₦airaland Forum

Esude007:
You're very correct.

The soil retains water.

That's why I am lucky.

Else, this drought for done do me shege

On this soil sir target feb ending or march, u will sell ur corn at d highest price of the year

Dats d holy grail of corn, you dont need irrigation on this soil, but if u must expand to cover hectares forget irrigation and move to sandy soil where tractors can work then start thinking of storage in grain bins

Sir, i want you to comment on the nature of your soil,

From the pictures it looks clayey, and the stream from which you got water for herbicide application, does it ever dry up

How water logged is your soil after extreme rain

I think ur maize thrived this long because of this soil, were it 2 be sandy in current climatic condition it would have been somethong else

Teejaney88:
It's all good here, it's drizzling as I type this...

Location

Nkl4u:
It rained in Benin all through July and even last week. Just this week we are experiencing the august break

It’s high time farmers start practicing irrigation system of farming.

How do u irrigate 100hectares of maize ( people over emphasize irrigation, its a waste of time to large hextage farmera)

Esude007:
Kwara state today

Chai

These are the harzards of farming


See money on fire


God will definitely replenish the owners pocket in due time

Hmmmmm,

One golden thing i learnt this year is data, I met a local farmer that showed me a collection of 1page calenders for all the locations his farms are, he just ticks the day it rains in dat area and this has been the tool he uses to time his planting.....

What his calender revealed to me is Golden,from dat day onward, i have started marking mine

The poor rains in july this year has deleted a lot of maize farms making their yield poor, maize sellers are already gearing up for high maize prices next year

Zwooks:
Ah. I did deep research oh. I found out a lot of things I didn't earlier. Contact me privately I don't want the information in public


My maize on ridges did fantastically great

You are making a big mistake by going private, how do you vet the info you have gotten

Just because of u got a little bashing, u suddenly decide to go private

Every season is an opportunity to move up the learning curve

Its better u are laughed at online but correct ur mistake real life

Please keep this maize thread alive

Deepspirituals:
@Zwooks :

I just Composed this Below ..


PROPOSED PROJECT OF GREENWAYS FOR CASAVA GROWING

LOCATION :
.

LAND SPACE : 5 HECTARES ( 75 PLOTS)

COST ESTIMATE :

FUNDS : GRANTS .

REQUIREMENTS:

LAND ACQUIRED ON LEASE .

DURATION OF LEASE : 1 YEAR .

CLEARING OF BUSH AND CUTTING OF TREES.

PACKING AND BURNING OF CLEARED BUSH :


PLOUGHING:

TRACTOR RENTAGE:

CASAVA STICKS SUPPLIES: IITA ,SPECIFICATIONS ( TME 419 )


MAKING OF RIDGES .

BOREHOLES DRILLING WITH PUMPING MACHINES : 3 PIECES


TANKS FOR WATER STORAGE :


LABOUR :

FERTILIZER:

My dear dont waste ur money if u have such to put into agriculture

A real farmer will laugh at u for wanting to irrigate cassava

Farming is very technical, each bullet point you listed above are real subject matters that can take you years to understand

Dont be afraid of growing the local varieties accepted in your locality, not everything is tme419....

All cassava varieties have their place and use

Kehfie:
Can it still be profitably grown with irrigation

It can only be answered, when u hear mallams that cant speak english have cleared all seeco 719 seeds from the market by November......


Im still a learner in this game

Zwooks:
You assume you know everything. Unlike you, not everyone works blindly

A thread i opened years ago looking 4 answers.......Let me tell u the truth, there is no answer on nairaland

Just learn from ur mistakes, those that have something to share are bashed away from the platform

#I have no intentions to sell anything or coqch anyone, i just need people to genuinely point out my errors

Help me do that

Finally maize cultivated with irrigation will yield way way better than rainfed maize.....

If u start with the question of how many acres will fill a truck load, u hace started opening urself 2 errors

Your question also bothers on yield

Averagely a bag measurement here swallows 350 cobs, but on rare occasions if cob are very big 280-300

D guys that do the tying say that if u really get giant cobs 200 sef and its filled up

One thing is that if you get giant cobs, the guys tying are motivated as it means more money 4 them cos no matter how the buyer wants to stuff more corn inside the bag, it will just be giving way

Once you get bumper harvest with big cobs, the practices of the buyers will favor you, if the bag is too heavy, it can even divide b4 getting to destination

Zwooks:
I like to ask you. From your personal experiences so far...

1. How many acres of SeedCo 510 does one need to cultivate to fill up a ponpon ?


2. How many acres of regular native maize seeds does one need to cultivate to fill up a ponpon ?

Pon pon(is it cabster)

Women that buy 4rm me use mazda626 to transport theirs and it takes a skillful tying for it to carry 7bags

Ameboperoo2:
I have said it on before that the SC510 yeild is low compared to others. Even their website stated the yeild to be 5 tonnes per hectare.
I harvested some Sc510 from my farm yesterday. The cobs were small

From the pictures at the back u dont have population, if u plant sc510 for fresh market, u will loose , its a good corn cos it can tolerate 60×20 if ur planter xan do it.....
D local maize too is a Good variety for interplanting with cassava, local variety hates popukation even with recommended dose of fertilizer
Stop selling ur sc510 fresh, peel the cobs and u will see dat u cant get to the root of the cob in 1 bite but dos local one have big middle stick thats y d cobs are very big

epainos:
Lol!

