Graham Leslie CA(SA) left city life to focus on his family farm and has since helped the Leslie farm to grow from strength to strength, achieving major awards and recognition within the industry
A sustainable farmer at heart
While their premium quality apple cider vinegar contains ‘the mother’, Graham Leslie can be considered ‘the father’ and mastermind behind the creation of Heritage Apple Cider Vinegar. Coming from a long line of farming stock, Graham is part of the fourth generation of Leslies based at Heritage Farm in the Eastern Free State. According to Graham, their family has a history of being innovative and adapting to conditions and the times with the evolution of the livestock and crops they produce being key to making their farming business more robust.
Graham, the current financial director of Clan Leslie Estates Pty Ltd, was schooled in Natal and matriculated from Michaelhouse, from where he went on to study accountancy at the University of Stellenbosch. He did his articles at BDO Spencer Steward in Johannesburg and qualified as a chartered accountant in 2006. His secondment to BDO Seidman took him to New York and thereafter he further honed his skills at BDO Stoy Hayward in London where he was in the Corporate Strategy Division focusing on turnaround consulting.
Upon his return to South Africa in 2007 he decided to leave city life and officially join the family farming operation. For the past 14 years Graham has overseen the financial side of the business as well as being involved in the day-to-day operations on the farm. He claims his constant drive for efficiency is what motivates him to always find ways to improve on current systems and processes. Together with his father, mother and brother, the Leslies run several apple orchards with production and packing being their main focus. In addition, they cultivate field crops, and have both a cattle and sheep component. Graham extended this enterprise and built up a herd of TB-free buffalo, roan and sable, which forms a buffer between the farm and the nearby built up area, thereby improving security on the property. They employ many previously disadvantaged men and women as middle managers, with great success.
The story that ran on Kyknet’s ‘Megaboere’ in 2020 highlighted the Leslie family’s many accomplishments in the agricultural sector, including being named Bean Farmer of the year in 2009 and their nomination for South African Farmer of the year that same year. Graham also flew the Clan Leslie flag high when he was selected as one of the founding members of the Syngenta Grain Academy. Ever the innovative entrepreneur, Graham has always looked to add value to their products. Their latest venture that has resulted in the production of apple cider vinegar was born out of the desire to reduce waste at their pack house.
‘Our decision to diversify and start producing apple cider vinegar using our own apples that are farmed, fermented and bottled on the farm was a natural progression. We started this process almost two years ago when we decided to make better use of perfectly good apples that just had a mark or blemish on them and as a result were not deemed acceptable for sale to consumers in stores or at markets. These apples sometimes make up to 10% of our crop and in line with our sustainability ethos, would usually go into an earthworm composting process where it is fed to earthworms to make a vermicompost. This is then used on the farm again as an organic supplement to the apples. Making vinegar actually complements this already highly sustainable use of the apples in that once the juice has been extracted, the left-over pulp still goes to the earthworm farm or is fed to our sheep, so no material is wasted,’ explains Graham.
This premium apple cider vinegar is not only a standout because it is one of the few apple cider vinegars on the market that can claim it is 100% grown and made locally; it’s also of the highest quality containing ‘the mother’ and being 100% pure with nothing else added to the apples to create the vinegar other than time. Graham believes his frustration born out of his constant drive for perfection in an industry with so many variables that are almost impossible to control means he has been forced to look at problems differently, which has ultimately led to many different innovations in their farming enterprise.
It’s probably this same steely determination and perseverance that has seen Graham also excel at a young age both academically and at sport, especially hockey, where he achieved provincial colours and made the SA Schools U/16 team. His interest in hockey later led him to become a provincial selector for Country Districts, with which he is still actively involved. When Graham isn’t looking for ways to drive efficiencies on the farm, he enjoys the outdoors, particularly hunting, fishing and enjoying time in the bush. Graham also has a passion for flying and became a pilot at a young age, as well as establishing a flying school. Due to the vast distances between the farms and the markets, he has used his plane extensively for business purposes.
