Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo is South Africa’s dedicated media, marketing and events platform for greenhouse farming, shade net production, tunnel farming, hydroponics and controlled-environment agriculture.
We connect growers, suppliers, agribusinesses, exporters, industry bodies, technology providers, input suppliers and decision-makers across South Africa, the SADC region and international horticultural networks.
Our platform operates through two clear branches:
Undercover Farming Magazine — our specialist digital publishing, advertorial, advertising, brand-building and multimedia communication platform.
Undercover Farming Conference and Expo — our live networking, learning, exhibition and event platform, hosted twice a year in South Africa.
Together, they form a trusted communication platform for the protected-crop industry: credible content, targeted digital reach, brand visibility, supplier access and direct face-to-face industry engagement.
Protected agriculture is no longer a small niche in farming.
Across South Africa and beyond, growers are turning to greenhouses, shade nets, tunnels, hydroponics, precision irrigation, climate control and controlled-environment systems to manage risk, improve quality, protect crops, use resources more efficiently and produce higher-value yields.
This is a technical, investment-driven and fast-moving sector.
That is where Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo stands.
We are not a general agricultural platform. We serve a specialist sector with specialist information, specialist events and specialist marketing support.
The story of Undercover Farming begins with the growth of a sector that changed the way many crops are produced.
Greenhouse and shade net farming developed from a practical need: to protect crops, manage production risk and produce higher-value crops under more controlled conditions.
As South African growers began adopting these systems, they drew inspiration from international examples in countries such as the Netherlands, Israel, Spain and other advanced horticultural markets. The sector became more technical, more innovative and more commercially important.
A new agricultural language began to take shape — one built around protection, precision, climate control, water efficiency, crop quality and higher-value production.
This growing industry needed its own voice.
It needed a platform where growers could learn, suppliers could communicate, technology could be explained, and the people driving the sector could meet, share and move forward together.
That vision became Undercover Farming Magazine, and later, the Undercover Farming Conference and Expo.
The first printed edition of Undercover Farming Magazine was published in 2003. Since then, the magazine has never skipped a publication — not even during the Covid-19 pandemic, when print distribution and many agricultural media platforms came under severe pressure.
This consistency is part of the trust behind the Undercover Farming name. For more than two decades, growers, suppliers and industry role players have known that the magazine would continue showing up for the protected-crop sector — through changing markets, shifting media habits and difficult economic conditions.
For many years, Johan Swiegers carried Undercover Farming with discipline, vision and a deep commitment to agricultural communication.
He understood that greenhouse farming, shade net production, hydroponics and controlled-environment agriculture needed more than occasional coverage in general farming publications. This specialised sector needed its own dedicated platform.
Through Undercover Farming Magazine and the Conference and Expo, Johan helped build a trusted space where growers, suppliers, researchers, advisors and agricultural businesses could connect and help shape the future of protected agriculture.
In 2011, life brought a difficult turning point when Johan became ill. Leadership passed to his daughter, Suzanne Oosthuizen, who took over as Sole Proprietor.
But this was not a sudden change in direction.
It was a seamless continuation of a journey already shared.
Suzanne was not new to agriculture, publishing or the undercover farming industry. Her agricultural media career dates back to 1997, including her role as Marketing Director for Nufarmer Africa Magazine and Undercover Farming Magazine. She also served as Senior Agricultural Policy Officer at the Embassy of the Netherlands in South Africa, gaining international exposure to agricultural policy, trade and sector development. Later, she served as Marketing Specialist for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa at Rijk Zwaan South Africa, deepening her understanding of seed, horticulture, commercial production and grower needs.
This combination of media, policy, international networks, seed, horticulture and commercial crop experience gave Suzanne a rare understanding of the undercover farming value chain.
When Suzanne took over, she did not simply inherit a publication and an event. She continued a legacy already rooted in the industry.
At the start of 2026, Johan retired from active editorial work at the age of 83, although he continues to keep an interested eye on the platform he helped build.
Undercover Farming Magazine is the media, advertising and digital publishing branch of the platform.
The magazine covers the practical, technical and commercial world of greenhouse farming, shade net production, hydroponics, fertigation, irrigation, climate control, crop protection, growing media, seed, seedlings, technology and controlled-environment production.
