LETTERS FROM THE KAROO OP-ED: From farm to fork – Karoo sheep and lambs end up on plates around the world

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Today, I joined farmers to see how they market their Karoo products. First, we walked about 5km or so in the morning, collecting a herd of sheep from various camps – through the rocky veld and in the chilly wind of the Karoo morning.

We finally got them to the kraal for sorting and selection. The next task was to wean the lambs from their mothers and to keep the young females for continuous reproduction. The males were ready for the market.

In the farmers’ quest to operate sustainably and not expose the fragile grazing veld to too many sheep, given the low rainfall season, some lambs are taken to the feedlot to prepare them for an unknown meat market.

However, some that have grown well in the veld are transported to the abattoir for slaughter. Some are now loaded onto the truck to the abattoir. They will be slaughtered and marketed as true Karoo lamb. They were born and raised on a registered Karoo farm without feeding or any other intervention.

The meat is of superior quality because of the region’s attributes — clean air, clean water, extreme cold and extreme heat, all contributing to reducing diseases without interventions. Moreover, the carcass is of good quality, and fat is ingrained in the meat, giving it a unique taste, flavour and tenderness.

Within two days, the carcasses will be loaded onto a refrigerated truck destined for the Western Cape, where a boutique butchery will prepare them to be sold as Karoo lamb to appreciative consumers across South Africa (although limited in some regions, and we continue to see restaurants marketing any lamb as “Karoo” lamb – bad behaviour).

This production unit of 800 ewes might seem considerable, but the commercial turnover is below R5-million, a cutoff for small and micro businesses in South Africa.

This is a real family farm; we have many such family farms in South Africa. In our previous work for the Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy, we estimated that there are roughly 200,000 family farms of various sizes among the black and white farming communities of South Africa. Today, I experienced the life of a family farmer.

This farm has a dual-purpose sheep-breed production, which produces superior wool and meat products. Therefore, the remaining sheep will continue the production process. In September, we will be in the shearing season for wool, which will then be transported to Gqeberha.

Here, the wool will be auctioned to buyers who export it to various markets. The primary buyer of South African wool is China. They buy wool and process it – washing and spinning – then sell it to the garment industry. Some consumers will see their final product in the form of beautiful jerseys, scarves, suits and so on. Thus, we always emphasise the strong links between agriculture and fashion – farming is fashion.

Notably, China is a major global buyer of wool. We export about 70% of our South African wool to China. Thus, when there are temporary closures in this market, the sheep farmers feel burned more than most. For example, in 2022, when South Africa experienced an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the Chinese market was temporarily closed to South African wool, although the disease was only found in cattle.

The impact of those temporary closures is visible on export volumes of wool. In 2022, South Africa’s wool exports fell by 19% year-on-year to 42,239 tonnes. The major decline in volume was in the Chinese market. Fortunately, engagements between the South African and Chinese authorities to reassure them that safety measures were in place to prevent the spread of disease led to the resumption of exports. 

In 2023, South Africa’s wool exports recovered 18% year-on-year to 49,715 tonnes.

In essence, farming is a challenging and yet satisfying endeavour. There are domestic and global challenges that farmers have to face at various stages.

We should all support South Africa’s foods and agricultural products, which ultimately means supporting the farming communities of our great country. DM