Villa Insights Autumn 2025: Safer Products, Smarter Tech, Stronger Relationships

In this packed episode of the Villa Botcast, we explore Villa’s recent performance and strategic direction under the leadership of Marius Boshoff, now also heading up Acropolis SA. We dive into their latest Insights paper, covering regulatory changes, long-term research, and the proactive steps growers need to take now—like adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and preparing for product phase-outs.

A powerful segment highlights Karlien Muller’s personal journey from heavy metal poisoning to becoming Villa’s product safety advocate, reinforcing the importance of on-farm safety. Agronomists like Charla Meyer and Vivian Butler are also making an impact through large-scale worker training across South Africa.

We then shift to tech innovations like the MASTERLOCK® adjuvant and hyperlocal weather data from METOS, showing how the right tools can cut costs, save water, and improve spray timing. Finally, we look at Villa’s focus on people—community, loyalty, wellness, and events like their charity-driven Golf Day.

This episode is a roadmap for farmers looking to stay ahead through smart strategy, cutting-edge tools, and strong industry relationships.

At Villa, we know your time is valuable. That’s why we’ve introduced the Villa Botcast—a podcast voiced by AI so you can tune in anytime, anywhere. But make no mistake: every insight you hear is written by real, trusted professionals at Villa who understand the field.

Click here for everything you need in one place:
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Click here to learn more about MASTERLOCK®.

Transcript

Hi there and welcome to the Villa Botcast. You're on-the-go audio hub for smarter crop protection. Quick heads up before we jump in. This episode is voiced by AI for speed and accessibility, but every insight you hear was crafted by real experts at Villa. That means you get reliable, expert-backed information anytime, anywhere.

Okay, let's dig into this. Farming. It just feels incredibly unpredictable these days, doesn't it? Oh, absolutely. Between market volatility, all the regulatory shifts and, well, the weather just doing its own thing. Exactly. Curveball after curveball.

So how do the companies supporting farmers—you know, the input suppliers and advisors—actually manage to stay afloat and help producers through it all? Yeah, that's the big question, isn't it? It really takes a mix of being resilient, having a smart plan and, crucially, understanding what farmers are actually facing day to day. Makes sense. And that's precisely what we're diving into today.

We got some really interesting stuff from a listener material from Villa Crop Protection, specifically their company newspaper Villa Insights, and it includes a message from their MD, Marius Boshoff, looking back at their first quarter. Right. And these kinds of internal communications that give you a peek behind the curtain, you know, you see how a major player is handling the pressure, but also how they're strategising to help support farmers. Yeah. Our mission here is to get beyond just the headlines. We want to pull out the key insights from these Villa sources, understand how they actually performed in what sounds like a tough quarter, what their focus is going forward, and most importantly, what concrete steps they're taking to help you, the farmer, get the best results. We're looking for the why and the how. It's really about connecting those dots, isn't it? Seeing how a company's strategy actually links to the realities on your farm, because the reliability of your supplier, the tools they offer, that becomes even more critical when things get tough.

So the main source is this Villa Insights newspaper. And you mentioned the MD, Marius Boshoff, who wrote that Q1 letter. It's also quite significant. It was announced in the CropLife SA newsletter, the Crop Circular, that Marius has just been appointed president of CropLife SA. That's a big deal. It shows recognition across the industry, really, and it means Villa, through him, has a voice on those wider industry issues. It adds another layer of context to his message in the newspaper. You know, definitely. So let's start right there with his letter about Villa's first quarter.

What's the gist from Marius Boshoff about how their year started? The key word seems to be resilience. He pretty much says that despite—and I think his words were—tough and unpredictable market conditions, Villa managed to perform close to their budget, hitting targets in this climate. That says something. It really does. It points to, you know, the strength and maybe the sheer effort of their team. Tough and unpredictable. It feels like the standard description these days. Yeah. What sort of external pressures was he referring to specifically?

