At the heart of the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, you will find the Tadcaster Trading Post, where three dynamic women have been making an impact in the animal feed industry since 2012.

Tadcaster Trading Post focuses primarily on producing animal feed. Diana Steenkamp, the owner and Chief Executive Officer, grew her love for farming from an early age and after leaving the food industry she knew she wanted to return to agriculture and farming.

Diana Steenkamp – Tadcaster Trading Post.

For Jessica Bezuidenhout, Head of Marketing, growing up on a farm, it was a given for her that she wanted to pursue a career in the agricultural industry.

Sulé Steenkamp, logistics manager, is the newest member of the team, and her love for the agricultural industry is just as strongly rooted.

“In 2018 the need arose for a weighbridge, and in January 2019 the first truck drove over Tadcaster Trading Post’s CWCSA scale,” says Diana.

The application process with CWCSA, took less than a week for approval. Within a month the scale was set up, and in full operation,” says Diana.

“The CWCSA scale puts Tadcaster Trading Post in the position of having access to a scale 24/7, so that it can received and unload loads during the season as the need arises. During 2021, there were more than 26,800 tons over the CWCSA weighbridge.”

Building up women in the agricultural sector is very important to Tadcaster Trading Post. Diana says: “We ensure that all our farmers get the same opportunities and provide assistance wherever it is needed, from harvesting to unloading. Financial support is also provided to women in the community through nutritional projects.

“The agricultural industry is a challenging industry, and as a woman it sometimes takes more patience and time to achieve the same as men. Advice I can give to other women in the industry is to visualise your dreams every day and work towards them—don’t let anyone take that away from you.”

Irma Conchar – Sibathatu Mining cc Sibathatu Mining is located in Darling, and has four opencast mines for sand and gravel.

“In 2010, I was privileged to join Sibathatu Mining,” says Irma Conchar, shareholder at Sibathatu Mining cc.

“In 2013, we saw the need for a weighbridge, because after years of working with cubic meters, we realised that it is much better for ourselves and our customers to weigh the product. Clients then pays for exactly what he gets.

“CWCSA’s service has always been of very high quality. When there is a problem with software or computers, it is sorted out within an hour.

“My biggest challenge is that sometimes it feels like people think I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m a woman, then I just prove them wrong. One does not always have to be educated to have knowledge. Experience is sometimes worth a lot more. Women may be in the minority, but nowhere is it written that a woman cannot do what a man can!” concludes Irma.

Lona Venter, Customer Service Manager at CWCSA (Cardinal Weighbridge Company) is one of many women making a mark in the industry.

Danie Botha, CEO, expressed gratitude to Lona on behalf of the CWCSA team and all customers:

“In recognition of August being Women Empowerment Month, we would like to acknowledge Lona for her contribution as Cus-tomer Services Manager at CWCSA. Lona has been with the company for some seven years now and interacts with our customers from pre-instal¬lation to many years thereafter. Her abilities, amongst others to stay in touch with customers remotely via phone and e-mail and still build a relationship with them, are amaz-ing! Clearly since early 2020 the outbreak of COVID has made ‘face to face’ contact difficult and as such the ability to maintain these relation¬ships is even more important.

“As we know, women are way better than men doing ‘multi-tasking’ and Lona is no exception. We salute and congratulate Lona and all the many other women in the workplace that are the ‘unsung heroes’ of daily business as not everyone can be the ‘boss’!”

For more information about CWCSA and the services they provide, contact 011-914-3198 or visit their website at www.CWCSA.com.