It serves readers who take protected agriculture seriously — including:
Greenhouse growers, shade net farmers, vegetable producers, berry growers, fruit producers, nursery operators, hydroponic growers, exporters, agronomists, crop advisors, input suppliers, technology providers, researchers, associations and agricultural decision-makers.
Undercover Farming Magazine does not speak to a broad, unfocused audience. It speaks directly to a specialised, high-value sector where innovation, investment and agricultural growth meet.
Undercover Farming Magazine connects advertisers with the growers, suppliers, associations and decision-makers driving protected cultivation across the SADC region and selected international markets.
Our footprint includes:
South Africa, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Beyond SADC, the magazine also reaches readers and industry stakeholders in:
Ethiopia, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Canada and the United States of America.
This gives advertisers focused access to a specialised agricultural audience actively involved in production decisions, supplier selection, technology investment and commercial crop improvement.
For brands serving greenhouse, shade net, horticulture, irrigation, fertigation, hydroponic and controlled-environment sectors, this is not general exposure.
Undercover Farming Magazine is now a fully digital publication, built for the way modern growers, suppliers and agribusinesses consume information today.
The transition began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when print distribution, postal channels and physical circulation were severely disrupted. For many publications, this created uncertainty. For Undercover Farming Magazine, it became an opportunity to move faster, reach further and serve the protected-crop industry in a more dynamic way.
Importantly, Undercover Farming Magazine did not stop publishing during this period. Since its first printed edition in 2003, the magazine has maintained an unbroken publication record.
Covid-19 changed the way the magazine reached its readers, but it did not interrupt its commitment to the industry.
We strengthened our digital presence through online publishing, social media, newsletters, multimedia content and search-friendly articles, creating a platform that could do more than a printed edition ever could.
Today, Undercover Farming Magazine is a living digital resource, available 24/7 from any device — whether readers are on the farm, inside a greenhouse, visiting a packhouse, travelling between production sites, attending an expo, or researching suppliers after hours.
Content can be searched, shared, revisited and linked directly to client websites, helping advertisers stay visible long after a magazine edition has been released.
The results are measurable. Undercover Farming has achieved more than 2.2 million Meta-measured reader interventions over a three-month period, and more than 200,000 Meta-measured reader interventions over 28 days.
For advertisers, this means exposure beyond a single page, a single edition or a single event. It means extended digital visibility, stronger brand credibility, better audience engagement and longer campaign value.
Where print once created presence, digital now creates momentum.
That digital-first philosophy is now central to Undercover Farming Magazine — keeping protected-crop knowledge alive, accessible, searchable and commercially valuable throughout the year.
Undercover Farming Magazine uses a focused digital ecosystem to connect protected-crop knowledge, readers, advertisers and industry partners throughout the year.
This includes:
A search-optimised website, digital magazine distribution, social media platforms, newsletters, WhatsApp communication, multimedia content, advertorial campaigns, video, photography, podcasts, blogs and event-related content.
For readers, this means practical agricultural information remains available when they need it.
For advertisers, this means their message can continue working across multiple platforms — in the magazine, on the website, through social media, in digital campaigns, and through content that links directly to their own websites.
For exhibitors and sponsors, this means conference visibility can start before the event, continue during the event and remain active after the event through follow-up content, photos, videos, articles and campaign material.
This is the strength of the Undercover Farming digital model:
Undercover Farming Conference and Expo is the live events branch of the platform.
While the magazine keeps the industry informed throughout the year, the Conference and Expo brings the industry together face-to-face.
The events are designed for people actively involved in, or seriously interested in, greenhouse farming, shade net production, hydroponics, tunnel farming, fertigation, irrigation, climate control and controlled-environment agriculture.
These are specialist events for a specialist industry.
They create a practical meeting place where growers, suppliers, technology providers, researchers, advisors, associations and decision-makers can learn, exhibit, network, compare solutions and build relationships.
Undercover Farming Conference and Expo hosts two major annual events in South Africa.
The Gauteng event is hosted around February/March each year at the CSIR International Conference Centre.
