Maintaining grazing, prepping for fire season
According to weather forecasts by Johan van den Berg, climatologist from Santam Agriculture, the past few months, the development of another El Niño system can be seen, but the with its outcome currently uncertain. Farmers have been busy for weeks, and some already for months, to prepare for the fire season, especially as grazing reacted so well on the rain - thus there is a lot of grazing and/or grass that can burn down if a fire should occur. Maintaining the grazing and/or grass is very important to farmers, especially in view of the uncertain conditions in the coming season.
It is against this background that Free State Agriculture (FSA) would like to earnestly request not only farmers to ensure timely preparations for fires, but also the public to please exercise caution and not cause fires.
“The Free State cannot afford another disaster with the drought at its end and given the forecast of another El Niño weather system that can occur in the 2017/18 season. We would like to request farmers to protect their grazing, we don’t know what will happen next year. Furthermore, we want request drivers to please not throw cigarette buds out of vehicles, as it can cause fires in the grass on the side of roads. Furthermore, we ask that the use of open fires be limited and responsible, especially on windy days. An open fire that gets out of control can cause major damage to a whole community,” according to Henk Vermeulen, chief operating officer of FSA.
Vermeulen says the organisation is grateful to see the Department of Roads and fire protection associations already working together to cut grass in road reserves in some parts of the province. “We would like to motivate the department and other fire protection association who have not started this, to please do so in earnest.”
Tips from the Free State Umbrella Fire Protection Association (FSUFPA) for the fire season.