Oga, did you read where I wrote I used to cultivate 1ha every month? I used to be a bulk seller. If you know your business, you can do it. I maximized land then, too. You expand without maximising yours first becauase land is not scarce for you. And listen, I wouldn't have changed. Do you want to know why I changed? I was stubborn like you. I didn't want to listen to this retailing idea until I met someone. That person changed me. Have you read my health and wealth threads? Do you want to know how I got involved? I overworked myself doing farm work..always thinking...and my health suffered. So, I had to relax. I was forced to. And then, I had to earn money na. So, that's why I looked into other ways of making money from home. What do you want to say about working from home? And guess what? I learned Python and then data analysis. Then, I returned to my guy who had been telling me about retailing. I put everything together....saw the data...and I said wow! Wow!! Wow!!! I was still benched ... My doctor told me I needed more rest, but I could do gardening. That was how I started practising. My old act was to go for mono or ploy crop farming. Now, I am going into multi-crops gardening. I met sustainable experts, and I even travelled outside..boom...improved my skilled on microbes. I have my lab ...oga. Microscope and other equipment for analysing soil. I went for courses.

And I have practised it. I have trained 2 people who are making huge profit from just a plot of land (my niece who used it to raise cash to study in the UK....lol...she has an allotments in Herdforshire presently, and I visited her recently. Wetin this one dey talk?....And then a friend who has done me good in the past to make money) I am not willing to train anyone into profit making...but for health...yes. Wetin you dey talk? Trash! Trash!! Trash!!!

So, do what you wanna do. You have been in the business struggling for years like your predecessors, and you don't think a change might make a difference. Lol. Oh! According to you, the problems people who grew up in on farms face is different from problems those who grew up in cities face are different when they both farm in the same settings...lol. Listen to yourself, na.

You can not explain things because you have no data to analyse it. Period. Data analysis makes difficult things simple. Never could I have imagined that there would be self driving cars. What? But when they brought out vector analysis, optic, and data analysis, it became a reality. Wow! Wow!! Wow!!!

Keep living in the same old way, and keep saying trash.


Good luck with this.

Farmers always want to talk down people with new ideas because they think their own way is the ONLY way out. Can you see how I was initially talked down as if I don't know what I am saying? Had it been that I didn't push it further, they would have successfully shut me up. Just imagine that the other one who said 40 naira per cob maize is a good deal and that the OP is greedy. And he said he is a farmer oooo. Lol. I had to ask him if he had taken his medication that day. Lol... If he truly has a farm he visits occasionally, he goes to just play around. He is useless. How can you say you are a farmer and not know that N40 per cob is a bad deal. Even people who don't know about farming came later to even tell me that using N120 is an insult when a cob is sold N500 in many places. Lol. If you listen to farmers, you are a dead meat. Lol. Nigerian farmers are the worst marketers. Farmers are the worst entrepreneurs. They are tools to make other people rich. And they glorify themselves in their madness, stupidity, foolishness, and poverty. They even celebrate it. Lol.

Sorry about your health problems. May God heal you fast so u can continue what u love doing

Let me interject this
If i were you and will go back to farming

Dat cash u want to use to buy 15plot in an open up area save it and buy yourself a dyna truck, then enter d bush to cultivate, harvest time truck ur produce by yourself to market.... it will pay u more (this is 4 vegetables)

For tree crops, u can buy d land but 700k 4 agricultural land 1axre in ogun state is a big scam , l will advice u never to buy, dont even buy lands that u have big suspicion will develop, except u r an indigene of dat area........There is omo-onile wahala @ every price point in the development of an area

Ogami I go still tell u calm down, d most important thong in agricultural enterprise is cheap lands

I tot diziani madueke is the master mind of fuel scarcity........


Nigeria i hail thee, seems there is no worthy dog to hang this fuel issue on

epainos:
What you want to hear from me
It is around $150 to $300 and can be higher. Then, it is huge. Sellers don't attempt to import them cos they will sell at $400 minimum and then add the cost of shipping, which is huge. 2 inches is not huge, and you will think that 3 inches will be fairly bigger... but nope. It is extremely huge and thick. To make you understand it better, when I was cultivating new 1 ha cucumbers and tomatoes of every month, I had 3 inches surface pump per ha. I did not use 3 inches filter with the 3 inches surface pump if that is what you want to try to do (I strongly believe this is what you want to do). I used 2 inches, which is available. I use a reducer at the input and then expand it again at the output. It worked well. However, I created a by pass so that when the first 5 mins that I know sand may be innthe water is over, and the flow bypasses the filter. And the setup worked excellently well. So, it also depends on how clean your water is.

