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Gog van der Colff

Carpe Diem

Hi. I'm Gog van der Colff, owner and manager of Carpe Diem, a 200 ha farm that produces table grapes, raisins and pecan nuts. The farm is located near the town of Upington in the Orange River area of the Northern Cape, South Africa.

I took over the farm in 2000 after my father Johan decided to raise cattle and I developed an interest in organic agriculture. I started conversion in 2006 and had to rely entirely on myself, since my father has been skeptical. In 2009 we successfully harvested and sold our first organic crop. Since then, things have been going very well. In 2011 I even won the "Young Farmer of the Year Award"!

I am blessed with a committed team of managers and workers who provide me with good feedback and honest opinions. Initially, it was difficult to convince them to change to organic practices, but now they enjoy the benefits of not having to handle any chemical substances and they have turned into a reliable support team.

The farm also includes a packing facility for raisins, which provides us with another source of income and allows us to employ people over a longer period of time.

Interview with Gog van der Colff

N&M: How did you come across organic?

Gog: I saw organic fruit at the sellers’ market. I had heard there was a premium price to be had. At first I was not convinced that we could do it, but I have seen farmers in the Western Cape where they have a wetter climate than we do, and they were successful. So I said to myself “if they can do it, so can we”, because our growing conditions here are more favorable. We don’t have the same insect problems they have, nor any fungal diseases.

N&M: How did you actually get started?

Gog: I started by converting some raisins and a small section of table grapes. Originally, I was only a production manager on the farm and my bosses were not enthusiastic. But other younger managers on the farm supported my ideas. We started by using compost, and the benefits quickly became clear to all of us. The soil, the vines, and the fruit improved a great deal.

N&M: Did you face any challenges with converting?

Gog: The first year we tried organic, I made a mistake and sprayed something in the orchard that is not allowed. That set us back one whole year. But we learned what we needed to do differently, and are now doing fine, although table grapes are much more difficult than raisins. Now, years later, the team is so convinced of the benefits of organic farming that they are taking independent initiatives.

N&M: How do you integrate people of different color on the farm?

Gog: When I was a child, there were separate schools based on race. But I grew up on this farm with black people and they were my friends. It’s actually easier for me to manage black people than it is to manage white people, because I understand them much better than I do white people. We practice an open and participative management style, and over the years many of our gifted black and colored workers have advanced.

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soil

Gog is very enthusiastic about organic farming and realizes the importance of soil fertility. For this reason all the orchards of Carpe Diem maintain a continuous groundcover. This protects the soil from drying out which in turn provides optimum conditions for the microorganisms in the soil in terms of temperature, moisture and nutrient supply.

In addition to maintaining an optimum environment for his soil, Gog also applies compost to stimulate soil activity even further. Like his fellow organic growers, Gog gathers a wide variety of organic matter to turn this into humus rich compost. This is applied to the orchards every year and helps to regulate the water retention of the soil and provides further vital nutrients. Given his interest in organic farming, Gog is also experimenting with vermicompost. This intensive method uses earth worms to break down organic matter and results in an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.

biodiversity

Organic Farming and Biodiversity

Carpe Diem protects our indigenous plant and trees on the farm. Our farms is situated in semi dessert and we farm among Camel Thorn trees, Ghaap (Hoodia) succulents, Quiver trees and many more indigenous tree, plant and succulent species. We do not only accommodate these endangered species, but promote the development of them. We have programs where we degerminated the seeds of the Quiver- and the Camel Thorn tree and when the seedlings is strong enough we plant it on the farm and take care of it.

The cattle farm we have we are changing to farming with endangered and scarce animals like the Golden Oryx, Roan antelope and White Rhino.

It is a general principle of organic farming that every living organism should be held in high regard, from the tiniest micro-organism living in the soil to the mightiest tree towering above it. For this reason, every link in the organic food supply chain is geared towards maintaining and, wherever possible, increasing the diversity of plants and animals. When the term biodiversity is used in the context of organic agriculture, it doesn’t just mean more plants and animals, but also that more of the plants and animals native to a particular area grow in a natural way. Particular emphasis is also given to the preservation of native and endangered species of animals and plants.

