The story of Burnlea Farming Trust is one of community, hard work and sustainability – the pillars that have allowed Burnlea to thrive in the manner that it has. Located in Underberg, Kwazulu-Natal, the Trust is a family-run business. The three brothers Guy, Mark and Bruce Taylor are fourth-generation farmers who have dedicated their lives to farming sustainably and helping the surrounding communities in the area.

The brothers’ focus is on producing high quality yields for a longer period of time by implementing sustainable farming practices and the Trace & Save Program that allows farmers to track their produce and care for their farms.

The dynamic trio each tackle a sector of the business under the helpful eye of their experienced father, Geoff Taylor. The Trust consists of two farms, Burnlea and Otterburn, where the Taylor family farms with dairy, beef, timber and crops. For them, building diversity and farming a variety of different crops is a great way to increase the biodiversity of the ecosystem, which inevitably aids in sustaining the farm and environment.

Burnlea helps the surrounding communities

With 1600 cows and 90 staff, the Burnlea business helps to sustain between 600 to 1000 dependents in the surrounding areas. Sbusiso Ncwane, a worker on the farm, was born and bred in Makhuzeni. He wakes up everyday at the crack of dawn and heads to his job at the dairy. For Sbusiso, farming is about the ritual. It is about waking up in the morning and knowing that the cows need to be fed and the work needs to be done.

There is no time for rest because the cows need constant attention. Whether it is Christmas or New Years, the cows will always need to be fed. It is hard work, and it may leave people wondering why he does this. Why do people dedicate their lives to dairy farming? Sbusiso says that working hard and taking pride in his work becomes a legacy for his children. Working hard is how you ensure the success of the future.

Women in Dairy

In addition to helping surrounding communities, Burnlea is also dedicated to up-skilling women and providing equal opportunities for them in a professional farm context. Nonhlanhla Tetwayo is a manager at Burnlea. She does the daily planning, ensures the milking goes according to plan, breeds cows, allocates feed, and keeps records. The work of Nonhlanhla has added strength and value to Burnlea and her contributions are immeasurable.

She has 12 staff members working under her as she takes on the day-to-day running of the dairy. For her, the role of women is incredibly important on the farm. She encourages and advocates for women to enter this male-dominated industry and establish themselves as farmers and farm managers. As a black female farm manager, her role at Burnlea farms does not only positively impact the surrounding communities, it also impacts females and farms across the nation.

Always giving the best

One of the motivating factors at Burnlea is the brothers’ desire to offer consumers the best possible products. They do this by ensuring that they treat their cows like royalty.

Their focus on increasing fertility and conception rates means that the cows being born on the farm are genetically inclined to yield higher quality milk. Through managing what the cows eat, how they graze, and how nutrient rich the soil is on the farm, they increase fertility in order to produce the best progeny.

This is important to them because they want to ensure that future generations get to work with high-quality cows to bring consumers the best quality milk available. This mentality fits into sustainable farming practices as they want to ensure that their farms continue to thrive in the long run for future generations to benefit from.

The Burnlea brothers are proud and confident in the milk they produce. For them, Farm-to-Table is of utmost importance and they firmly believe that producers should take responsibility to farm in an environmentally careful way. Their partnership with Trace & Save enable them to deliver only the best quality to supermarket shelves.

Family is everything

Similarly to how the three brothers have superseded their father and the three generations before them, the farming business at Burnlea is about legacy. The family members, as well as the employees, are passing opportunities, lifestyle and purpose onto their children.

Sbusiso Ncwane wishes to pass his occupation on to his son one day, as his job allows him pride and joy. For him, being a dairy farmer means earning a steady income.

Our farmers are the architects of agriculture in South Africa, and they provide us with the most basic human need: sustenance. Dairy Group appreciates and admires their hard work and dedication to feeding a nation.

To see our heroes in action, follow this link to watch our Homegrown video.