This event serves growers, suppliers, agribusinesses and decision-makers from Gauteng and surrounding production regions, while also attracting national interest from companies and role players serving the protected-crop sector.
The Western Cape event is hosted around October each year at Allée Bleue, Franschhoek.
This event serves the Western Cape and surrounding production areas, including growers involved in greenhouse production, shade net systems, berries, vegetables, fruit, flowers, nursery crops and other high-value protected-crop sectors.
Together, these two events give Undercover Farming Conference and Expo a strong national footprint and a powerful year-round connection with the protected agriculture industry.
Farmers and growers attend Undercover Farming Conference and Expo because the events offer practical, relevant and specialist value.
They come to:
In agriculture, decisions are often made through trust, proof and personal interaction.
The Conference and Expo gives growers direct access to the people, products and knowledge that can help them improve their operations.
For exhibitors, Undercover Farming Conference and Expo offers direct access to a focused audience of growers, producers, advisors and purchasing decision-makers.
This is not a broad public event where agricultural brands compete for attention among unrelated industries.
It is a specialist platform where the audience is already interested in protected-crop production, greenhouse systems, shade netting, irrigation, fertigation, hydroponics, seed, seedlings, crop protection, biologicals, growing media, automation, climate control and production efficiency.
Exhibitors benefit because they can:
Sponsorship gives agricultural brands the opportunity to stand out as industry leaders.
A sponsor is not only seen as an advertiser. A sponsor becomes associated with the growth, development and professionalism of the protected agriculture sector.
Through sponsorship, brands can gain:
Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo has grown beyond traditional publishing and event hosting.
Today, we offer advertisers, suppliers and agribusinesses a full turn-key media and marketing solution — from concept to campaign launch.
We help clients shape their message, tell their story and reach the right agricultural audience through professional content creation, brand strategy, digital distribution, multimedia production, event visibility and campaign support.
Undercover Farming is not only where agricultural brands advertise.
It is where they can build campaigns, tell technical stories, create media assets, meet the market and stay visible before, during and after industry events.
Our services include:
Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo is also positioned to support agricultural businesses, associations and industry role players with event planning, hosting, promotion and audience development.
We understand the agricultural audience because we work with it every day.
We understand growers, suppliers, agribusinesses, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors and industry partners. We know that a successful agricultural event is not only about a venue and a programme. It is about the right audience, the right message, the right speakers, the right suppliers and the right follow-up.
Undercover Farming can support agricultural events such as:
Through our media platform, digital channels and industry network, we can help plan, promote, host and amplify events before, during and after they take place.
Trust in agriculture is built over time.
It comes from consistency, relevance, relationships and an understanding of the real challenges faced by farmers and suppliers.
Growers trust Undercover Farming because we speak to their reality — the cost of mistakes, the pressure of production, the need for reliable suppliers and the value of practical knowledge.
Advertisers trust Undercover Farming because their brands appear in a credible specialist environment, alongside content that readers value.
Exhibitors trust Undercover Farming because the Expo gives them direct access to a focused audience of growers, suppliers and decision-makers.
Sponsors trust Undercover Farming because the platform allows them to align with innovation, professional development and the future of protected agriculture.
Event partners trust Undercover Farming because we understand both the agricultural audience and the communication needed to bring that audience together.
This is where Undercover Farming stands:
Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo believes the best agricultural communication benefits both the grower and the supplier.
This shared-value approach is at the heart of everything we do.
When agricultural brands communicate with purpose, they do more than promote products. They become part of the grower’s decision-making journey.
When growers attend our events, they do more than sit in a room. They gain access to knowledge, suppliers and relationships that can influence the future of their operations.
Whether you are a grower seeking practical insight, an exhibitor wanting direct engagement, a sponsor looking for premium industry visibility, or a brand wanting to connect with the protected-crop market, Undercover Farming Magazine and Expo offers a trusted platform for agricultural communication.
Through our Magazine, we keep the industry informed and visible throughout the year.
Through our Conference and Expo, we bring the industry together twice a year in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Through our digital platform, we extend reach, visibility and campaign life.
Through our turn-key marketing services, we help agricultural brands tell their stories professionally.
Through our event planning and hosting support, we help agri role players create meaningful industry gatherings.
