FMD: Legislation, biosecurity & planning information
The foot-and-mouth disease crisis has raised many questions among farmers, such as: Free State Agriculture has compiled the following documents that can be downloaded to answer your questions:
VSlandbouElana@
FMD: Billions lost in beef revenue
The Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has escalated into a full-blown national crisis with severe consequences for South Africa’s agricultural trade, rural jobs and food security. Free State Agriculture (FSA) warns that the ongoing failure to contain outbreaks and ensure timely access…
Letter of demand to Minister of Agriculture: FSA and other agricultural role players take legal action over FMD vaccines
Free State Agriculture (FSA), together with key players in the agricultural industry including the Southern Africa Agri-Initiative (SAAI) and Sakeliga, have initiated formal steps through their legal representative to break the state’s monopoly on the procurement and administration of foot-and-mouth…
State Monopoly on FMD Puts the Entire Meat Industry at Risk
“We must urgently break the state monopoly over the foot-and-mouth disease crisis so that vaccines can be placed in the hands of farmers immediately. Farmers must be allowed to vaccinate as quickly as possible to curb the uncontrolled spread of…
Elderly Farmer Trapped in Car Trunk as Free State Farm Attacks Continue
Free State Agriculture (FSA) expresses its shock over two farm attacks that took place in the Free State this past weekend. In the first incident, a 72-year-old female farmer, who farms alone in the Bultfontein area, was overtaken and assaulted…
Failure to Contain Foot-and-Mouth Disease Threatens Livestock Industry
Despite the best efforts of state veterinarians on the ground, leader farmers and commodity organizations urging their members to cooperate with the state and comply to regulations, the unprecedented spike in Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) cases over the festive…
Festive-season safety guidelines for farms and farmers
As the festive season approaches, crime trends in the Free State — including farm attacks and other property-related offences — show signs of increasing. Free State Agriculture (FSA) urges all farmers to critically evaluate their security networks using the farmer…
Ideology Over Infrastructure: Farmers Pay the Price for Government Failure
“While job creation remains a national imperative, it cannot be the key performance indicator (KPI) for the maintenance of critical infrastructure,” says Francois Wilken, President of Free State Agriculture (FSA). Wilken adds, “If the provincial government were truly serious about…
Vrystaat Landbou Urges Action as Foot-and-Mouth outbreaks escalate in Free State
Free State Agriculture (FSA) / Vrystaat Landbou notes with grave concern the escalating outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) across several regions of the Free State. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s latest update on 23 October 2025,…