Organic farm
Wegraakbosch
ABOUT US
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Wegraakbosch is owned Nipper and Sylvia Thompson who continue the Thompson Legacy. Their inspiration for starting a dairy came from working in a swiss dairy on the Wandel Alps near Meiringin. There they learned the art of organic cheese making and decided to put it into practice in Limpopo's beautiful Magoebaskloof in 1986. A herd of Swiss brown cows (and subsequently Nguni) and a few Saanen goats provide the milk for Wegraakbosch Farm's organic cheeses, which are handmade in the traditional Swiss way with live cultures. From cow to curd to cheese, there are no machines involved.
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This off-the-grid farm holds dear the way nature does things. The farm harnesses the sun for electricity, birds do a majority of pest control in the vegetable garden, and the micro-organisms which play a role under the soil and in the cheese-making process are highly valued.
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Our Vision is 'Healthy people, happy animals'
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The history of the farm can be found in " From Woodbush to Wolkberg" by Brigitte Wonchowski and Googoo Thompson
What it means to be organic
The farm was bought in 1918 by the Thompsons. Since then all attempts were made to farm as naturally as possible, with minimal harm to the environment.
The farm is off-the-grid, with water supplied from a spring and electricity supplied by solar power.
No pesticides or fertilizers are used on the farm. No industrially produced chemicals are used unless the wellbeing of the animals would be compromised without it.
Organic farming with a holistic approach in which the soil, plants and livestock are seen as a single system, is implemented here. This approach encourages natural methods to solving farming problems, a simple example planting nasturtiums to repel insects in the vegetable garden.
Another amazing example is keeping the dairy clean without soap (visit us and find out why)!
Minimal tillage is what we aim to, and our pigs do a large part of the soil moving. The soil is enriched by compost made on the farm, as well as our cow, goose, goat, chicken and pig manure.
In this way, minimal machinary is used on the farm.
The dairy follows suite with hand milking and making cheese in a copper couldron over the fire.
A biodigester is currently being installed to produce gas for the dairy's stove and fridge.
A large emphisis is placed on encouraging healthy micro and macroscopic biomes.