LIVESTOCK Commercial Cattle
No slowing down
for this commercial
cattle woman
36 farmer’sweekly 9 august 2019
A
lweneFordis thesole
proprietorofherbeefcattle
farmingoperation,run
undertheumbrellaofStonyRidge
Ventures.Sheproducescrossbred
weanercalvesrearedsolelyonthe
veldonherfarmKlipfontein,between
BarklyWestandKoopmansfontein
intheNorthernCape.
Fordhas,inrecentyears,
expandedherbusinessintereststo
includegamefarming,andis now
alsoestablishinganagritourism
component.Amidallthis,however,
sheis strivingtoleavethelandina
betterstatethanshereceivedit in.takingtHEOPPORtUnity
AlthoughFordwasraisedona
farm,herfather,TheophilusPaton,
didnotconsiderfarminga fitting
careerfora girl.So,instead,she
wentofftostudycreativeart,got
marriedandhadchildren.In1994,
however,thechancetopursueher
firstpassionarosewhenshebought
a Herefordstudherdcomprising
25 cowswithcalvesanda bull.
“Iboughttheherdondebtat
15%interestfroma farmerwhose
sondidn’twanttocontinuestud
breeding.I hadtopayhimbackover
threeyears.It wasrough,”shesays.
Sheboughtherfirstfarm,
Koppiesdam,ata foreclosuresale
in1996.“Itwasa luckybreak.I
believeeveryonegetsone;it’sup
toyoutotakeit orleaveit.Butrest
assured,whenthathammerfell
onmybid,I wassoworried.”
Sheknewshehadonlyabouta
quarteroftheaskingpriceinher
savings,butthebidwasa quarter
ofthevalueoftheoutstandingdebt
ontheland.Shecouldnotaffordto
lettheopportunityslipaway,soshe
boughtthefarm,andmadeplanslater
tofinanceit throughtheLandBank.FastFacts
- alweneFordusesstudbulls,
mostlyBonsmaraandsimmentaler. - Hercowherdscomprisemostly
Bonsmara,Brangusandsimbracattle. - she selects for adaptability, fertility
and the right look for the herd.
Alwene Ford may be
nearing what many
would consider normal
retirement age, but the
63-year-old commercial
cattle farmer has no plans
to slow down. Sabrina
Dean visited her on her
farm near Barkly West in
the Northern Cape.