No seller will import a 3-inch filter. Lol. Of course, they will look at you like you are silly. Lol. But if you make pre-order (pay before import), they will gladly do it for you; however, they will knock you out. You can try it. Be ready to pay $200 to $500 at N1500 and then a huge cost of shipping. If you decide to use sea, it will be cheaper, but using air....you will know what's up.

With my exposure and experience, here is what you need to hear
You are gradually falling into the trap of spending more than your profit because you are expanding your land area. You are purely working for retailers and agents. Lol. You want to make more money because what you are earning is not satisfactory. Lol. And it is the reason your brain is looking into more sophisticated equipment. Lol. But in reality, you are a small-scale farmer.

Check
When the ONLY option is available, is to buy more sophiscated equipment to increase profits, and you know it is not easily possible because of your income....then, you are using a wrong strategy. Move away from expanding in that area, and move a bit higher or lower in the value chain line.

Can you see that everything I said is happening to you? Lol. It is your call, bro. You either find new funds to get more sophisticated equipment to keep up with cultivating more land area, or you move up or down the value chain.

And the funny thing is that I give you only 1 year, you will pollute the new land area..lol. chemicals and fertilizers...boom. yield will not be like your first attempt. You will start thinking of expanding again. Lol. Let me get more land so that I can rest some of them. Lol.

That's the cycle of unprofitable farming.

If you are really ready to learn and you learn composting, carbon cycle, microbes, and you understand how to regenerate your land without using fertilzers, you will do wonderfully well. You will be amazed by your yield. And you will need less land area to make that profit you are targeting.

Guy! Na your farm...keep expanding...keep buying more sophicsted stuff...or keep fabricating. What I know is that it is counterproductive.

What makes a farmer who cultivates new 1 ha every month to downsize must be interesting. When you discover the truth, it shall set you free. But when you program your mind to do what you have set up to do, you will struggle for a long time.

If you know of 15 plots to 100 plots in a town near Lagos where people are already living, I am interested. The last one I saw told me to pay 1 million per plot for 11 plots. After asking my lawyer, the real value of the area is far less...so I didn't even bother to talk to the owner again... lol. I am presently in touch with someone else and this place is even in a more civilised place than that of 1million...looking at 700k to 800k per plot... Still I am keeping my options open. What I know now is why I don't mind buying 15 plots, fence the land, build a bungalow there, and create a sustainable garden. If I cultivate 1 acre tomato there, it will be massive... I mean massive harvest. And I will not touch any chemical or salty fertilizer. Never again. Then, listen, I will retail everything. Yes. I will. That's the way to make it big. Let me open your eyes.

If I cultivate 10,000 tomatoes... I will harvest 2kg from each plant consistently every month for a minimum of 7 months while other farmers harvest for 2 mths max...and boom... they are cultivating more land areas. That is 5 tons per week. If I give agents, I will make around N6m sales after removing agents' commission. But if I retail the tomatoes, I'm making 10 million to N12.5million per week. Lol. And it will be on less than 3 plots of land. Lol. For you and other farmers, you may need 10 acres to achieve this. Lol.

Of course, I don't expect to hit this straight up. Why? I need to train my workers, and I know they aren't stable. Though I have the potential to make such, I won't start like that. Not because of me, but I am dealing with unpredictable humans.

When you know the truth, it shall set you free.

I suspect u too like me grew up in the city very far away from an egalitarian lifestyle then decided to go into crops, thats why the bulk of what u listed as problems are really not problems to people in rural communities.

I imagine that your wish comes true and you get this land close to the city, I can bet u that you might make your sales but U wont pocket a kobo from your revenue, REASON being the fundamental nature of humans..........Some things are not really easy to explain with words.....Thats why most farms are secluded very far from human residence...... "i know u wont agree"

About dat filter i wanted to know whats inside, if its like a special pipe, i will buyd d pipe and fabricate d filter

epainos:
Why are you bringing equipment to this discussion? Only you as a small scale farmer who claimed to not have access to fund. Ha ba! 3 inches of filter again. That huge thing. Where does this come in? We aren't talking about equipment....but you keep bringing the discussion up....planter, tractor, and now a huge filter. ha ba na. Do you want to start testing my ability? And why do you need 3 inches when you are not into something big? You talked about the high cost of equipment, and I showed you how you can even lower your cost, yet, you just want to keep increasing your expenses. You claimed that you would rather expand by using more land. And then, you are using a more sophisticated irrigation system. Lol. You will soon dig many boreholes for your small production. And then, you will pay more for fuel. All in the name that you cannot retail the little products you have.

I think you have made up your mind on what exactly you want to do. My posts aren't for you...and I am now sure that we have different ways of brainstorming issues. I respect your opinion and view... but I want to draw the curtain here.

I wish you well while you expand your land area....while you buy a more sophisticated irrigation system....more petrol...and you should be ready to tackle theft and herdsmen.

Take care bro!

Dats 1 of the few things i have not figured out a way to fabricate as i have not seen it.........

If anybody knows how i can get it in ibadan or lagos, pls link me or direct me........

