About Us
During the past 30 years the Dippenaar Group has grown from strength to strength. The company has increased its hectares under production steadily since 1982.
Currently there are 329ha in production and with plans for considerable further expansion in the near future. During the development period the company has also invested considerably in infrastructure and today the farms have modern pack houses with state-of-the art pre-pack facilities.
Alwyn Dippenaar
Pieter Dippenaar
Paul Dippenaar
Location
All eight farms are situated along the Orange River in the lower Orange River region of the Northern Cape. They are located in Blouputs and Augrabies, which are respectively 140 and 100km west of Upington. Upington is the regional center in the Lower Orange River region which is also known as the Green Kalahari as it is bordered to the north by the Kalahari Desert.
Although the farms are only 40km apart, the Blouputs Valley has a very different microclimate to the farms at Augrabies. This makes it possible for the group to extend their production season as well as to spread their risk of damage from localized adverse weather conditions.
History
Paul and Neeltjie Dippenaar has previously been teachers before changing careers to become farmers. On 1 April 1982 they bought Gamcaip at Blouputs and started farming. In subsequent years this was followed by the purchase of several other farms which led to the establishment of the Dippenaar Group PJ Dippenaar and Sons (Pty.) Ltd. in 1995.
In the early 1980’s most of the region’s agricultural production consisted of annual cash crops and raisin production. The first table grapes were produced for the local and the export markets in 1984 and during the same year the Dippenaars planted their first few hectares of Thompson Seedless.
Alwyn Dippenaar, the eldest son, joined the farm in 1996, followed by Pieter in 1998 and Paul Dippenaar Jnr joined the team in 2003. Today the three brothers own and manage eight production units, namely: Gamcaip, Leerkrans, Weltevrede, Avontuur, Grand View, Bellevue, Mokala and Zeekoesteek.
Dippenaar Group
PJ Dippenaar and Sons (Pty.) Ltd. was formed in 1995.
In 2007 the company was restructured into 3 production entities, each with its own responsibilities –
- LA Grape Farms (Pty.) Ltd.
- Gamcaip Grape Farms (Pty.) Ltd.
- Jowilita Farms (Pty.) Ltd.
PJ Dippenaar and Sons (Pty.) Ltd. has remained the holding company and the company’s main function was marketing. During 2010 the formal exporting company Dippenaar Choice Fruit was established.
In September 2011 LA Grape Farms and Jowilita Farms joined forces to purchase Grand View Grape Farms. Grand View Grape Farms is owned by LA Grape Farms (Pty.) Ltd. (37%), Jowilita Farms (Pty.) Ltd. (37%) and Bokamoso Trust (26%).
Our Environment
The hot, arid climate, fertile soils and the abundant fresh water of the Orange River make it possible to produce crisp, sweet grapes at the start of the South African production season.
It is our vision to produce the finest quality grapes. We also have a deep commitment to environmental stewardship and to remaining sustainable in our actions for generations to come.
The principles of Good Agricultural Practices are implemented on all our farms. The Dippenaar Group strives towards the production of safe and healthy fruit while considering the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the farms. This includes the full range of farming practices that ensure the optimal use and protection of our natural resources namely water, land and environment.
Gamcaip, Leerkrans, Avontuur, Weltevrede, Mokala and Zeekoesteek all share a border with Augrabies Falls National Park. In 1997 the different entities fenced in large area of their land to be incorporated into the area-wide conservation region and these dedicated conservation areas are managed in partnership with South African National Parks Board.
Solar Energy
DIPPENAAR FARMS are energy neutral.
In 2019 to 2021 we have engaged with specialists planning our future energy needs. This was not only driven by the lack of continuous availability form national grid but also because of the increasing energy costs and our commitment to more lower our carbon footprint and farming more environmentally friendly.
It was a lengthy process, starting with the application to register as an independent energy supplier.
In total we have installed 1250 kWP of Solar. This will be sufficient to produce 100% of all our energy needs over a 12 month period.
In 2022, on the farms Bellevue and Grand View we have upgraded our main pump stations to allow us to irrigate much bigger areas with the previously installed SOLAR plants. Our irrigation cycles have been shortened from 22 hours during peak consumption to 14 hours. This will greatly decrease our electricity consumption from the grid as we will pump almost 80% with Solar energy. This practice will also enable us to be less dependent on the grid during times of national load shedding.
We are still connected to the national grid to enable us to push solar energy into the grid during periods of low consumption and extract energy in periods of high demand.
Bokamoso Trust
Bokamoso Trust was established during February 2012 to provide employees that have worked for the company for many years with shareholding within Grand View Grape Farms. There are 14 of the long-term farm workers that are beneficiaries of Bokamoso Trust.
