t tell you is how erratically this rain falls. 

No-till improves water infiltration and retention, builds organic mater and brings life back to the soil. Everything being equal, water determines yield and no-till improves the efficiency of the rain the farm receives.

Thunderstorms in this area can be very intense and it is not uncommon to have 100mm dumped on you in less than an hour. Soil erosion in a tilled field after such an event is sickening, but almost zero on a no-till field. 

Today is the 21st day since our last significant rain and the temperature on most of these dry days has been well over 30C. 

This January drought is not uncommon for us. While on a midday scout of my fields, I couldn’t help noticing that some of the crops are crying for rain and others look as if they had a shower yesterday. 

Some soils are shallower than others, but I am also starting to notice a strong correlation between organic matter content of the soil and crop drought tolerance.

For the past few years I have been growing winter cover crops, as I feel a no-till approach on its own is not enough to get the organic matter levels we need. Not to mention many of the other benefits it delivers such as improved soil health and fodder for my cattle.

Bruce Shepherd farms in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He plants 320 Ha rain fed summer crops. He also runs 2200 weaner oxen on pastures, finishing them in a feedlot with maize grown on the farm.