I have asked a lot of sellers and they look at me with queer eyes

Op sorry for derailing ur thread

epainos:
I don't want to override this group and hijack the content for my benefit, and it is the reason I want to limit myself. "Practising farmers" is just a term. I would have preferred you to use "Successful Farmers". So, you have listed challenges. To be successful, you must navigate these hurdles or jump over them. Meaning, you face them...battled with them...or you simply avoid them. So, there is a pattern for you to be successful.


Exactly my point here, sir. A farmer who can not afford these things you have mentioned here should see himself as a small-scale farmer. No do above yourself. And when you are a small-scale farmer, use what works. A small-scale farmer should not expand land area farming because it will cost him more. The right strategy is to work on making consistent little cash. This is the proven strategy.

I am also a small-scale farmer. In fact, most greenhouses are small-scale farmers too, but that doesn't mean they are not making millions.

As a small-scale farmer, you avoid those high costs. So, how do you make money? You move into a higher level on the value chain of production. Meaning that you move closer to the consumers. Either you process your produce into a raw material closer to the final consumer or sell directly to the consumer. The idea is that the closer you get to the consumers, the more profit you have. If you don't move closer, some other people will fill in the gap and make more money. Therefore, you spend less time on the farm because you cultivate less area of land, you pay less to workers, and you even have more time to focus on your business.


Nope. You farm that way because you have not seen the reason to change. When you see another style work well, you will abandon the old style.

For me, the main reason I am not active presently is security because I will have to secure everything. Everyone has challenges he faces. Setting up CCTV, election of fence and gate, solar street light, etc. are additional expenses for me. And then, do you think I will set up such inside a bush? Nope. I would rather have it where there are houses already. Meaning that I am going to buy a plot at an extremely high price. And I am not complaining. I am just working towards it. You may not see the reason why I have to do this. But I can easily do all that I am saying here in my compound while it will be hard for you in your open 20 acres in the bush.

My point is that you have to understand the challenges at hand and then formulate a strategy to overcome it. If I didn't have the means to do this, believe me, I would still profer a solution.

The issue is that you don't plan from farm to market, but you start from market to farm. If you understand this sentence, you have made it already. All of you plan from farm to market, which is wrong. The OP of this thread rushed into a farm and then got hooked with the market, which is the first assignment he was supposed to solve.

Your market determines how you farm. Period. Fix marketing first.


If my market demands me to produce like 20 tons per week, I may consider using a tractor. The means, I will cultivate around 3 acres every week. So, my tractor will keep working. But if my market is lower than that, why should I ever bother to go for it? I will stay small.

I already know that tractor mechanics are not reliable, so why should I look for their service. Of course, I will not try to face the problem but avoid it. So, if I don't have my own tractor and have a reliable engineer to work on it, I will not go big. It is very simple. I would rather avoid the problem.


This is why you need to count the cost of your production before starting. This is where writing a business plan is a necessity. If you decide to use high cost equipment, make sure you use it and produce massive yield so that it is going to be worth its purchase.


There are many foolish people like this. They did not write a good plan before starting. That's just it. Period.



This sounds like justifying your inefficiency. This is what you are doing. I am not saying there aren't challenges, but you want to justify your weakness.

Did I write here that you should use huge equipment? Lol. You came up with it. You mentioned planter first na. Did I mention using a tractor first also? Lol.

Again...Read this paragraph...I will not repeat myself again.

An Example

Farmer A works on 3 acres. He produces dried corn. 3 months to mature, and then 1.5 months to dry. It takes longer many times. So, he could do 2 cycles per year. He needs to rest also. Yes, most of you always do a maximum of twice per year. He makes 2 bags per half a plot (your yield), so that 3 acres give 72 bags. At N85k per bag, that's N6.12 million sales. Annual sales will be N12.24 million. Shikena. Expenses and cost of production are still going to be removed.

Farmer B goes first to market and finds that he can set up a selling point and sell 100 cobs daily. Are you saying you can not arrange this? Look at it. I am spelling it out for you since it seems simple issues don't get clear easily to most of you. He needs to cultivate 600 plants per week. Tell me, if you plant every Mondays, will you not be able to space every well 600 plants? Look at it very well. One help is enough to assist and make it consistent all through the year. The cycle is just 75 days. I will not work out the rest for you...I can work everything out. It is called a business plan. I will set it in front of you. You will follow it. I will tell you the max and area you need. Of course, you may not need more than that. Look at this plan...a plot is enough for six cycles. Yes. Do you really need up to six cycles for this plan? Do you need a planter for this? Think deep na. Of course not. I am not going to work it out for you. My point here is that you work less on a farm, use less land area, and also pay less to workers. But you move focus to retailing. What is the business here with the huge tractors you have brought in again? Always finding excuses. Think deep.

If farmer B can be consistent, sales per week is N180k @ N300 per cob. Of course. He can cut into three parts and sell at N100 if the buyers want N100 worth of corn. And per annum is N8.6 million sales. This is for a selling point using a small piece of land. Very small. What stops him from having 5 points of sales and them increasing its production on the farm in consistent with his sales point. This is working from the market to the farm and not vice versa. But you all work from farm to market, and then you come here to NL crying for help.

