PROGRAMME

August 2023

29 August

• 14:00 – 16:00 check in at assigned hotel
• 18:30 for 19:00 welcoming function and performance at Botsalanong Boma

30 August

Maize Day, Sun Park Centre

• 08:30 – 08:45 Welcome – Izak Le Roux, Managing Director of Elim
• 08:45 – 09:15 Opening – Benji du Preez, farmer in Zambia
• Sponsor insert
• 09:15 – 10:30 Thomas Strydom, Managing Director of Sion Agri. Sion Agri is the market leader in precision grain farming practices and has tested many of Randy’s practices under South African conditions since 2018. The past four years of data as well as the very latest precision practices will be shared with producers. With Randy’s help, Thomas has developed local yield-based norms for maize, soya and wheat, applying them with very good results.
• 10:30 – 11:30 Barend Pienaar, Technical Manager at Afrikelp. As part of his master’s degree, Barend tested the effect of kelp on maize as well as astures to counteract the negative impact on sodium in soil.
• Sponsor insert
• 11:30 – 12:00 Tea
• Sponsor insert
• 12:00 – 13:00 Lourens Janse Van Rensburg, Technical and Regional Manager at Elim. Lourens is considered a planter specialist, having managed Precision Planting’s trial farm in Heidelberg. There he gained valuable practical expertise and experienced first hand the impact of planters on yield. He will share the most important tips for optimising the use of lanters, along with yield data on the efficacy of in-furrow treatments.
• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
• 14:00 – 14:45 Stalls
• 15:00 – 17:00 Randy Dowdy, former world maize record holder. Randy shares his secrets with South African producers: were the majority of yields are lost, how he managed to get his maize yield above 30t/ha, and the insights he gained from other farmers on the reality programme Corn Warriors.
• 18:30 for 19:00 dinner and performance at Valley of Waves

31 August

Soybean Day, Sun Park Centre

• Sponsor insert
• 08:00 – 09:00 Lukas Potgieter, Chemical Engineer and Formulation Specialist at Elim. Lukas will demonstrate practically where the greatest dangers and losses lie with tank mixture interactions, especially when it comes to glyphosate.
• Sponsor insert
• 09:00 – 10:00  Panel discussion of South African farmers to share some of their best practices.
• Sponsor insert
• 10:00 – 10:30 Tea
• 10:30 – 11:00 Tea
• 11:00 – 13:00 Randy Dowdy, current world soya record holder (12,4t/ha). Randy will share valuable information with South African producers about where the most yields are lost, how he increased his soya yield, and what he learnt in the reality show Corn Warriors. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed.
• Sponsor insert
• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch and departure.