Ice cream is a Summery dessert treat loved by all ages. While I am by no means suggesting that ice cream is a treat only for the warmer months, it is true that with the temperatures rising outside we are all thinking about how to get our hands on a Choc 99!

Last week, the South African Weather Service noted that ‘the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is still in a neutral phase and although most models indicate a strong strengthening towards an El Niño phase in the early summer season, it is not expected to have an influence on South Africa during the first half of summer.’

The regional rainfall pattern for the 2019/20 agricultural season is encouraging as parts of Southern Africa are expected to receive adequate rainfall in the first half of the season.

In the midst of an unprecedented economic and health crisis one sector in our economy has outshone the rest. The agricultural sector expanded by almost 28% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2019 and 15.1% in the second quarter.

We have seen a right mix of rain and sunshine in recent weeks across South Africa, which bodes well for all agricultural subsectors – field crops, horticulture and livestock.

 As the harvest for the 2021/22 summer crop season draws to a close, the focus is shifting towards the 2022/23 production season, which commences in October.

When the 2023/24 South Africa's agricultural season started, we feared production conditions would become more challenging than we have seen in the last few seasons.

While it is still early in the summer season to be certain, meteorologists are predicting that South Africa could experience its hottest summer on record.