Toyota South Africa awards young farmers with new Hilux models

 

Toyota South Africa awards young farmers with new Hilux models

For years, the Toyota Hilux has been on the lips of many a farmer in South Africa. The Toyota Hilux has become an icon due to its ability to work hard both on and off the road. Farmers love the image that a Hilux brings as well as the large dealer network that Toyota has. In recognising the passion for the brand given by farmers, Toyota South Africa has awarded the winners of this year’s young Farmer and New Harvest of the year with brand new Hilux models.

This year marks the 16^th instalment of the award which was won by Plettenberg Bay’s Johan van der Schyff who was crowned winner of the 2019 Young Farmer of the Year, while Villiersdorp’s Sewis van den Horst won 2019 New Harvest of the Year award.

Van der Schyff breeds Angora goats and Merino sheep, and runs a sheep feedlot while being involved in egg distribution in the Western and Eastern Cape, Namibia and Angola. Van den Horst farms with apples, pears and nectarines.

The finalists were nominated by their respective Agri-SA provincial councils before they went through a series of gruelling rounds of elimination. They were tested on a multitude of aspects, including their financial and business acumen, farming skills, and proficiency in management, focusing specifically on their own contribution, independence, as well as decision-making authority. The panel of judges who presided over the nominations was led by esteemed academics, including Prof. Carlu van der Westhuizen, Prof. John Annandale, and Dr. Brink van Zyl.

The two winners were announced at a gala event in Kempton Park on 8 November 2019 where each received the keys to a Hilux Workhorse. As TSAM’s Vice President of Sales, Ernie Trautmann, puts it: “Toyota South Africa Motors has complete faith in the South African farming community, and we are also proud to be associated with Young Farmer and New Harvest Awards.”