Well, he mentioned significant international stuff like ongoing global tariff disputes. Even if they don't hit Villa directly, they cause ripples, right? Affect the whole economy. Sure. And then there's the uncertainty around AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act. That preferential access to the US market is huge for South African agriculture. If that's uncertain, farmers might need to start looking for other places to sell their crops. So even far-off trade deals create immediate planning headaches right here.

What about the supply side? I think their procurement team was in China recently. Correct. They visited the big CAC exhibition there and the insight was interesting. Apparently, Chinese suppliers are facing their own challenges—oversupply, maybe some economic wobbles—but they're still seen as absolutely vital partners, especially for innovation, for new active ingredients and things like that. So keeping those relationships strong is key for getting products down the line.

Okay, so juggling global trade, supply chain issues—all while trying to hit budget. What about internally? What did the MD say were Villa's main focus areas for this year?

A huge one—and he really emphasised this—is compliance. All the work involved with phasing out or restricting certain products because of changing regulations. That's been ongoing for a while, hasn't it? Yeah. He mentioned Villa has been proactively working on this for the past couple of years. It's not a sudden thing, but it's clearly a major operational focus. And I guess compliance and innovation kind of have to go together. If older products are going out, you need new solutions coming in. Exactly that. And they are pushing new innovations. He gave a specific example—Kynomite. It's a new miticide coming this season, apparently. Okay. And he specifically called out that it’s aimed at helping citrus farmers who've been, you know, really battling with mites. Designed as an effective but also sustainable option. Right. So directly tackling a known problem for a specific group. Yeah, that makes sense.

He also mentioned something about a brand renewal? Yes. And the focus there sounds like it's all about the customer—the farmer. Framing farmers as the true heroes, I think was the phrase. It seems like it's about reinforcing that their whole purpose is to support farmer success. They're apparently planning some pilot projects with channel partners, testing ways to improve service delivery.

Okay, let’s tie this together for, you know, for you listening. Why does hearing about Villa’s Q1 performance, their focus on regulations, supply chains, innovation—why does it actually matter to your farm operation? Well, fundamentally, it comes down to trust and stability, doesn’t it? In such a shaky environment, knowing your supplier is resilient, managing its sources effectively, getting ahead of regulatory changes and investing in solutions for problems you’re actually facing? Yeah, that suggests they’re a partner you can probably rely on for the long haul. It signals they’re thinking ahead, trying to make sure you have the tools you need now and, you know, down the road, right. It’s about feeling secure in your input supply. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah.

So let’s move from the MD’s letter then and open up the Villa Insights newspaper itself. Yeah. You mentioned it’s their own publication. And interestingly, they distributed it for the first time at some Hinterland co-op branches. Six of them I think. Yeah, that’s a direct way to reach farmers. And the newspaper itself, it’s full of stuff. Several themes really, really stand out. They build on that picture from the MD’s letter.

Okay. What’s the first big one? A really significant theme is their investment in long-term research and innovation. Thinking about, you know, the future of farming systems. The cover story is all about these massive new summer crop research trials. They’re involved in starting up at North-West University’s new AgriHub. Okay, massive. Sounds intriguing. Tell us about the scale. Who’s involved?

It’s definitely not small scale. It’s a big collaboration. Multiple agribusinesses involved. Villa’s bringing the crop protection side—obviously. Then there’s the university and even the provincial government is in on it. Right. They’re setting up trials to compare seven different production systems—seven—and replicated across, I think, 64 plots. The idea is to generate really solid, reliable data over ten years or possibly even longer. Wow. Okay, that sounds a bit like the Winfield trial down in the Western Cape, but maybe for summer crops? Exactly like that, but expanded. Langgewens, you know, mostly looks at no-till in winter rainfall areas. These new trials are specifically for summer crop regions. And they’re looking at a much broader range of systems.