Which option gives more profit? Which option gives more rest of mind? Which option is more efficient? Which option uses less expensive equipment?

The ball is in your court. If you choose not to investigate what I am teaching you...I am sure I am going to receive nothing less than 10 emails from silent readers who will thank me for these posts.

With what I have written here, do I sound like a non Practising farmer? Those acres you are farming, I can analyse them for you. I can set up your farm from A to Z. Do you want to talk about big farms? I don't want to start boasting here. Practising farmers ...bla bla bla. I call them inefficient farmers. Period. Working a large piece of land, buying expensive equipment are nothing. What makes you successful is first having a working business plan, then a good marketing plan. If you don't have these two items and you jump into a farm, you will crash.

Good luck to you!

How can i get this 3"

epainos:
You are welcome, madam.

It is very encouraging when one meets farmers whonare open minded, and can think deeply. The agricultural sector in Nigeria is thought to be managed by shallowed thinkers. Yes, this is how it was. But with the emergence of technology, especially statistics and data, smart minds have moved in.

Think about it. The ONLY area the world power has not got hold of is the food supply. And they are getting it right. Yes... they are. Seeds are almost out of the production of the common farmer. Gone are the days farmers produce their seeds.

Nigeria is a typical example of how food production is taken out of the reach of the common man. One day, my father sat down with me, and he wondered how Nigerians don't farm again. Obasanjo gave us Operation Feed the Nation during his time. Lol.

The irony part is that we are having an explosive population. Should farmers not increase? Guess what? Billionaires have started using tech to reduce man power on farms....genetics to create seeds and breeds. Hmmm!

If farmers who are small scales start seeing themselves as big shots, especially in Africa...it is funny. These farmers should retail their products, but they don't want to do it. Rather, they willing want to give the profit there to an agent who does not know anything about farming. Why won't the farmer be poor? He is going to work himself to madness in the bush. He thinks he is efficient, but not.

Also, here is the narrative here. The optimal production is getting 25cm by 70cm spacing and it has been documented by various papers and manufacturers. But poor farmers always find a way to justify why they can not meet up. Oh...we cannot buy planters, we can not do this...we can not do that. But even though they don't buy planters and they planted just 1/16th of a plot of land per week, they can easily get that population easily. Why? They move systematically and consistently. But these ones think they are efficient by cultivating bigger land. So, they don't have planters, and they want to cover 2 acres in a day. Come on! Is that smartness or foolishness? And the so called guy trying to be a consultant here wrote bold that "everyone knows it is not possible to get 20 by 70" spacing. Damn, that nonsense. He and his inefficient team are the ones who can not achieve such because they are blind and poor in the way they think. And they will NEVER get it right. Period.

These set of farmers are the ones who allowed us in this mess. Small minds that think they are big shots. They are unproductive, yet they want to position themselves as commercial farmers. Instead of them to keep the retailing area of the business and making all the money for themselves. They are their worst enemies.

I don't work with any person because I know there are many dull people in this area in Nigeria. I am not being proud here but stating the facts. When I meet a rich mind in thoughts, I align with such.

May God bring people with rich thoughts into this area in Nigeria. Honestly, it is frustrating having to engage people of such mind set everytime. Make dem go to school and learn... they won't.

I'm sorry if this touches anyone, but seriously....I pray intelligent people dominate this industry in Nigeria. We need a change.

Again, it is very encouraging to know that we still have people who can see the real issues when facts and figures are laid on the table.

I understand ur point of view but please hear practicing farmers out......

Agriculture is gold when u get it right but you will have to provide all infrastructure by yourself, imagine getting tractors, planters harvester and many other implements by yourself, when are you going to make the profit

I can still put it to u dat the way we farm in Nigeria is way cheaper than modern Agrìcultural methods because there are no infrastrcture......The best infrastructure avaialable is the yearly pay laborers

Example Once You buy a tractor or planter, u get locked into some hidden cost that only becomes apparent during operations like mechanic, spares and training of operators. DO U REALLY Want to bear this head ache....., people that provide tractor service 4 example want to only plough, many dont have harrows and just a handful have ridgers....

Where will u get roadside tractor mechanic to service your stuff....

Dat is just for example

Infrastructure is very expensive and u better know what you are doing else u get a pile of junk metal

I farm close to an ultramodern crop farm divided into paddocks that bought all new John deere machines from tractors down to combined harvesters, now the place lies in ruins, they only cultivate cassava as i speak with u with mostly manual labor.......
The machines are all decaying to scrap, they now go out to rent tractors way less powerful than what they have

Try and hear practicing farmers out, we face real problems that are solved to the best of current available infrastricture

Zwooks:
Everyone knows you can't get the 22,000 cobs on theoretical basis without the use of heavy fertilizer regime. And as much without using NPK, a farmer must change spacing from 75/25 to something with more space

Biggest cost in maize production

Zwooks:
As for me, I only buy hybrids. Sadly I didn't read up on the yield of C510 before buying it. Would be growing local maize and 719 next. The yield is the real deal

Sc510 is not bad...Its just dat the xteristics does not suit fresh market corn, its cobs are medium size but it makea up in grain quality and tolerance to very high population

What u throw away after eating sc510 fresh is small compared to local corn..........dat was the beginining of me knowing dat corn pass corn

Its better one knows the market he is selling to and tailor products to that market,d market i sell to wants big cobs, how u get the big cobs dont matter

If i can get a hybrid dat will give me very big cobs, color yellow; Original hybrids all tolerate big population and is cheap, fresh corn business becomes better

Ayemileto:
How do I know the seed I'm getting from the market is the local one, and not a 2nd (or nth) generation hybrid?

