In less than two weeks farmers in the Kouga region have received upwards of R1-million in feed donations from elsewhere in the country. Thanks to Werner Heyns’ call for help on social media, donations have poured in, and more than 150 farmers have collected much-needed feed as they struggle through drought and the aftermath of devastating fires. (Photo: Supplied / Werner Heyns) 
While farmers in Kouga are left to pick up the pieces after devastating wildfires destroyed homes, structures and kilometres of grazing, one neighbour’s call for help on social media has led to an outpouring of support from across the country.
More than R1-million worth of animal feed has made its way to Hankey over the past two weeks as supermarket groups and road freight companies volunteer their trucks to transport bales of donated lucerne to the fire-ravaged region.
But Werner Heyns, the general manager at Pabala Private Nature Reserve, refuses to take credit for the 150 farmers who have benefitted from the donations, saying the flood of donations was down to one simple reason.
“If our farmers fold, our country folds. I think more and more people are realising that simple truth, and they want to help where they can.
“My social media simply gave voice to the plight of our farmers. From there, everyone else put their hands up to offer assistance.”
Read more: Devastation and heartbreak — Kouga municipality the latest to be gripped by blazes
Over the past five years, Heyns has amassed more than 200,000 followers across his social media platforms where he regularly shares motivational and religious content, as well as videos of animals and operations at Pabala.
But two weeks ago, after seeing several farmers in his vicinity struggling with drought conditions, brought on by persistent below average rainfall, he put out a call for help.
The first response came on 5 January 2026, from 900km away when an anonymous farmer from Welkom, Free State, offered bales of feed. Hours later, Tannie Joey van Heerden from Brits, north of Pretoria, offered 900 bales of lucerne, and somewhere in between Oom Chris van Rhyn, from eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, offered R10,000 to help with transport costs.
“My Facebook exploded and I was inundated with people wanting to get involved and looking for ways to send help. I did not really know any of these people and the response was truly overwhelming,” Heyns said.
/file/attachments/orphans/Feeddonations5_956790.jpg "More than R1-million worth of lucerne and thousands of bales have been trucked into Hankey. (Photo: Supplied / Werner Heyns)")
Three days later disaster struck. Wildfires spread across the region between Kouga and Nelson Mandela Bay, leaving farm houses and other structures in ruin, and burning what little vegetation the drought had not killed to ashes.
“We were lucky that our farm was not touched, but it came pretty close. I know of four or five farms that were burnt to the ground.
“But thanks to the donations that were rolling in, those farmers were also able to pick up some feed. They might not have much left, but at least they could get some feed to keep their livestock alive,” Heyns said.
More help came pouring in as Bethlehem farmer Chris Mostert donated more feed, and Supermarket groups Checkers, Shoprite and Pick n Pay, as well as road freight companies like Miltrans, Sutherland Transport and National Heavy Haulage, volunteered trucks to bring bales of feed from across the country to Hankey, from where it was distributed to farmers in need.
“As of Monday, we still had four trucks loaded with feed en route to Pabala.
“I heard some people say that it is always the farmer helping other farmers, but these last two weeks prove that the private sector, people and big businesses in the cities, have heard the plight of our farmers. And for that I am truly grateful,” Heyns said.
/file/attachments/orphans/Feeddonations4_565630.jpg "Fires were spread across more than 80km between Kouga and Nelson Mandela Bay, completely destroying natural grazing. (Photo: Supplied / Werner Heyns)")
Further west, in the KouKamma region, more farmers have received much-needed donations after more than 15,000 ha of farmland was destroyed by fires.
Niel du Preez, the head of the local farmers association and member of the management team at Agri Eastern Cape, said they had received reports that at least one farmhouse and four structures on a guest farm had been gutted by the fires.
“Most of the fires are out. There are reports of flare-ups which are being monitored closely. The fencing around several farms was damaged, but luckily we have not received reports of any farms losing livestock as they were able to move them quick enough.”
Du Preez thanked Voermol Feeds, which has donated about 32 tonnes of farming products, including feed and other nutritional items, for distribution among the worst-hit locations. DM