DUCK PARADE
Every morning at 9:45 a.m., on Vergenoegd Wine Estate, in Stellenbosch, South Africa, about a thousand Indian Runner ducks run from a gate and run around the white manor house on a manicured gravel path, according to NPR. They might remind one of a military formation where they run in formation, all facing forward and all turning at together at the same time. And they do this twice a day.
The reason? To scare off pests from the vineyard. It’s not a new idea. According to the Livestock Conservancy, runner ducks have been used in Asia for thousands of years to glean snails and insects from rice paddies by eating them, and, no doubt, scaring some away. Denzil Matthys, the duck caretaker at the vineyard, told NPR that the ducks help make the farm sustainable. We try to keep a pesticide-free farm by using the ducks, he says. They help us not to use poison on the farm.
China’s trade war with Australia a boon for South African winemakers Exports of bauxite, copper concentrate and some coal also rise from African states after Beijing hit a range of Australian goods with punitive duties By Joe Bavier, Tanisha Heiberg and Emma Rumney - 11 February 2021 Image: REUTERS/ ALY SONG
For South African winemaker Vergenoegd Löw, the pandemic could have been a disaster but a bitter trade war between China and Australia has thrown the 325-year-old estate a lifeline.
Bottles of its reds, whites and roses piled up when SA banned alcohol sales under a strict lockdown and visitors who once flocked to the vineyard near Cape Town to sip wine and snap photos of its famed Indian Runner ducks vanished.
By Joe Bavier, Tanisha Heiberg and Emma Rumney CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - For South African winemaker Vergenoegd Lw, the pandemic could have been a disaste.
For South African winemaker Vergenoegd Löw, the pandemic could have been a disaster but a bitter trade war between China and Australia has thrown the 325-year-old estate a lifeline.