Most important thing in maize is that the seed is not more than 3 months old, with this in mind its better u save ur seeds or source from someone that just finish harvesting his farm.......

I know this habit should be kicked against but that is the only way to know what u are planting, yield is way less than hybrids but u make up 4 it with populaton

As for hybrids , if i must plant them I must live close to the breeding company so that i can know the batch to determine the date it was planted and harvested before packaging...

Its paimful to use your money to buy problems thinking you are buying aolutions

Zwooks:
Does the writing appear like that of a real farmer to you or someone who thinks straight ?

Starve the nuisance of attention. You are listening to a person that says you harvest 21,000 cobs as they ripe and sell daily. As if it's that simple the entire maize wouldn't harden

Dont quickly call anybody Names

My goal is to farm maize intensively without fertilizers and its doable, he might just drop d lead

What he is proposing is already being done with cassava, some people in conjuction with their wives or an array of fufu sellers do this, one bike load of cassava daily

Not 4 me though, i love bulk money

Let us just share experiences and become better

epainos:
God bless you. Farmers are the ones saying its N100 to N120 because they don't know about retailing. They want to justify their weakness.

Now, using your quote for premium retailing of the data the guy projected above,

Fresh Corn cobs
21350 @ N500 gives N10,675,000 lol... Viola...

Just imagine the farmer said some of his planta don't bring good cobs and they are neglected. Lol. Just imagine using a staggering cultivation method so you dont do it all at once and pay attention to your crops. You harvest daily as you sell. Just imagine. Then, you can relax and make a very good soil preparation, use irrigation, and make sure your planting spacing is intact. Why not? Use a planter to get the job done if there is a need.

Does that price above not justify the effort? Of course, I know that no matter how bad it is, I can make huge cobs with lots of grains. Why not cut a cob into 3 or 2 to sell at 250 for one. Or if I decided to sell at 300 for a cob and I cut it into 3, that's N100 for one. Each of the 3 parts will still have more grains than the ones with scanty grains.

Farm with sense.

Thank you, bro. God bless you.

If only I could meet u in person, I will watch u try this and see how you summount the obstacles you will face

If u prevail and make fantastic profits I will copy you

epainos:
Exactly. I stopped using hybrids, too. Why? I am more exposed to nature and sustainability now than when I started this journey. Now you can see. I love this. And farmers should learn from this guy. There is something I want to still get you to, but I always do my things systematically. You will soon see.

I kinda like you. There was one guy who was quoting rubbish and saying jargon here, and I cautioned him. He fired back that he is a farmer and bla bla bla in thisnsame thread. I left him alone. Lol. A farmer who has to return to his team to tell him the price of a cob of maize..lol. And he was jumping around like he is a pro. I was watching him...the same guy jumped to another thread of one guy doing his maize in another thread...at the end, he was being schooled there. Lol. Some people, eh? But you waited to see what I was trying to do, and here is the start. I'm sure you will learn. Data analysis is the new discovery for innovation and increasing efficiency. Figures are what will make you think out of the box. You don't know how to use figures. You will just be working blindly or counterproductive.


You have found a leverage in production. If you sit down very well and work on marketing and sales, believe me, you may downsize how big your farm is to focus on even tweaking production on a small scale. Not necessarily use expensive equipment, but you will see.

Let's put prices on our Sales

Fresh Corn cobs
21350 cobs @ N100 gives N2,135,000
@ N120 gives N2,562,000
@ N150 gives N3,202,500
Prices are quoted in this thread. We all know. This is retailing. If you want to sell per bag in the market,maybe. But I am advocating for retailing.

Dried Corn Grains
35 bags @ N80k per bag gives N2,800,000 (new maize price you quoted previously)
@ N110k gives N3,850,000 (latest prices you quoted)

All prices are quotes you posted here...so, theybare all your figures.

My comment
Look at these prices above. Dried corn is not stable and will fluctuate eratically in the coming months. It may crash drastically to N70k. However, fresh corn cobs are stable. I don't see it crashing below N120....rather, it will be more expensive no matter what the economy of Nigeria is in the coming months.