One thing you will notice about Carpe Diem is the beauty of the garden areas and the special features my mother has created. Along the roads on the farm and interspersed among the buildings you will see gracious borders of mixed indigenous plants and stone gates with flowers planted on each side – designed, planted, and cared for by my mother and her work team, to make our surroundings beautiful.

society

Farm workers are really appreciated on Carpe Diem. Gog grew up with some of them and has a good relation with the black community. This is evident in day-to-day operations and in the decision making processes. The management style can be described as collegial, meaning that the black people have a say and feel heard.

The appreciation of the black community goes further than respect. Many workers live in a nearby township without any supply of drinking water. Since the farm disposes of several wells and a water purification plant, it was only natural to make drinking water available for the entire township.

Another unique feature of Carpe Diem are the many biotopes, which have been created by Gog's mother. These are small island of native plants, which are scattered all over the farm. Apart from providing habitat to various life forms, they provide continuous work for a crew of employees. Apart from all these 'practical' aspects, the beauty which radiates from these islands should not be underestimated.

Key Performance Indicators:

Strategic planning is done every year and the economic development and growth plan is evaluated and put in place for the next 12 months.
We are BRC, HACCP, Global GAP and organic (Soil Association) accredited. These systems is a way of life and is practically implemented. We have a dedicated person that is responsible for the up keep and evaluation of the systems.
All of the permanent staff earns more than the minimum wage. Seasonal workers earn minimum the minimum wage by law, but we have bonus systems where they can earn more if certain targets are reached.
We have a pension fund for our personnel.
We have safety committies with every division ensuring safe and respectful working conditions.
Equal Rights for full time, seasonal and part time employees

We have a spread of coloured, black and white men and women in the management structure of the farm and we have an external consultant who evaluates this each year.

Complete training programs followed by evaluations 3 times per year related to the following fields:
- Work
- Food
- Safety
- Character building
- Health
- Life skills

Our best workers compete each year in the regional farm worker competition and we have had a few winners in the past years.

In 2009 Melissa has started a crèche for the children where they receive three meals a day and a bath before they go home. We accommodate the whole community in the crèche and anyone can bring their children.
In 2010 we build a sportfield field and we have three soccer teams competing in the regional competion.

climate

Located in the Northern Cape, Carpe Diem benefits from nature’s energy ! Sunny winter days with temperatures just below freezing and hot and dry summer heat averaging 45°C plus water from the Orange river offer one of the best climates for the production of grapes in the world. Cooling at a central warehouse and shipping (never by plane) are therefore the energy inputs for organic grapes

We are changing all the electric geysers to sun energy geysers. We have electric golf carts on the farm for transport and we keep up with new technology for our equipment to be as efficient as possible.

Carbon Footprint:

The results of the study show the carbon footprint (amount of greenhouse gas emissions) of one kilogram product upon its arrival on European retail shelves.

All greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the assessed supply chain were identified and analyzed through assessment questionnaires, site visits and desktop researches.

The assessments are done according to a comparable methodology as described in the PAS 2050 (Publicly Available Specification), a standard for carbon footprint assessment of goods and services developed by the British Standard Institute.

The carbon footprint assessment study takes into account direct emissions and indirect emissions.

In this assessment, direct GHG emissions include the combustion of fossil fuel related emissions for the vehicles and equipment on the farm, volatilization of refrigerants, and soil emissions related to nitrogen fertilization at farm level.

In this assessment, indirect GHG emissions include the emissions in relation to electricity purchased (used at farm level and for packing, storage, stationary cooling and other activities at the growers facilities and EOSTA’s pack house and office), emissions related to outsourced activities such as transport and mobile cooling from farm to pack house, to port, ocean vessel shipping, import handling and transport and distribution to retail. Indirect GHG emissions also include emissions related to the manufacturing and transport of agricultural inputs and packaging materials.

The calculations are based on GHG activity data provided by the different stakeholders of the supply chain, multiplied by the appropriate GHG emission factors. The GHG emission factors are provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the International Energy Agency (IEA); the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/Energy Information Administration (EIA); the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), as well as independent studies.

The carbon footprint study was carried out by Soil & More International BV.

www.soilandmore.com

water

Located in the Northern Cape, Carpe Diem Farms benefit from the water of the mighty Orange River. Cog “This area is known for its extreme climate. Temperatures vary between cold winters where temperatures reach –5 C, and very hot summers with highs of 35-45 C. With only 150 mm precipitation, it enjoys little rainfall. Due to the closeness to South Africa's longest river, there is ample water for irrigation”. We save water with the best computer technology and drip or micro irrigation.

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