₦airaland Forum

Dougthy:
Good morning. I am patiently waiting for your feedback. Thanks

I noticed the same thing on my goats side too, especially when they are not used to OR brought up with the feed. What I do is to introduce the ingredients to them one by one or combine two together usually, more of what they will be eager to accept and that they would do otherwise as in the feed ingredients.

So I began to compound their feed myself to look more or less like poultry feed. Moreover that is what I sell. I compound it, feed them forages first and later concentrates in the morning, concentrate through the early afternoon and forages for the rest of the day. Charlotte was exempted from that rule though. And one thing to help your goats well is to give them a good start from while they are still kids bearing in mind they're from good progeny. Feed them quality and balanced ration. Good medication also. And good feeding time. This is very important.

I will also discuss the importance of urea addition to their diet (yes, urea fertilizer but in low amount) and also salt lick

I will drop both the ration and feed formulae when I'm done here

I'm on 2% now. Once I get to charge, expect it. Really sorry for the delay. It escaped my mind totally.

About the cowpea production, I want to be very careful considering our climate, disease causing organisms (pathogens) and pests make up here in the south. We have lot of them here ready for cowpea especially if you're doing it on a large scale.

We are looking at 2 hectares but we deviced splitting them up into half acres, that's about 10 parts to reduce the load and impacts of the ecosystem with a minimum of 200m radius apart separated by natural vegetation. And that could be hard but we're making progress even considering weather timing now.

And moreover, we don't want to rely entirely on chemicals and we're looking at biological control agents (Semi organic farming) and currently we have acquired two strains of different fungi for insects control, a bio nematicide, and we're working on rhizobium..... More updates to come

When we started poultry, we started with 60 birds thereabouts. And those ones after the pros and cons, we made profits and left. Next batch came, 150 thereabouts and as we were going up there, more issues started coming up and more approaches were needed and applied. An those guys we were together, would say ' shey someone can't finish learning this thing?' I would laugh and say, 'all these researches no go finish?' As a problem comes, in fact before it comes, so many people are already looking at it except it comes with a very great force. We all dey learn everyday!

That farmer now has no option but to destroy the farm, what could have been prevented by buying maize leaf lethal necrotic disease resistant variety.

I decided to on my data and I saw this

This is going to be lengthy but I've got to pour it out.

So this morning I was typing a report given to me by a lecturer I'm very cordial with. There's this project he's on. Someone came from abroad and decided to settle for farming. He had a maize field of about 21 hectares going down the drainage. They just noticed after chemical weeding, some spots on the field started dying off. It started somehow as chemical injury until it began to spread, then they started seeing it as salt stress, later blight but all measures proffered no solution and somehow he met this man, some folks from crop protection began their findings.

It turned out to be the dreaded maize leaf lethal necrotic disease. I was just sorry for the person, multi-million Naira project. Just like that wasting. I was just imagining why someone would have that kind of a project and won't seek help from people from the scratch. There are so many outlets here in Nigeria that would offer awesome service. Maybe they just think because one could get away with small hold farming one could do that for large hold ones, it's wrong. Agriculture upsets the ecosystem, it upsets nature. You're favouring the growth of a specie at the expense of another one, you're interfering with natural law process of life. There are practices no agric experts will never reveal because that's where financial gain lies. And that's the Ecosystem Threshold Level and their concepts. There is a level you reach, nature fights back. Nature is just like the human homeostasis, keeping balance at a fairly constant range but for that to happen many process are involved! I'm just damn disturbed, feeling for that farmer

You can't manage one hectare like one acre, you can't manage one acre like a quarter of acre, a quarter like one plot! There are different. You're providing more food to favour some organisms (humans, armyworm, rodents, pests, pathogens) above the other, which would surely disturbed ecosystem! The more the size, the more the problems you'd see on your farm, and you want to come out with profit, you've got to fight with practical wisdom.

Naturally those thing would grow in the wild, rabbit will eat, rat will eat, pest and disease causing organisms would come eat theirs, humans too will eat, when nature pities them, they evolve to manage the assaults gradually to a level at balance! That's what whites are doing now for Genetically Modified Crops, they saw if you don't help these crops and indirectly assisting nature like an Indian giver, by conferring fighting factors right from their genetic make up, from their genes, you're practically doing nothing, you're causing more harms. See climate change. Over time, selfish human has assaulted nature to the extent nature now had no option but to demise the wisdom of man. At least if you can't guess when the next rain is, you won't go and apply herbicides or pesticides or your chemicals.

