When you ask a farmer why he wants to be in the field, his answer will be: “Farming is in my blood.” One thing is certain: A farmer knows in his heart what he wants to do from a young age.
At Waterkloof High School it is no different. Here, the young men who have Agricultural Technology as a subject already know where their hearts lie.
With the help of New Holland, the school prepares its learners for the agricultural industry by building up their theoretical and practical knowledge now.
Nico Pretorius, the Agricultural Technology teacher, explains that the school has a clear plan to offer this subject to all their learners in the future, thus helping to grow the future of agriculture.
Currently they offer the subject for grades ten and eleven, and in 2025 the subject will be available for grades ten, eleven and twelve. They also want to offer Agricultural Studies as a subject to the grade eights by next year.
In 2026, learners in grades eight and nine will be able to follow Agricultural Studies as a subject, while the rest of the grades can choose Agricultural Technology.
In the future, they want to explore the possibility of also offering Agricultural Science, Agricultural Economy and Agricultural Management.
He emphasises that the importance of the subjects should not be underestimated. It teaches the children everything that happens on a farm, how to work with their hands and about the latest technology available in the agricultural sector.
All of this will help to establish global food security for the future.
“Having New Holland on board at Waterkloof High School is very important, because the children learn about technology, they learn about ploughs, tractors and engines. It is fun and educational to see the equipment they will be working with one day. Companies like New Holland help us to be able to give the children practical examples,” Nico explains.
He believes that more companies should get involved in schools, as New Holland did, because disadvantaged schools and remote schools do not always have the opportunity to offer their children the same.
The agricultural studies at Waterkloof High School are certainly making their mark and four of the Agricultural Technology learners in grade eleven have already decided where they want to join the agricultural sector.
Stiaan Coetzee says that the agricultural sector is extremely interesting to him. His love comes from his grade eight year when he saw a video about how plants germinate.
He went on to do more research and his love for plants only continued to grow. He plans to study agriculture so that he can develop plants that can bring more nutritional value.
Franco du Randt and Stiaan Coetzee at one of New Holland’s tractors at Waterkloof High School.
“My grandfather worked with plants years ago and he developed a bean that is still used today. For example, if one can get more nutrients into a fruit, that you only have to eat that for the day and not five different ones. I think it will really make a difference in how people look at food,” he explains.
His agricultural role models are his grandfather and his girlfriend’s father. His girlfriend’s father has a mushroom farm and has 28 years of experience in the industry.
He says that they have overcome many obstacles and plan to harvest 100 tons of mushrooms per week for the next 26 years.
Franco du Randt was born in Ermelo, where he grew up on a farm. His family farmed with Merinos and Drakensbergers.
His dream is to one day own his own game farm and a coffee plantation or two. “I helped my father vaccinate and shear the sheep many times and on Sundays we went to count cattle, so it was just part of my childhood.”
Franco wants to help with food security by farming more organicly and taking nutritious products to the market.
I want to be remembered as someone who cared about his people, improved the land, looked after his farm workers and left the farm in better condition than I found it,” he says.
One of their neighbours at the time, uncle Kerneels, is his agricultural role model. Uncle Kerneels farmed with Beefmasters and was an inspiring person who looked after his community.
Jean Moelich says that the process from land to mouth has interested him for years.
His nephew recently got married on a wine farm and the aspects of this type of farming fascinated him, which is why one day he would like to own a wine farm. He is also interested in the many possibilities that cattle farming has and says that he would like to farm with cattle as well.
“I would like to be remembered as someone who always delivered the best products for good value for money. My agricultural role model is Angus Buchan, because he not only teaches you how to grow your crops but also how to grow spiritually and trust in the Lord even when times are difficult.”
Jacobus van den Berg learned to farm from his father. He learned to drive a tractor from a young age and learned about grain farming from his father.
“I am excited about the future of agriculture because I want to follow in my father’s footsteps and make him proud by taking the farming forward.
I would like to be remembered as someone who never backed down from a challenge and who was always willing to help his community and just make South Africa a better place,” he said proudly. His father is his role model.