Like what? Things like conventional tillage, different types of conservation—e.g. cover crops. They’re even including a silopasture system, integrating pecan trees with livestock. And they’ll be testing biological products with the no-till too. That’s quite diverse. But what’s really interesting is the goal. They’re not just testing, say, one fungicide against another. They want credible, long-term data on entire farming systems. The pros, the cons, the profitability under local conditions, looking at conservation ag, regenerative practices. Yep. All of that. This kind of systems-level data—it’s gold for commercial farmers who are thinking about making big changes to how they farm. So providing real data to help farmers figure out which system might work best for them long-term. Precisely. It’s a serious investment in understanding what future farming might look like.

Okay, so that’s the long-term research. Moving from that, what’s another key theme popping out of the paper? Navigating regulations and product safety. It’s another huge focus. And honestly, it raises some pretty big questions for everyone in agriculture. Bianca Rabie—she’s Villa’s Regulatory Affairs Manager. She talks about big changes coming in 2035. 2035? Okay. What specific changes should farmers be tracking?

Well, building on rules that have already seen some products withdrawn, she flags a really significant one. After 2035, even licensed Pest Control Operators—PCOs—won’t be allowed to use what are termed Highly Hazardous Products, or HHPs. Okay. That’s defined under Act 36, the main agro law. And for Villa, this apparently impacts another 55 of their products after that date. That’s on top of stuff already gone. 55 more.

Wow. Yeah. So the crucial question becomes how does the industry, how do you, as a farmer, prepare for that kind of shift in what tools are available? Bianca stresses it needs a proactive strategy—looking for replacements, maybe reformulating some things. Definitely integrating alternatives like IPM, integrated pest management, right? And registering a totally new product, she notes, can take 5 or 6 years, so you really can't afford to wait until 2034 to start figuring this out. That timeline is sobering. Thinking ahead is key.

The paper also includes a very, a very powerful personal story related to this safety issue, doesn't it? It really does. The story of Karlien Muller. It's quite striking. She's an IPM consultant, but she's now also working with Villa as a product safety advocate. And her personal experience was incredibly tough. She suffered heavy metal poisoning—arsenic, cadmium—absorbed over years working in orchards. And this was despite, she says, following the safety rules that were in place at the time. It took her seven years to even get a correct diagnosis. Seven years, and this is the really interesting part, right? Karlien was actually advocating for less chemical use through IPM, yet Villa brought her on board because of that hard-won painful knowledge. Not in spite of it. Exactly. They see her experience as giving her a unique perspective to help them improve their own safety measures, to really be custodians of their products, making sure they're used safely from start to finish. That's quite a statement. It is.

And her story also brings up a broader point she makes about the market pressure for like, cosmetically perfect fruit—the cost of perfection, right? She argues that sometimes drives chemical use that might not otherwise be needed just to meet those appearance standards, which adds to the overall chemical load. It really shows how market demands, farm practices, and safety are all linked up. It's a complex web.

What about safety training for the workers actually handling these products on the farm? That's definitely part of the picture. The newspaper highlights Villa agronomists like Charla Meyer running mandatory safety training for farm workers. And it's not just do this, don't do that. It's explaining the why—why PPE matters, why reusing certain containers is so dangerous. Building real understanding, encouraging personal responsibility.

As I mentioned, the reach. Yeah, the numbers are quite something. Another agronomist, Vivian Butler, trained 642 workers in just one month in Limpopo last year, and 915 total in 2024 so far. That's a lot of people getting critical safety info. That really is significant scale. Yeah.

So how does understanding all this—the regulatory pipeline, the human cost when safety fails, the training efforts—how does that help you, the farmer, practically? Well, first off, knowing what products might be phased out helps you plan. You got to start thinking about alternatives. Maybe different strategies. Second, it just hammers home the shared responsibility for safety as a farm owner or a manager. It reinforces why providing the right gear, the right training, the right environment is so critical. And it makes you aware of the risks for yourself and your team. Karlien’s story is just such a stark reminder of why protocols exist.

The theme of adapting, working smarter—it seems to lead right into the next area. The newspaper covers using technology and data to boost efficiency on the farm.