Dougthy:
I am really sorry for your loss. I think I have learned a lot from your post cos it is written is details. Kind you suggest a particular feed/concentrate you feed your goats? I feed my goats ruminant feed (feed lot ration) from Animal care but they aren't eating it very well compared to the poultry feed I give them once in a while. Thanks

I noticed the same thing on my goats side too, especially when they are not used to OR brought up with the feed. What I do is to introduce the ingredients to them one by one or combine two together usually, more of what they will be eager to accept and that they would do otherwise as in the feed ingredients.

So I began to compound their feed myself to look more or less like poultry feed. Moreover that is what I sell. I compound it, feed them forages first and later concentrates in the morning, concentrate through the early afternoon and forages for the rest of the day. Charlotte was exempted from that rule though. And one thing to help your goats well is to give them a good start from while they are still kids bearing in mind they're from good progeny. Feed them quality and balanced ration. Good medication also. And good feeding time. This is very important.

I will also discuss the importance of urea addition to their diet (yes, urea fertilizer but in low amount) and also salt lick

I will drop both the ration and feed formulae when I'm done here

Charlotte was barely two months old when she joined our enterprise. Goat Charlotte was named after Queen Charlotte, consort of king George III of the Great Britain and Ireland. The smallest of three kids born by her mother. Deemed undesirable, she was walking the pathway of African method of animal euthanasia, with her carcass thrown away.

She was suffering from bovine dermatophilosis, intestinal worm infestation and acute malnutrition, which we guessed might be due to lack of stamina to compete for milk. Her access to colostrum at birth also became a point of debate.

I decided to buy her despising all forms of discouragement and warning.

The course of treatment began and in less than a few weeks, Charlotte had changed physically, more and shining fur coat. In terms of size, she doubled her siblings.

Her feeding regiments were carefully planned and her feed, well formulated.

Charlotte was so cool with human beings and everyone would say could a goat behave like a sheep? She became emotionally attached to me, would like to follow me almost everywhere, which she sometimes did. Anytime I was back from school and she heard my voice, she would jump up and run ,just the way goat kids jump. She wouldn't sleep in her pen until coerced, and would behave just like a pet dog would do.

Because of emotion, I would treat her differently from the rest. After sometime, her feeding style changed. She would prefer human food to goat formulated feed, and from that to cut forages. Due to pity, I would serve her, her preference when I was around,and instruct that her preference be given when I was away.

Knowing the dangers of suddenly changing bovines' diets (goats, sheep, cattle etc) to energy (carbohydrates ,protein and fats and oil) rich feedstuffs (concentrates and lusture forages), which Charlotte was consuming from her feed and human food, I knew I needed to be careful against bloating (forages prevented constipation, and silicotine was added to her feed) and vaccinate her against ENTEROTOXEAMIA.

I never did the vaccination probably due to my tight academic and business schedules.

I was off to school for some time, a day to my leaving, she was not behaving good and had a bad appetite but because of what I was going through, I posed little attention to it. The last time I was around, I saw a sharp, neat infected cut on her back, which must have been due to a sharp object inflicted injury, I probed and couldn't be given a clear explanation. I proceeded the treatment and the wound was already healing before I left for school. I gave instructions out not to allow any of my farm animals out of their pens.

I just received a call now that Charlotte passed away, lying down after returning to her pen after I gave instructions on their movements.

My guesses:

(1) Human inflicted poison
(2) Feeding on poisonous forage (Clover leaf et
al)
(3) ENTEROTOXEAMIA

What is Enterotoxemia?

It is blood poisoning as a result of toxins produced by harmful clostridium species (Clostridium puregens, I can't remember the spellings well), usually present in the gut of bovines in low amount but could multiply to reach a disease causing level if livestock is fed with energy rich diet.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms may be absent but there could be,
1. Loss of appetite
2. Kicking the stomach due to pains (may not always be present)
3. Bloody stained fecal droppings or diarrhoea (may not always be present too)
4. Sudden unexplainable death
5. Psychosis (only if toxins are present in the brain). This way, the animal dies with the forelimb and hindlimb stretched forward and head bent backwards)

What are treatments are available?

