DAIRY FARM DUMPS 11,800 LITRES OF MILK DUE TO LOADSHEDDING

A dairy farm in KwaZulu-Natal had no choice but to dump 11,800 litres of milk – a full day’s worth of milk. It was all due to loadshedding, a concern for both businesses and consumers across the country.

Ross Stratford, a director at Stratford Farms in Mooi River said that they reported low voltage to Eskom over the weekend, but nothing was done about it.

“We are fighting this thing day and night; we feel like we are in a constant grind against Eskom.”

Due to the low voltage, the generators can’t kick in when they’re supposed to. Loadshedding has also driven up costs immensely and is burning out farm equipment.

As if that’s not enough, Stratford told News24 that he was also currently dealing with low voltage at an irrigation pump that was close to burning out, and with the current heatwave, they couldn’t replace evaporation fast enough to prevent crops from wilting.

“We can’t grow enough grass to feed our cows. Our production this year is about 15% below budget… that’s about 2.5 million litres of milk.”

Stratford Farms isn’t the only dairy farm to be hit with loadshedding woes. Most farms across the country are struggling with no access to electricity or low voltage giving problems. Inevitably prices will have to increase putting even more strain on consumers.

Image credit: Independent