You've invested in top-tier crop protection. Don't let it go to waste. Add Master Lock—the adjuvant that unlocks true orchard performance. It’s built for permanent crops with increased canopy penetration, reduced drift, and better spray coverage across every leaf. More absorption, less bounce. Real impact. Master Lock—unleash the true potential of your orchard.

Villa is clearly focused on bringing practical tech tools to the table. One they highlight is an adjuvant called Master Lock, which they launched back in 2023. Okay. Remind us—what does an adjuvant like Master Lock actually do, and what's the payoff? So an adjuvant is basically something you add to your spray tank to make the main chemical work better. Master Lock is designed to do several things—improve how the spray lands on the plants, spread it out better, help it penetrate, okay, and crucially reduce problems like drift—spray blowing away—and evaporation.

And in practical terms, on the farm, what does that translate to? Efficiency-wise, it can mean real savings and better results. The article suggests it could let you use less water in your spray mix without losing effectiveness. That's water. That's always good. Definitely. They mentioned a trial in Letsitele where using Master Lock with less water actually got better coverage than spraying more water without it. And cutting water use even by, say, 11%—like in that trial—can save thousands of litres per hectare on a big farm. That adds up incredibly fast. Huge for water saving, especially in dry areas. Exactly. And less water can mean fewer tank refills, quicker spraying, saves fuel, saves labour too. It’s basically a tool to make your spraying more efficient, get more bang for your buck from the chemical, and potentially lose less to the environment.

Oh, and they also mention it was developed locally for SA conditions. Good to know. Okay, so that’s improving the physical spray. What about data? They're doing something with weather info too, right? Yes. They're really talking up the SSA weather reports. They say these are pretty unique and use data from a network of about 300 weather stations their partners have installed. They've been sending out weekly reports to some clients since January of this year.

How’s that different from just, you know, checking the weather app on my phone? It's about getting hyper-local, farm-specific data that you need for timing things like spraying—precisely. The reports focus on key agricultural metrics—like the article explains, Delta T—vaguely the difference between wet and dry bulb temps. That’s it. It tells you how fast water is evaporating, which is critical for spraying. The ideal window is usually a Delta T between 2 and 8. Helps you pinpoint that for your specific fields. Okay. So it's much more targeted. Exactly.

Plus, the reports give historical data too—that helps with understanding local patterns for longer-term planning. The newspaper even has a whole article explaining how things like temperature, rain, humidity affect herbicide performance—driving home why using tools like Meadows helps you make smarter, data-based decisions for application timing. Takes the guesswork out of it, based on real conditions right there.

Any other quick tech mentions? Just brief ones that fit the theme—like emphasizing choosing the right jet spray nozzles to be efficient and not waste product, and also noting that Lindsay Corporation, the irrigation giant, bought a big stake in Pessl Instruments. That’s the company behind Meadows. It just shows this whole area of sensors, data integration is becoming really big globally.

So wrapping up the tech part—tools like Master Lock and the Meadows reports—how do they directly help you, the farmer? It's all about optimization, really. Master Lock helps you use your inputs more effectively, potentially saving water, fuel, time—maybe even getting better control. Meadows gives you that precise environmental data for critical timing, making sure your sprays work as well as possible and stay where they’re supposed to. They’re basically investments aimed at making your farm run smarter, cheaper, and maybe more sustainably too.

Okay, it’s clear Villa is focused on strategy, innovation, rules, tech—but the insights paper also really highlights the people side of things, doesn’t it? Partnerships? Relationships? Oh, absolutely. It’s definitely not just about chemicals and data. It’s about the human connections in the industry.

The paper gives little examples like staff wellness programs focusing on things like intellectual wellness or using personality profiling—and BI, I think—to help teams work better together. Smart internal stuff, build a better team. Seems like it. They also make a point of celebrating loyalty—highlighting staff who’ve been there for ages and personal wins like someone getting their degree, kom klaar. Plus they mentioned international visitors—Turkish, Canadian groups—which suggests they’re building global connections and sharing knowledge.

