From the classroom to the dirt roads of the farm. Liesel Vermaak's journey to farming was anything but conventional. Today, farming runs through her veins, and she refuses to back down from any challenge that the farm life throws her way. Liesel was one of the finalists in the Bayer Boervrou van die Jaar competition in the category for female farmers.
Liesel’s journey began in Sunninghill, Sandton where she grew up. During her high school years, she moved to Bronkhorstspruit, where she completed her schooling. After school, it was a career in education that drew her attention. She obtained her degree in BEd Senior Phase Education and also completed her honours degree in mathematics. For the next 11 years, she worked as a high school mathematics teacher. However, three years after her wedding in 2014, Liesel swapped the school corridors for the farm roads and decided to start farming full-time.
Today she farms with maize, soya, lucerne, vegetables, watermelons, angora goats and cattle on their farm, Vermaak Boerdery, outside Bronkhorstspruit. For Liesel, farming means listening to nature and staying humble. “What you put in is what you get out,” she says. “Not one day is the same. Every day comes with new challenges.”
It is precisely this unpredictability that attracted her to this profession. “As a woman, it is definitely not easy to farm. It is hard work and long hours, but what I get from nature is absolutely worth it. That makes the long days worth it! Farming should not be a job. It should be a way of living. Farming should be your passion.”
Despite the many challenges she faces daily, Liesel finds her foundation in her faith. “I know that without God I am nothing. Every seed forms a new plant, but not by our strength – by God’s grace alone. We are dependent on Him for every drop, every harvest.”
Liesel is also grateful for the pillar of support she has in her husband. “He inspires me not only by how hard he works, but by how he treats my dreams as his own. He helps me believe that it is possible. He walks with me every step of the way.”
For Liesel, a big part of her calling is to teach her workers and the people closest to her about the importance of nature. “Teaching your workers to farm is not a job; it has to be your passion.”
In addition, Liesel has also been involved with the Loerie Youth Centre in Bronkhorstspruit for years, where she assists with their projects, especially when it comes to fundraising.
Her advice to other women? “Farm with courage. You don’t have to know everything. You just have to be willing to listen, learn, and keep going. I always say a farmer will fall, but he will get up every time. A farmer will never back down.”