Like most regions of South Africa, the vegetation and grazing veld in KwaZulu-Natal look green and lush. In terms of crop farming, the province received excessive rainfall across various regions. Farmers have managed to plant, and the crops look promising across multiple areas. However, vaccination for the cattle industry is critically needed.
On 28 December 2025 we drove across the various regions of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), which offered an opportunity to view agricultural conditions from a distance.
Like most regions of South Africa, the vegetation and grazing veld look green and lush. This helps the livestock industry, and KZN is one of South Africa's central dairy-producing provinces, which also has a substantial number of livestock among subsistence farmers.
The better grazing veld will help a great deal. For dairy and beef producers, this comes at a time when feed prices are more affordable, with yellow maize prices generally 30% lower than a year ago because of South Africa's ample harvest in the 2024-25 season. We had the second-largest maize harvest on record in South Africa in the 2024-25 season, at about 16.44 million tonnes, up 28% year on year, driven by favourable rains.
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The soybean prices, which are also another vital feed, especially for those in poultry production, are down by roughly 26% from a year ago, also because of a large domestic harvest. South Africa had a record soybean harvest in the 2024-25 season, about 2.77 million tonnes.
Of course, this glimpse of positivity doesn't begin to mask the significant challenge faced...