And then there’s the Villa Golf Day. Sounds like more than just hitting a ball around. Yeah, they describe it as really popular, but the focus isn’t winning. It’s about interaction. Your handicap doesn’t matter. Apparently it’s just a relaxed way for their agents, their clients, their partners to connect outside of, you know, formal meetings. And importantly, for the last three years, they’ve used the event to give back to local charities in the town where it’s held—a nice touch.

What’s interesting is how all these different things—building internal culture, fostering networking, community support—they all reinforce this idea that success in ag isn’t just about transactions. It’s built on relationships, on supporting each other, on shared values. Creates that sense of community partnership. Maybe beyond just buying stuff. Exactly.

And for you, the listener, what this focus on people means is that the support network you tap into—whether it’s your local Villa agent, or industry events, or even reading their newspaper—it’s hopefully built on that foundation of connection and open communication.

Okay, well, we’ve covered a lot here in this dive. We started with Villa’s Q1 performance holding steady in a tough market under Marius Boshoff’s leadership, who’s now also heading up Acropolis SA. Then we dug into their insights newspaper. Yeah, pulling out those key themes with their work on navigating future regulations, that huge focus on safety—highlighted by Karlien Muller’s powerful story—their big investment in long-term research on whole farming systems, and then the practical tech and data tools like Master Lock and Meadows for on-farm efficiency and all. Layered over that consistent focus on people, relationships, community.

By really looking closely at sources like this newspaper, you get a much deeper sense of the forces shaping agriculture—and how companies like Villa are trying to help farmers navigate it all. And that’s the real value of doing a deep dive like this, isn’t it? It’s kind of a shortcut to understanding those complex dynamics and seeing how they actually connect back to your farm.

So what’s the bottom line here for you? I think it means that staying truly informed in farming today—it’s not just about knowing the specs on the latest chemical. It’s about grasping the bigger picture, like the regulations coming down that track, the long-term research pointing towards more sustainable ways to farm, the tech that can make you more efficient—and yeah, the people network that offers support.

And maybe this raises a final question for you to think about—with agriculture changing so fast—climate, rules, markets—what specific insights are going to be the most critical for you to actively seek out and use on your own farm to stay ahead in the next few seasons? Is it that long-term trial data that might change how you rotate crops? Could hyper-local weather data really revolutionise your spray timing? Does understanding the why behind safety change how you lead your team?

It’s about taking these kinds of insights we’ve discussed and figuring out—okay, what does this mean for my specific operation? How can I use this? Definitely something to mull over.

Thanks for joining us for this deep dive into Villa Crop Protection’s recent updates. Always good to chat. We’ll catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening to the Villa Botcast—powered by AI, driven by insight.