Antibiotics therapy, but not always successful and chance of survival slime as antibiotics can eradicate the toxins source and not the toxins themselves.

Are there vaccinations?

Yes, it is the best course of decision. This is usually given against the types C and D and tetani (which causes tetanus) species of the clostridium. Best given towards the last days of goat gestational period so that antibodies developed might be passed on, to kids through colostrum (first dirty milk at birth), booster dose also given once a year.

I would have loved to probe her death within the ' framework of autopsy ' and ascertain the cause of death and if it had been human intentional poisoning, I would investigate the person and made necessary arrest irrespective of the state's grazing law.

I know baba at the top and his entourage would have supported me, unfortunately the country is not smiling and my boys don roast the meat chop

Well, I learnt my lessons from all standing points (emotion in the way of process, procrastination in the way of progress) and I hope as a goat farmer or not reading this, you'll also get something.

That's all for now. Cowpea (Beans cultivation) loading... ...

The ones at this side of the field from the start had issues. Although the soil structure was well affected due to cassava cultivation but at the end to prevent their shortness which might affect yield , gibberelin was applied and there was improvement at least.

The upper part of the pics was the control (their row not fertilized). Immediately they noticed improper nutrients remobilization, they had to fertilize the crop while at the milking stage, though rain delayed the fertilizer application till the late milking stage but the results were still glaring. Although there is still economics to this, over cost of fertilizer to give the improve yield and the marginal profit the improve yield will give.

I checked this for assessment and my results were:
1. Most are on the blister stage

2. Nitrogen remobilization is OK. This is very important because one will think the crop is not growing now but that is not the case. Immediately tarseling sets in (VT stage) , your crop nutrients especially nitrogen and phosphorus demand begins to go up this is used for the growing part until corn kernels (the maize we eat) termination at the tip takes place. This is called nutrients remobilization. The maize cob is a modified branch. What covers them are the leaves, the kernels node sits the flowers, on the branch sits the flower. Adequate water and sunlight is a treasure at this stage.

3. Fertilization of the corn flower is good too.

I assessed their old leaves and no urgent deficiency of crop nutrients

4. No unusual fruit rot (fungal attack) and malformation

More closer look.......

More closer look..... .

When I got to farm today, this was what I saw

LegitPlug:
Thanks for your input. I actually used the 25cm spacing on the same row and 75cm spacing in-between rows. The problem can't be spacing but my workers could have missed the affected areas during fertilizer application.

I'll be doing second application of fertilizer (Urea) on monday, is it advisable I go ahead despite most of my corn being at the stage in the attached picture while some are about 3 weeks behind?

If you apply urea on Monday, it is still going to be good but as for me, I would have preferred you apply a nitrogen source that is quickly accessible to the plants considering the stage of growth they are now. If you're considering economics, go for urea as little money will buy more kilos of nitrogen than in any other type of nitrogen source. But, Urea will take some time to be broken down in the soil in the form your crop could take but that depend on your soil ambient temperature, if it's quite high, it's favourable to you, and soil moisture, that is not a problem now considering the time we are now.
Generally, if you've been having a larger part of the day with a temperature above 25 degree Celsius, around just that period you begin to feel cold, in your area, go ahead with the urea application but it might take about 3 days for the nitrogen it it to be accessible to your crop. To be smart, get some NPK, with higher nitrogen and mix with the urea so that before the Nitrogen in the NPK finishes, the nitrogen in your urea is ready.
Nitrogen is very important during corn kernels filling and your crop will start that soon considering more water availability at this period. The fertilizer will go a long to to at least improve your yield hence your profit marginally in respect to the effect of stress your crop have gone through before. It is a nice idea. After two weeks, all things being equal, they will respond to it and you'll be glad. But next time, it would be better you apply just before tarseling for more results.

