It is with great sadness that we share the news of Kobus Steenekamp’s passing on Saturday July 3, 2021 after being hospitalised due to Covid-19 related complications.

At the time of his death, Kobus was the country commercial lead at Bayer Crop Science South Africa. He will forever remain a true legend in the South African agricultural industry and will be missed by many in the wine and agriculture industries.

Our condolences go out to his wife Pamela, his children, Stéfan, Christiaan, Reinhardt and Clarissa, family, and friends.

“This gentle giant will be remembered for his leadership, friendship, and sense of humour. Kobus’ compassion for others and love for his family was at the core of his humanity. His knowledge and expertise in the industry made a lasting impact on the farmers and colleagues he worked with over the decades. We will mourn the loss of this dear colleague and friend for a long time and pray strength and grace upon his family,” says Klaus Eckstein, CEO Bayer Southern Africa.

Kobus was born in in the small town of Brits in the Northwest province. He matriculated in 1990 at Brits High School after which he graduated with a MSc (Agric) from the University of Pretoria and followed with an MBA from the Northwest University.

Prior to joining Monsanto SA where he spent the most of his career, Kobus served in the product development team of Bayer SA. He joined Monsanto SA in 2001 as an agronomist and had various commercial roles focusing on crop protection, biotechnology, and seed. He was the country manager of that company from 2011. After the completion of the acquisition of Monsanto, Kobus was appointed as the country commercial lead of Bayer SA, Crop Science division on July 1, 2019.