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ChatGPT says: Wow. Yeah. So the crucial question becomes how does the industry, how do you, as a farmer, prepare for that kind of shift in what tools are available? Bianca stresses it needs a proactive strategy—looking for replacements, maybe reformulating some things. Definitely integrating alternatives like IPM, integrated pest management, right? And registering a totally new product, she notes, can take 5 or 6 years, so you really can't afford to wait until 2034 to start figuring this out. That timeline is sobering. Thinking ahead is key. The paper also includes a very, a very powerful personal story related to this safety issue, doesn't it? It really does. The story of Karlien Muller. It's quite striking. She's an IPM consultant, but she's now also working with Villa as a product safety advocate. And her personal experience was incredibly tough. She suffered heavy metal poisoning—arsenic, cadmium—absorbed over years working in orchards. And this was despite, she says, following the safety rules that were in place at the time. It took her seven years to even get a correct diagnosis. Seven years, and this is the really interesting part, right? Karlien was actually advocating for less chemical use through IPM, yet Villa brought her on board because of that hard-won painful knowledge. Not in spite of it. Exactly. They see her experience as giving her a unique perspective to help them improve their own safety measures, to really be custodians of their products, making sure they're used safely from start to finish. That's quite a statement. It is. And her story also brings up a broader point she makes about the market pressure for like, cosmetically perfect fruit—the cost of perfection, right? She argues that sometimes drives chemical use that might not otherwise be needed just to meet those appearance standards, which adds to the overall chemical load. It really shows how market demands, farm practices, and safety are all linked up. It's a complex web. What about safety training for the workers actually handling these products on the farm? That's definitely part of the picture. The newspaper highlights Villa agronomists like Charla Meyer running mandatory safety training for farm workers. And it's not just do this, don't do that. It's explaining the why—why PPE matters, why reusing certain containers is so dangerous. Building real understanding, encouraging personal responsibility. As I mentioned, the reach. Yeah, the numbers are quite something. Another agronomist, Vivian Butler, trained 642 workers in just one month in Limpopo last year, and 915 total in 2024 so far. That's a lot of people getting critical safety info. That really is significant scale. Yeah. So how does understanding all this—the regulatory pipeline, the human cost when safety fails, the training efforts—how does that help you, the farmer, practically? Well, first off, knowing what products might be phased out helps you plan. You got to start thinking about alternatives. Maybe different strategies. Second, it just hammers home the shared responsibility for safety as a farm owner or a manager. It reinforces why providing the right gear, the right training, the right environment is so critical. And it makes you aware of the risks for yourself and your team. Karlien’s story is just such a stark reminder of why protocols exist. The theme of adapting, working smarter—it seems to lead right into the next area. The newspaper covers using technology and data to boost efficiency on the farm. You've invested in top-tier crop protection. Don't let it go to waste. Add Master Lock—the adjuvant that unlocks true orchard performance. It’s built for permanent crops with increased canopy penetration, reduced drift, and better spray coverage across every leaf. More absorption, less bounce. Real impact. Master Lock—unleash the true potential of your orchard. Villa is clearly focused on bringing practical tech tools to the table. One they highlight is an adjuvant called Master Lock, which they launched back in 2023. Okay. Remind us—what does an adjuvant like Master Lock actually do, and what's the payoff? So an adjuvant is basically something you add to your spray tank to make the main chemical work better. Master Lock is designed to do several things—improve how the spray lands on the plants, spread it out better, help it penetrate, okay, and crucially reduce problems like drift—spray blowing away—and evaporation. And in practical terms, on the farm, what does that translate to? Efficiency-wise, it can mean real savings and better results. The article suggests it could let you use less water in your spray mix without losing effectiveness. That's water. That's always good. Definitely. They mentioned a trial in Letsitele where using Master Lock with less water actually got better coverage than spraying more water without it. And cutting water use even by, say, 11%—like in that trial—can save thousands of litres per hectare on a big farm. That adds up incredibly fast. Huge for water saving, especially in dry areas. Exactly. And less water can mean fewer tank refills, quicker spraying, saves fuel, saves labour too. It’s basically a tool to make your spraying more efficient, get more bang for your buck from the chemical, and potentially lose less to the environment. Oh, and they also mention it was developed locally for SA conditions. Good to know. Okay, so that’s improving the physical spray. What about data? They're doing something with weather info too, right? Yes. They're really talking up the SSA weather reports. They say these are pretty unique and use data from a network of about 300 weather stations their partners have installed. They've been sending out weekly reports to some clients since January of this year. How’s that different from just, you know, checking the weather app on my phone? It's about getting hyper-local, farm-specific data that you need for timing things like spraying—precisely. The