Also, as for the leaf blight/necrosis, it will take an expert to come to your field, research to judge which type and cause. There are three factors to come together for disease to attack your crop at a relative intensity. Maize roots contains a compound naturally to help it fight some bacteria and fungi attacks but if stressed, expect the level to be low, Just like human immunity. These factors are: (1) Virulent micro organism (2) favourable environmental condition (3) susceptible host.

1 above was that which caused the blight or necrosis
2 was no rain (water stress). If you look at your crop, from the old leaves, you'd see that soil needs some nutrients like sulphur, Nitrogen, Magnesium and small phosphorus (I listed the important ones glaring) among others
3 was your crop, they were tired. No energy to fight

My question now is, that part with stunted maize plants there, can you describe the soil structure there briefly. Like the colour, its stickiness, any plants remains and comparison with the rest.

The way Nigeria dey now and go still be, education with plan B-Z go be way. I dey try reason my guy wetin he know, he yawn book. I just told him to keep quiet. Which book? Wetin you know wey another person no know? You know book pass google and textbooks? Wetin you know? Wetin your hands fit do, eating your initiative fit turn to money, You fit twerk on social media, you fit have sex on national TV, you fit catwork, you fit lie like national lie, mass lie, you fit talk? You fit talk so Tay you liberate or enslave people so tay dem begin dey bring their money give you

You don't know anything unless what you know is feeding you. That's the evidence you know. Her own still better. Las las if all not work for her, Aunty Joy go come do abortion 3 times, she go bring her 3 friends, den go bring their friends, gather the money together build one clinic, repent and she's OK.

Finnish:
When New updates?

Academics is holding me down on campus. My project proposal was rejected on lags from my supervisor's part by the research committee. I need to prepare a new one and that's what I'm doing now.

For long now, I've not been to my farm, I miss it and sincerely don't know what might be going on there. I'm just like a soldier in a war front with pregnant wife at home

His view of innovation.
The roles of the powerful people fighting it
The attitude of the people the innovation is meant for
The benefits the powerful fighting it derived.

Finnish:
Ah, This sounds like rocket science stuff, I just need a simple DIY, normally I would have just gotten a land and plant, but was thinking about testing soil after reading posts here, sounds complicated, I'll just pass, the land you planted maize on, do you do any kind of test?

Didn't do not really so much of soil test. In as much you're gon apply fertilizer, just understand the nutrient requirements of your crop. In fact you're good to good once your soil is mostly loam. Where the question comes is if it's Sandy loam or clay loam. OK, I'll explain.

Maize, for example prefers silty loam as it is well drained. Organic matter(humus) content too is important not because they will add nutrients, they're even slow releasing. But they improve the Cation Exchange Capacity of your soil. What is CEC? Ability of your soil to exchange nutrients mostly with your crop roots. How does organic matter( humus) affect nutrients availability to your crop? Humus carries those nutrients on their head like bucket of water so that the roots can take them up.

Let me share one tip with you.
Do you know why, if you apply fertilizer to some soil especially the once cropped ones, yield might still be low to expectations? Low humus or organic content. Nitrogen might get leached, phosphorus becomes fixated(added to soil rock mineral structure, the therefore not available for crop use), potassium becomes inactivated because nothing to carry them up like bucket.

You really want to let the manure work? Apply it earlier than planting, usually months. Because they're slow releasing nutrients and if you do this, you won't have issues with micro nutrients(boron,maganese,zinc etc) and by the time you apply the fertilizer, you'd be surprised yourself. One of the reasons monoculture monocroping is successful in developed countries.

If I'd plant any crop on a *humus rich soil*, before I'd use fertilizer at two weeks, I'd observe the old leaves. If purple margin, I know I've got issues with phosphorus, if yellowish beginning from margin, I know I'm in soup for nitrogen, if it's tinny and weak, I begin to look to calcium and zinc, if yellowish from a spot then spreading, sulphur. Light greenish parallel lines, magnesium

So this will give me a rough framework of nutrients I need to add to the soil.
I'll buy NPK fertilizer according to the ratio of what I need most
Get Epsom salt. It's cheap all around us 3 sachets of 25g goes for #50.
I'll get the rest from common source and apply.
Don't be deceived, if you know how much potassium is in NPK 15:15:15 50kg you'll be amazed and that is what you're using on a large or relatively large farmland the rest are just fillers. So you don't need to get those materials much. I use ash as my own fillers

To be continued.....

