Jongboerfinaliste Reeks: Ian Cunningham

Aangedryf deur John Deere AME & Santam Landbou

Farmers are often seen as stubborn and set in their ways. They mostly stick to what they know and steadily build on what they have. But Ian Cunningham, a fruit farmer from Grabouw, seems to be far from inflexible. Having sold their farm in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands some 15 years ago due to land distribution claims, Ian looked to invest in another farm, even if it was not the timber farming he had done before.

“From cutting down trees to trying to keep them alive,” he jokes, referring to the apple and pear trees covering his farm. Having settled in Grabouw in 2010 and ingraining himself into the business in 2013, Ian expanded rapidly, tripling the size of the business since then.

In this interview, the Young Farmer of the Year for 2022 discusses how farmers needs to be more focused on the financial and business aspects of the farm, the different software programmes they use to help them farm more effectively and the importance of leaving a legacy for future generations.