Look into this. Let each farmer look into the following:

1. Seeds, nutrients, pests, and diseases management cost.
2. Land cost, labour cost, and other related human capital expenses.
3. Harvest and post harvest expenses
4. Logistics to market and agent fees
5. If not selling via agent, the cost of retailing. For Fresh Corn...gas/firewood/Charcoal, pots, selling points fees, association of hawkers or road side fees, touts and extortion costs,.etc. For dried grains, the cost of shelling, bagging, storage, and logistics to market.

The Big Question
Farmers reading this should think deeply. Pick your pen and calculator and get to the bottom of all your expenses, and see how you can get this done. So, what is your conclusion? Let us have feedback from maize farmers here.

Special Note
How many cycles can you get for dried maize and fresh corn. Lol. Time is money. Before you wait for dried corn to fully get dried, I believe you would have gone two cycles for fresh corn. Farmers, start thinking deeply. Data analysis is the way forward for tweaking and increasing efficiency.

So, what do you all have to say? Which is more profitable?

As a farmer, no time 4 roasting or boiling corn 4 sale that time is spent monitoring how d next batch of produce will cone out........Dried and fresh both have their time and place and a good farmer should always have produce at each season in a cycle........

Most important thing in corn is efficiency, so that at a high price point, ur revenue is turned into profit and not covering cost....

I sold at 36k april this year, and fresh corn went as high as 60k this year 1st week of june.......

Most important thing i see in corn is efficiency, how many bags can one get from a unit of land at minimum cost ....

epainos:
Yes, this estimation is in line with the average conversion that I know, too. Excellent.


Sure, because the rate of dryness determines the weight and how bulky it is. The size of the grains, the shell weight itself, and even the starch inside. I totally agree with you.

So, let use 30 - 40 bags with an average of 35 bags. Of course, this is where the efficiency and smartness of farmers come in. A smart farmer will tweak his output with seed varieties, crop management, theft control, harvesting methods, etc, to increase yield. Exactly what you were trying to say initially. I know these factors will set in, but we will make a very good assumption and do the calculation, then we will put notes for these factors that affect the final output. So, smart farmers know the hurdles ahead and profer likely solutions before embarking on the journey.



Excellent. I would like to know your own yield. Thanks for this. Sure, August is around the corner. We will discuss and see how to tweak your production to even achieve higher or tweak sales for more profit.

My comment on your quick estimation and analysis of dried corn and wet corn sales based on your experience on your farm

Fresh Corn Cobs
61 bags = 21,350 cobs. Can you see that my 22,000 plant population is in line with this estimation? This is my job. When I tell you something, listen. I always tell farmers. Of course, with a planter and even high efficiency, it is higher. Another issue is that you will get almost times 1.5 to 1.7 if a good variety is used and the soil is good despite having 22,000 plant population. So, you can see my point. Anyway, let's use your figure, which is 21,350 cobs of fresh corn.

Dried Corn Grains
Using 35 bags as your output (I assume these bags are grains and not dried cobs with grains still intact...final product, I mean. If not, kindly correct me).

What Next
1. What are the total sales of 21,350 fresh corn cobs?
2. What are the total sales of 35 bags of dried corn grains?

3. We will still make a quick estimate of the cost of start-up cost, cost of production, and expenses. Then, we will subtract the total of these costs from the total sales generated above.

This is a mini business plan I'm writing here for you. And then, you can see one or two things you may have ignored.

Hmmmmmm

I get u but let me tell u dat if I source my seeds locally I usually get 100% germination with excellent vigor especially when I carefully select and replant my seeds .............. I dont plant seeds older than 3 months

Whats the use buying expensive seeds, treating and getting poor germination + the transport involved......

Waste starts when u band fertilizer with planter to dead seeds

I really dont want to rant but if i must buy hybrid it must be by an extremely local breeding company that I know when d seeds are harvested

epainos:
Please stop this. We are talking about sales ONLY here with comparison.

You wrote that dried maize is more profitable than fresh maize. So how should we do it? The right way is to have an estimation of both with the same yield side by side and them see which gi is more profit. Don't you get it?

Don't digress into production. That you said is the bone of contention I am interested in. If you want to investigate something... you focus on it. All these issues you raised are peculiar to you as far as I am concerned. Other farmers may not face them. So, do you use your inefficiency to predict output to to estimation for the general public.

Having said the above, leave production alone. I am not interested in production for now. Leave the stories about planters, management of 20 by 70 Side. You are the one who doesn't know how to manage su h plant... Many farmers have perfected it. So, leave the stories about your inefficiency aside.

Now, go back to my post and get us the estimation of how dried maize is more profitable. If you can not do it, then it means you don't know about it. Period. If you can not do the estimation, then keep quiet and NEVER make such bold statements again. You can't estimate, but you are telling the general public dried maize is more profitable. This is how you mislead people.


Your inefficiency is your issue, which you should try to correct... rather, you want to use more land because you can easily bombard the whole grains with chemicals. Anyway, I am still not interested in production cos you want to divert the topic.

Oga....now back to the estimation. The assumptions are there in my post. I will put it here again.


Use the following figures:

Option
Farmer decided to use 70cm by 25cm planting space. Let's assume everything is filled up. So that plant population is approx. 22,000.