The rain has established itself here again. All glory to God. I'll be making a new thread of Cowpea(cowpea) production in the southwest very soon. The variety we are planting is Ife Bimpe and it arrived yesterday but I'm yet to receive its delivery. My partner and I are doing really great about the cowpea. And by God's grace, we're looking at some kind of 1-2 acres or 1 hectare and we were there today to map it out although we want them on different locations so as to manage pest infestation using depopulation strategy.

The planning is still subjected to a lot of considerations due to nature of cowpea interactions with many climatic conditions and climate change is here.

My proposal presentation is coming up very soon too so I might not be available everytime.

More updates coming......

Finnish:
Great one, I read you talked about testing land/soil for fertility, before buying a land, how do you test the soil to know if it's fertile or not?

You'd probably use any of the soil testing facilities in the country but most are usually private and expensive too.

Although you could do it roughly by yourself by studying the kind of vegetation on the land but it's not really realistic as it is not quantifiable and rough as it is not too good by agriculture standard and moreso to me, any kind of soil fertility test that neglets in situ visit to the farmland, is not complete. Soil structure and other in situ characteristics are important too

And if you have a bit of self built soil chemical kit around you or buy one from these companies, they could give a rough estimate of what types of nutrients' ions are in the soil but not their amount, that would get some kind of background to your soil fertility.

DFPS:
give me there contact pls, I need ur contact too

I couldn't access my email for now. My hotline and whatsapp 0 9 0 6 6 6 5 0 8 0 8

DFPS:
give me there contact pls, I need ur contact too

I've seen that you emailed me. I'll share my contact with the reply so that we could talk on whatsapp and to share you the contact at Providence

I can get you a contact at Providence Ibadan. They're good, products are relatively cheaper than ones in market, good customers relationship and quality products. Get my poultry equipment from them.

Finnish:
Great job, you're doing well, I'm impressed, can you share side hustle that's bringing you something? You talked about selling a goat or something like that

Nothing really much. I'm into livestock production. I keep poultry. Sometimes train them to maturity and sell another time just brood for a month and sell. This Christmas, it's business. I keep local fowls, their eggs are quite expensive than layers, and they move faster than agric in terms of liquidity, I keep rabbits etc. I'm into livestock feed milling. I have a shop where I sell that. I keep goat too. Started from buying sick goats from people who might not be able to afford medical care with good progeny from people cheaply because they're expensive here, treat them myself and add to my flock. I offer vet services within the scope of agriculture, once beyond that, I invite my vet friends to my customers.

And integrity is key in what you do. That has kept me in business. My specialization teaches: don't promise what you can't do to your clients. If you don't know let them know you don't know but you could tell to get back to them later. If you have to invite subject matter specialists, do. Financial integrity is key. And let your clients see that their interests are above money.

willybaby:
Senior farmers in the house, share you experience have you ever experienced August break in July, infact how would August be like..

It has not been encouraging at all. But innovation and God's care have been seeing one through.

Sorry I couldn't keep my words. The irrigation progress today didn't permit me of time. I'll be available on whatsapp from tonight.

Aggressive irrigation continued today. I would have updated with pictures but my phone's battery was flat. Irrigation to continue tomorrow. Crops coping and adjusting.....

Alright. We will chat on whatsapp. Location not too far together.

We can hustle it out this week if you want. How much do you want to pay per kilo? Wet or dry?

IamAsiri:
I tried chatting with you and realised that your number is not connected to WhatsApp. Kindly provide me with your WhatsApp number so I can enquire about the rabbits. Thanks.

Abeg no vex.

I recently deleted my whatsapp account because I saw it swallowing money than it was yielding ROIs among other reasons but tomorrow afternoon, that number will be available on whatsapp God's grace, because I need attend to farm in the morning.

IamAsiri:
I tried chatting with you and realised that your number is not connected to WhatsApp. Kindly provide me with your WhatsApp number so I can enquire about the rabbits. Thanks.

I recently deleted my whatsapp account because I saw it swallowing money than it was yielding ROIs among other reasons but tomorrow afternoon, that number will be available on whatsapp God's grace, because I need attend to farm in the morning.