How do I buy a farm in South Africa?

Buying a farm in South Africa involves finding the right property, securing financing (agricultural bonds differ from home loans), conducting due diligence on water rights, land claims, title deeds and zoning, and navigating transfer costs. Africa Estate guides buyers through every step.

What is the average price of a farm in South Africa?

Farm prices in South Africa vary enormously by size, location, water availability and land use. Smallholdings can start from R1.5M while large commercial farms and game reserves can exceed R50M. Africa Estate provides free valuations to give you an accurate market picture.

Does Africa Estate operate countrywide?

Yes. Africa Estate operates across Gauteng, Free State, North West, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, covering a wide range of agricultural and residential property across South Africa.

Winter lick

What will the winter lick cost me?

1. Your animals on the lick

Class

Number of animals

Lick, g a head a dayEmpty uses 700 g. Grain SA (July 2025): "Winter lick 700 g/day" for cows. The figure on your bag wins.

How many animals the veld carries: Cattle per farm.

2. The winter on the lick

First month

Last month

Or the days

Your planning choice: when your veld runs out of protein.

3. Your lick and its price

From your bag and your quote: no South African source publishes lick prices, and bags are sold in more than one mass.

Price per

Price, R per bagAs you pay it, delivered or collected.

Bag mass, kgNeeded with a price per bag.

Urea on the bag, g a kgOptional: the law makes the label state the urea content; this gives the urea a head a day.

A urea lick: the warnings the law puts on its bag

Regulations Relating to Farm Feeds (2006), Table 12, word for word. For every NPN feed:

Vinegar is an effective remedy against NPN poisoning. Mix with an equal amount of water. Dose half a bottle per calf or large sheep or 2-4 bottles per head of cattle. (1bottle = 750 ml)
Protect this farm feed against rain. NPN is soluble and animals drinking such a solution could be poisoned.
Do not feed this farm feed indiscriminately with other NPN containing farm feeds. Consult an animal scientist.

For animal licks:

This is a supplement and not a feed. Sufficient grazing and/or roughage must be available at all times.
Keep lick troughs filled and prevent gluttonous eating by hungry animals. A constant daily intake can help prevent poisoning.
Before feeding a NPN containing lick, feed an ordinary salt/phosphate lick at least 7 days.

No South African guide we opened publishes a maximum urea intake a head a day: follow your bag's label and your animal scientist.

Assumptions used

Lick a class eats = animals x grams a head a day / 1 000 x days. Cost = kilograms x the price a kilogram (the price per bag divided by the bag's mass, or per tonne divided by 1 000).
Cows, first-calf cows and heifers 2 to 3 years start at 700 g a day: Grain SA, Pula Imvula July 2025: Correct lick for cattle is important (P. Botha, independent agricultural consultant), Table 1: Lick and health-management programme for spring calving system (read 2026-11-04). An example programme; its own words: "Take this programme to your local veterinarian and local animal feed consultant to adjust it to your animals’ needs."
Weaners, heifers 1 to 2 years, bulls, oxen, sheep and goats: no South African winter lick figure was found, so the field starts empty.
The months are your planning choice; their days are the calendar's (February 28).
Lick price and bag mass: yours. No South African price list is published (searched 2026-11-04).
The urea warnings: Regulations Relating to Farm Feeds (Government Notice R.1087 of 3 November 2006, Government Gazette 29332), under the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947: Table 12, NPN warnings [Reg. 21(2)(c)].

The answer

Enter the number of animals in at least one class.

Calf cash flow Cattle per farm Ask Africa Estate Read: Cattle farms in South Africa

How this works and the sources

What a winter (dry season) lick costs: the animals in each class, the grams of lick each eats a day, the months on the lick and the price of your bag or tonne give the kilograms and bags the winter takes, the rand a head a day, a head for the winter and for the herd. Cows, first-calf cows and heifers of 2 to 3 years start at the 700 g a day of Grain SA's published lick programme; for every other class, and for the price, you type the figure on your bag and your quote. A urea lick's legal label warnings are shown word for word.

What this does not tell you

This does not tell you which lick to feed or how much. That depends on your veld, its protein in winter, your animals and your animal scientist; Grain SA's 700 g a day is an example programme for cows, to be adjusted with your veterinarian and feed consultant.
No South African guide we found publishes a winter lick intake for weaners, heifers of 1 to 2 years, bulls, oxen, sheep or goats: the figure on your bag is used, and there is no answer until you type it.
No South African source publishes lick prices, and bags come in more than one mass: the price and the bag mass are yours.
Intake is not constant through a winter, and hay, a production lick or a salt and phosphate lick before a urea lick are not costed here.
No maximum urea intake a head a day is given: no South African guide we opened publishes one. The bag's label and your animal scientist decide.
Nothing you enter is uploaded or kept by us; the share link carries farm figures only, never a product or supplier name.

Sources

Estimate, not advice. Confirm every figure with your bank, attorney and tax practitioner before a decision.