Fresh
Harvest: 22,000 fresh cobs.


Dried
Use a variety you know very well. Give us the usual output if 22,000 plant population is used. Tell us the tons 22,000 dried corn will give.


So, compare the two prices. Let's see.


Option 2
Your output is 2 bags per plot from the highlighted part of your post. 2 bags of dried grains or 2 bags of fresh cobs? Now, explain what you are saying. Then, convert that to the other one and give us a proper estimation. What I am saying is that if it is 2 bags of fresh cobs, you will tell us how many kg it is when dried and shelled. If it is 2 bags of dried grains, you will tell us the number of cobs it is and show us how you get it. Also, put all the factors you raised above concerning harvesting and bla bla bla into your estimation. I want to see the real estimated conversion and your method of doing it. If you can not do this, please keep quiet and stop misleading the general public.

I am waiting for the figures. If your figures make sense, then you are right. I'm not arguing with anyone....but all I need is the proof.

So get your pen and calculator....or smart phone ready. Let's go there.

My marginal output is 2bags per alakpin(dats half a plot to a layman)

On very bad harvest i get 1bags per alakpin

I hardly allow my maize to dry cos I cant secure it but I have maize drying down now and i will give you my own update and result soonest dat should be august ending by Gods grace

I have people living on my farm this year

epainos:
Please stop this. We are talking about sales ONLY here with comparison.

You wrote that dried maize is more profitable than fresh maize. So how should we do it? The right way is to have an estimation of both with the same yield side by side and them see which gi is more profit. Don't you get it?

Don't digress into production. That you said is the bone of contention I am interested in. If you want to investigate something... you focus on it. All these issues you raised are peculiar to you as far as I am concerned. Other farmers may not face them. So, do you use your inefficiency to predict output to to estimation for the general public.

Having said the above, leave production alone. I am not interested in production for now. Leave the stories about planters, management of 20 by 70 Side. You are the one who doesn't know how to manage su h plant... Many farmers have perfected it. So, leave the stories about your inefficiency aside.

Now, go back to my post and get us the estimation of how dried maize is more profitable. If you can not do it, then it means you don't know about it. Period. If you can not do the estimation, then keep quiet and NEVER make such bold statements again. You can't estimate, but you are telling the general public dried maize is more profitable. This is how you mislead people.


Your inefficiency is your issue, which you should try to correct... rather, you want to use more land because you can easily bombard the whole grains with chemicals. Anyway, I am still not interested in production cos you want to divert the topic.

Oga....now back to the estimation. The assumptions are there in my post. I will put it here again.


Use the following figures:

Option
Farmer decided to use 70cm by 25cm planting space. Let's assume everything is filled up. So that plant population is approx. 22,000.

Fresh
Harvest: 22,000 fresh cobs.


Dried
Use a variety you know very well. Give us the usual output if 22,000 plant population is used. Tell us the tons 22,000 dried corn will give.


So, compare the two prices. Let's see.


Option 2
Your output is 2 bags per plot from the highlighted part of your post. 2 bags of dried grains or 2 bags of fresh cobs? Now, explain what you are saying. Then, convert that to the other one and give us a proper estimation. What I am saying is that if it is 2 bags of fresh cobs, you will tell us how many kg it is when dried and shelled. If it is 2 bags of dried grains, you will tell us the number of cobs it is and show us how you get it. Also, put all the factors you raised above concerning harvesting and bla bla bla into your estimation. I want to see the real estimated conversion and your method of doing it. If you can not do this, please keep quiet and stop misleading the general public.

I am waiting for the figures. If your figures make sense, then you are right. I'm not arguing with anyone....but all I need is the proof.

So get your pen and calculator....or smart phone ready. Let's go there.

22,000 fresh cobs of maize will give u approximately 61-62 bags of maize(my local standard) (the bigger the cobs d lesser maize goes into the bags)(approximately 350 in a bag)

22,000 dry cobs of maize, i can't say becos that is where we start knowing maize pass maize, ive seen varieties that once its thrashed d bulk of d maize is the maize seeds and with 22,000 cobs you will get about 30-40 bags of dry maize

For dry maize i dare say it will vary

epainos:
Very funny comments..lol.

Why are you making bold statements that fresh maize is not profitable at this time? I gave you a simple estimation...and you are talking about a planter. What's the correlation between a planter and this estimation? If you can't make this estimation, how can you know which is more profitable?

Cost

To get good agronomic practices with 70*25 is possible but would be expensive......

My current record is 3.5 bags on half a plot but 2bags is a consistent result 4 me......

One silly thing i know about maize is dat not all maize will become ripe for picking at once no matter d hybrid, once u harvest just 4get about pucking d remaining some other times as every hungry soul raids ur farm

Secondly all buyers will cull umwanted cobs from d stack(4 me dis wasted cobs will still mature if left alone and contribute to final grain count

I dont bother about population count as ur yield usually depends on how good ur agronomic practices are, For maize, I choose to remain at a level where errors would be 4given......

2 weeks drought on 70*25 is not as forgiving as 90*90

All in all i just strive to make profit