Heritage - Rail - News
19th November 2007 - Updated 17th December 2007
Click here to jump down the page to the latest update
The 24 hour a day Soya planting program continues at Sandstone and nearly 800 Ha has already been planted. With a let up in the rain the progress has been steady and the planting should be completed within the prescribed planting period.



Soya Drop Update mid December 2007
Nature played its part and allowed Sandstone to finish planting the planned 1000 Hectare Soya crop. Immediately thereafter it began rainy on a daily basis and has not stopped since. The farm has received 148mm since 17 November, which is when the last seed was put into the ground, and the continuing wet conditions are excellent for the Soya.
Unfortunately nature was not going to let us have it all our own way and a hail storm was let loose on about 90 Hectares of the newly planted lands around Grootdraai and the Game Camp...


The early prognosis was that the young plants, having had their growth tips knocked back, would probably not make it. It appears however that the plants decided that this was not to the case. A week later, perhaps due to the rain and nursery like conditions many of the plants have started to shoot new leaves and the rows are beginning to green up again...


What is also interesting is that in the lands that were hit by hail, which were the last to be planted, we have noticed that new plants are still appearing as well which indicates that some of the seedling had not yet reached the surface when the hail hit. While the 90 odd Hectares may not recover to their full potential there is no doubt that we will get a harvest from these lands, as to how big only time will tell.
On the northern part of the farm where the majority of the crop was planted the Soya is looking fantastic and the rows are well established and a bumper crop is expected...



Those lands that had not been burnt by the rampant fires, due to dry condition through the winter, offered the new plants some protection from the heavy rains...
Conditions remain very wet (as above) and there was a lot of water lying in the lands we have thankfully had during the last week some sunny days and while the lands are very wet there is no danger of the lands becoming saturated and there have been no wash aways.
The farm can only but benefit from the current rainy conditions. The water table will have recovered to such an extent that the planned wheat planting for next year looks very promising.
Click here to jump down the page to the latest update
The 24 hour a day Soya planting program continues at Sandstone and nearly 800 Ha has already been planted. With a let up in the rain the progress has been steady and the planting should be completed within the prescribed planting period.



Nature played its part and allowed Sandstone to finish planting the planned 1000 Hectare Soya crop. Immediately thereafter it began rainy on a daily basis and has not stopped since. The farm has received 148mm since 17 November, which is when the last seed was put into the ground, and the continuing wet conditions are excellent for the Soya.
Unfortunately nature was not going to let us have it all our own way and a hail storm was let loose on about 90 Hectares of the newly planted lands around Grootdraai and the Game Camp...


The early prognosis was that the young plants, having had their growth tips knocked back, would probably not make it. It appears however that the plants decided that this was not to the case. A week later, perhaps due to the rain and nursery like conditions many of the plants have started to shoot new leaves and the rows are beginning to green up again...


What is also interesting is that in the lands that were hit by hail, which were the last to be planted, we have noticed that new plants are still appearing as well which indicates that some of the seedling had not yet reached the surface when the hail hit. While the 90 odd Hectares may not recover to their full potential there is no doubt that we will get a harvest from these lands, as to how big only time will tell.
On the northern part of the farm where the majority of the crop was planted the Soya is looking fantastic and the rows are well established and a bumper crop is expected...



Those lands that had not been burnt by the rampant fires, due to dry condition through the winter, offered the new plants some protection from the heavy rains...
Conditions remain very wet (as above) and there was a lot of water lying in the lands we have thankfully had during the last week some sunny days and while the lands are very wet there is no danger of the lands becoming saturated and there have been no wash aways.
The farm can only but benefit from the current rainy conditions. The water table will have recovered to such an extent that the planned wheat planting for next year looks very promising.
Click here to jump down the page to the latest update
The 24 hour a day Soya planting program continues at Sandstone and nearly 800 Ha has already been planted. With a let up in the rain the progress has been steady and the planting should be completed within the prescribed planting period.



Nature played its part and allowed Sandstone to finish planting the planned 1000 Hectare Soya crop. Immediately thereafter it began rainy on a daily basis and has not stopped since. The farm has received 148mm since 17 November, which is when the last seed was put into the ground, and the continuing wet conditions are excellent for the Soya.
Unfortunately nature was not going to let us have it all our own way and a hail storm was let loose on about 90 Hectares of the newly planted lands around Grootdraai and the Game Camp...


The early prognosis was that the young plants, having had their growth tips knocked back, would probably not make it. It appears however that the plants decided that this was not to the case. A week later, perhaps due to the rain and nursery like conditions many of the plants have started to shoot new leaves and the rows are beginning to green up again...


What is also interesting is that in the lands that were hit by hail, which were the last to be planted, we have noticed that new plants are still appearing as well which indicates that some of the seedling had not yet reached the surface when the hail hit. While the 90 odd Hectares may not recover to their full potential there is no doubt that we will get a harvest from these lands, as to how big only time will tell.
On the northern part of the farm where the majority of the crop was planted the Soya is looking fantastic and the rows are well established and a bumper crop is expected...



Those lands that had not been burnt by the rampant fires, due to dry condition through the winter, offered the new plants some protection from the heavy rains...
Conditions remain very wet (as above) and there was a lot of water lying in the lands we have thankfully had during the last week some sunny days and while the lands are very wet there is no danger of the lands becoming saturated and there have been no wash aways.
The farm can only but benefit from the current rainy conditions. The water table will have recovered to such an extent that the planned wheat planting for next year looks very promising.