Lianne Ashton Photography

It’s raining maize!

It’s been a very busy couple years and I must admit, as I think is the case with many photographers, posting regularly is my absolute challenge! I am determined to share with you what I have been up to the last couple years; the places I have been to and the people I have met in the way of agriculture.

I’ve been North and South, West and East and have clocked up some triple k’s on my vehicle! On top of that I have had some big life changes and new beginnings; I’m also a mother of two ‘superb’ kids, I have travelled far and wide to photograph agriculture all over South Africa and I have recently started a new project which explores the human condition, something that sets my soul on fire! So far, it’s taken me to Joburg, East London and Ukraine and it’s only just the beginning!

I feel gratitude for everything I have experienced these last couple years, both the good and difficult, because of what I have learned through it. These last two years have been about ‘personal growth’ for me and I feel it in all aspects of my life, including my agricultural photography. I don’t think it’s by accident that the subject I choose to photograph most, is about ‘growth,’ most often in the way of a plant! Through my agricultural photography, I have met many passionate people who experience ‘joy’ because of what they do; they plant, they cultivate, they nurture and they watch something grow overtime, because of what they do. This, I think, is what a farmer ultimately gets from farming. Farming is often about the ‘joy’ of watching something you plant ‘grow’ and then it grows into something that you can reap, because of your attention to ‘growth and nurturing.’

On this particular Pannar Seed shoot, I met a family that is all about ‘growth.’ It was inspiring for me to hear their story. To hear how they started and how the family have grown, how each family member studied something that will enhance or add value to the business, all of them dedicated to their vision for LFC Meule. That day I had been commissioned by Pannar Seed to photograph their agricultural operations of harvesting maize and planting wheat. Out of interest I wanted to see their mill, to understand the full story – from plant to product. I was given a full tour of their maize mill, a mill that was going through a major upgrade at the time and that will ultimately see a ‘vision’ come true, that not only focuses on supplying South Africa, but Africa too.

On these Pannar photography tours, I not only learn about the business of grain, I learn about farmers and I see a group of passionate people, passionate about what they do. On these shoots, I have the privilege of capturing that ‘passion’ in a visual form. I get to photograph growth, the love of farming, the joy, the struggle, the commitment – I get to see the story of farming and tell it to you with photography, from beginning to end and everything in the middle.

Carisbrooke Valley Citrus being harvested

It’s devastating to watch how our South African citrus industry is taking such a knock this year with the new, much stricter legislation that came about ‘bang on’ in the middle of the season when ships were already full with South African citrus. I’m hoping the South African citrus industry recovers quickly and finds sustainable solutions to continue growing citrus and exporting it like they have done to the EU in the recent years.

I spent another day on Carisbrooke Farm capturing the farm workers picking Navalates. These navalates are sent to Carisbrooke Valley Citrus Packhouse and from there, marketed and distributed locally through Capespan.

Don’t miss the video below! My mission is to create uplifting agricultural videos that give you a true feel for the industry, to create authentic content that requires connection with the people I am documenting and knowledge of the industry. Thank you to Carisbrooke Valley farming for taking the time to share your knowledge with me and for letting me roam freely in the citrus orchards! There is a wonderful atmosphere on this farm and I hope that this translates in the video.

Without sounding bias, you really should keep a look out for Carisbrooke Valley Citrus, it’s so much of sweet!

About Lianne Ashton Photography

Lianne is an agricultural photographer based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She has specialised in agricultural photography for 7 years and has photographed numerous agricultural operations within South Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa. Other than South Africa, Lianne has lived in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi and has a good knowledge of these regions in the way of agriculture.

She has been contracted to both international and local commercial agricultural organisations, NGO’s and co-ops that support smallholder farmers and agricultural development within rural communities. Her clients include companies such as Pannar Seed/Corteva Agriscience, Ellepot and AgDevco.

Lianne has a particular interest in the human aspect of agriculture and has done work for NPO’s with the aim to uplift rural communities by providing sustainable agricultural solutions, investment and supply-chain/market solutions. These shoots include everything from the crop, to training and mentorship programs, social documentaries of the communities, logistics and processing.

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The future is coffee!

This is how your cup of Beavercreek coffee starts out! TNT Nursery on the South Coast, KZN are growing coffee seedlings for Beavercreek Coffee. TNT uses the Ellepot system of planting the coffee beans into Ellepot paper pots, resulting in excellent root mass and root health and a productive coffee berry baring plant!

Notice how the roots grow through the paper.

About Lianne Ashton Photography

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Citrus farming in Carisbrooke Valley

A big thanks to my friends Tonia and Pete Woodburn for ‘lending’ me their citrus and sugarcane farm in the beautiful Carisbrooke Valley to expand my portfolio and to learn about these two agricultural industries! CBK Farming is a new beginning for them and I am so excited to be able to document this chapter of their journey! These two industries really appeal to me in that they are labour intensive….and photographing people in the agricultural industry is exactly my thing! So folk, this page one for Pete and Tonia, and for me too!

Pete and Tonia grow oranges and lemons in the Carisbrooke Valley, near Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal – the very valley that Alan Paton writes about in his book Cry the Beloved Country, “There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa.”

Over the next few months I will be photographing this project and the annual citrus operations from beginning to end, as well as the state of the art Carisbrooke Valley Citrus Packhouse which is just down the road form CBK farming. Carisbrooke Valley Packhouse will be packing Avo’s too in the near as the Ixopo and Highflats district transitions into a major Avo growing region in South Africa. I am hoping to expand my knowledge of fruit farming and orchard management in Africa and capture it through photography. Here are few photographs from my first shoot at CBK Farming.

St Paul Farmers Production Support Unit vaccinating cattle

I returned to the St Paul Farmers Production Support Unit and feedlot in the Umzimkulu area to document the vaccination program. This is their first phase of Covexin cattle vaccinations.

The St Paul Farmer Production Support Unit, funded by the South African Department of Agriculture, and partnered with Afrivet, Acendis Bioscience and Embryo Plus, have been tasked to improve the genetics of the communal beef herd over a 3 year period by introducing Brangus genetics via artificial insemination.

I am also very excited to share the news with you that I have teamed up with the talented videographer Usihle Molope and we are now able to offer clients both still photography and videography as well as drone photography.