reports focus on key agricultural metrics—like the article explains, Delta T—vaguely the difference between wet and dry bulb temps. That’s it. It tells you how fast water is evaporating, which is critical for spraying. The ideal window is usually a Delta T between 2 and 8. Helps you pinpoint that for your specific fields. Okay. So it's much more targeted. Exactly. Plus, the reports give historical data too—that helps with understanding local patterns for longer-term planning. The newspaper even has a whole article explaining how things like temperature, rain, humidity affect herbicide performance—driving home why using tools like Meadows helps you make smarter, data-based decisions for application timing. Takes the guesswork out of it, based on real conditions right there. Any other quick tech mentions? Just brief ones that fit the theme—like emphasizing choosing the right jet spray nozzles to be efficient and not waste product, and also noting that Lindsay Corporation, the irrigation giant, bought a big stake in Pessl Instruments. That’s the company behind Meadows. It just shows this whole area of sensors, data integration is becoming really big globally. So wrapping up the tech part—tools like Master Lock and the Meadows reports—how do they directly help you, the farmer? It's all about optimization, really. Master Lock helps you use your inputs more effectively, potentially saving water, fuel, time—maybe even getting better control. Meadows gives you that precise environmental data for critical timing, making sure your sprays work as well as possible and stay where they’re supposed to. They’re basically investments aimed at making your farm run smarter, cheaper, and maybe more sustainably too. Okay, it’s clear Villa is focused on strategy, innovation, rules, tech—but the insights paper also really highlights the people side of things, doesn’t it? Partnerships? Relationships? Oh, absolutely. It’s definitely not just about chemicals and data. It’s about the human connections in the industry. The paper gives little examples like staff wellness programs focusing on things like intellectual wellness or using personality profiling—and BI, I think—to help teams work better together. Smart internal stuff, build a better team. Seems like it. They also make a point of celebrating loyalty—highlighting staff who’ve been there for ages and personal wins like someone getting their degree, kom klaar. Plus they mentioned international visitors—Turkish, Canadian groups—which suggests they’re building global connections and sharing knowledge. And then there’s the Villa Golf Day. Sounds like more than just hitting a ball around. Yeah, they describe it as really popular, but the focus isn’t winning. It’s about interaction. Your handicap doesn’t matter. Apparently it’s just a relaxed way for their agents, their clients, their partners to connect outside of, you know, formal meetings. And importantly, for the last three years, they’ve used the event to give back to local charities in the town where it’s held—a nice touch. What’s interesting is how all these different things—building internal culture, fostering networking, community support—they all reinforce this idea that success in ag isn’t just about transactions. It’s built on relationships, on supporting each other, on shared values. Creates that sense of community partnership. Maybe beyond just buying stuff. Exactly. And for you, the listener, what this focus on people means is that the support network you tap into—whether it’s your local Villa agent, or industry events, or even reading their newspaper—it’s hopefully built on that foundation of connection and open communication. Okay, well, we’ve covered a lot here in this dive. We started with Villa’s Q1 performance holding steady in a tough market under Marius Boshoff’s leadership, who’s now also heading up Acropolis SA. Then we dug into their insights newspaper. Yeah, pulling out those key themes with their work on navigating future regulations, that huge focus on safety—highlighted by Karlien Muller powerful story—their big investment in long-term research on whole farming systems, and then the practical tech and data tools like Master Lock and Meadows for on-farm efficiency and all. Layered over that consistent focus on people, relationships, community. By really looking closely at sources like this newspaper, you get a much deeper sense of the forces shaping agriculture—and how companies like Villa are trying to help farmers navigate it all. And that’s the real value of doing a deep dive like this, isn’t it? It’s kind of a shortcut to understanding those complex dynamics and seeing how they actually connect back to your farm. So what’s the bottom line here for you? I think it means that staying truly informed in farming today—it’s not just about knowing the specs on the latest chemical. It’s about grasping the bigger picture, like the regulations coming down that track, the long-term research pointing towards more sustainable ways to farm, the tech that can make you more efficient—and yeah, the people network that offers support. And maybe this raises a final question for you to think about—with agriculture changing so fast—climate, rules, markets—what specific insights are going to be the most critical for you to actively seek out and use on your own farm to stay ahead in the next few seasons? Is it that long-term trial data that might change how you rotate crops? Could hyper-local weather data really revolutionise your spray timing? Does understanding the why behind safety change how you lead your team? It’s about taking these kinds of insights we’ve discussed and figuring out—okay, what does this mean for *my* specific operation? How can I use this? Definitely something to mull over. Thanks for joining us for this deep dive into Villa Crop Protection’s recent updates. Always good to chat. We’ll catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening to the Villa Botcast—powered by AI, driven by insight.