fayahsoul:

My broda i'm not saying that internet resources are useless rather my point is that it's only through observing the happenings in the farm and then comparing and constrasting with the informate available on the net that the facts can be separated from fiction. For instance, the dimensions of the very first cage i built was based on what i read on the net. The dimensions were appropriate but the materials i used to construct it wasnt because i didnt take into consideration the powerful jaws of grasscutters which can be very destructive. They gnaw on every every. It's really remarkable. It was when i stocked the cages that i realized the inefficiency of the materials i used. So i had to start rectifying the problem and that cost me much. One irony i have noticed is that the best solutions to practical problems are usually also the simplest and cheapest. Happy new year my fellow farmers may we all reap bountifully this year. tanx.

..
I understand bro. Another tip I'll like to give is that if u want to start sth and u dont have access to a practical farmer, then u must read a lot about it. Download volumes of pdf and sites and read them. From wot u read u write down further questions to do research on. I did the same when i was researching rabbits and grasscutters. My persistance reading helped me to come across documents that says that these animals will eat up wood. If u must use wood, use something like strong wire mesh or flattened tin cans to protect the woods.

Lesgupnigeria:
Thanks soloxam for creating this thread .
I have learn a lot from the bitter experiences of other farmers on this thread

I have a lot of bitter experiences but i will share one today.
I remember some years ago when i leased some acres of land around ogun state.
The man told me it was 16 acres and i didnot bother to measure
i thought that since the man is a farmer he should be able to know and tell me accurately so i didnot bother to measure.

I gave him the money for the lease for the whole 16 acres and he collected it.
All the labours who work on the farm also charge me based on the 16 acres.
All the chemicals,fertilisers adequate for 16 acres are bought
The tractor man who plough the land also charge for 16 acres.

I began to suspect that all is not well when i was told that some chemicals and fertilisers remained about 7 cartons.

One of the farmer in the area told me to measure the land when i harvest my corn and i discover that the harvest is far below the target yield.

The next day, i came to the farm with the workers and tape rule,measuring acre by acre......no be small stress.

I later discover i was farming just 7acres.

Since then,i dont start farm without measuring the land using a surveyor.

..
Bad one bro. What is the cost of surveying?

cbrass:


The seating room alone have like 5 big windows while other rooms have two windows.Please could you give me the thread link?

..
Sometimes in a yr, the heat is so much that ur proposed pen might not be enough, except u want to install fans and burn some fuel when the time comes.

eaglevirus:
We (Myself and my brother) run a layer farm of About 2500birds now. Some time about October - November 2014, there was scarcity of any form of poultry feed in my Uyo, Akwa Ibom state where our farm is located. Our birds were starved so bad that their feeding ration dropped from 13 bags a day to 2bags, some days no bag. We had money but could not source feed. The overall effect we lost more than 1.5million naira on feed money within two months trying to make the birds gain weight and continue production of eggs as they where guzzling feed like no mans business when the feed was eventually available and still not laying eggs. We had to be buying feed as buch as 3,200 naira from 2,250 it used to be before the scarcity. This b#llshit messed up so many of our friends that they had to sell off their layers birds for meet as there was no feed and they birds where dying or not laying egss anymore.
They birds have picked up production now and we can breathe some air. They only reason we culd battle this was cos we could source money (I mean a million plus in naira) to feed this guys for two straight months while not sure if they will pickup production.
Now this is no farmers mistake but a farmers problem.
Lesson: Have a plan B source of feed.

We now buy feed in trucks and sell some. if we hear any sign of scarcity we will quickly readjust. Have your plan B my fellow farmers. I have seen friends loose bigtime, and it was no fault of thiers.

..
It affected us also in anambra, but in my area there was growers and finishers, so we have to use those. Since then feed price have jumped and refused to drop. Feed fmlation is the way to go.

Soloxam:
Thanks so much for sharing with us here on this thread. You have made a good point that A FARMER shld have plan B while practising farming.... It a very good point which is applicable to all area of Agriculture... Sincerely sir you were able to over come this problem because u are financially buoyant, pls what advice will u give to small scale farmer who can not afford to buy feed in such a large qty? Pls what are the alternative source of poultry feeds, pls poultry farmer @ farmtech help us out.

..
I'm not into feed formulatn but I have an idea how to go about it. You can either use concentrates, formulate ur feed with ur own machines or through a feed miller. This article will be helpful: http://www.farmersjoint.com/blog/livestock-farming/poultry/formulating-chicken-feed-3-ways-go/

justified19:
one bag of ur feed is how many kg?

25kg.

psalm68:
thanks for creating this tread @soloxam.
we are really learning inportant issues here.

thank you sir, pls shear ur experience too, let learn together.

Soloxam:
thank you sir, pls shear ur experience too, let learn together.

i dont really have much to share in terms of experience because i have been in and out of farm.

i had a small fish farm then,after several attends at spunning(hatching) without a clear cut success,a friend then told me to take serious my water management.
i realised the water was too acidic and and it has substances like petroleum droplets.so i think the water management is an issue to be taken serious for those planning to go that line.

Also every little financial input that goes into ur farm should be recorded,no matter how little.because all these will come into play in determining if u make profit and the % of it at the end of the season.
i couldnt say if i made profit in my fish farm then because i didnt capture every expenditure i made.

psalm68:

i dont really have much to share in terms of experience because i have been in and out of farm.

i had a small fish farm then,after several attends at spunning(hatching) without a clear cut success,a friend then told me to take serious my water management.
i realised the water was too acidic and and it has substances like petroleum droplets.so i think the water management is an issue to be taken serious for those planning to go that line.

Also every little financial input that goes into ur farm should be recorded,no matter how little.because all these will come into play in determining if u make profit and the % of it at the end of the season.
i couldnt say if i made profit in my fish farm then because i didnt capture every expenditure i made.

Nice one boss, u have made good points; Good sources of water while going to fingerling production/fish farm and proper records keeping. Intending farmers take note.

Yeah every experience farmers out there, pls be ur brothers keeper, let learn from the pool of ur knowledge... Tell us what it takes to become a successful farmers.

FarmTech:

..
I understand bro. Another tip I'll like to give is that if u want to start sth and u dont have access to a practical farmer, then u must read a lot about it. Download volumes of pdf and sites and read them. From wot u read u write down further questions to do research on. I did the same when i was researching rabbits and grasscutters. My persistance reading helped me to come across documents that says that these animals will eat up wood. If u must use wood, use something like strong wire mesh or flattened tin cans to protect the woods.

lol. first of all it's difficult to find a practical farmer that will divulge all the secrets of his practice even when paid to do so. Yes humans are innately selfish like that. Secondly, you dont seem to understand that there is always a chasm between theory and practice; not to mention the contradictions in literature. I did a lot of research before starting my farm. I was also aware that grasscutters gnaw on wood like you stated hence the wood ought to be covered by mesh wire. In fact that was why my first cage was made of metal all through but still the grasscutters gnawed on it. And mind you there different types of mesh wire and certain types are suitable. So it's only through practice that the weakness of theory can be exposed and then reformulated to fit a farmers unique situation.

fayahsoul:

lol. first of all it's difficult to find a practical farmer that will divulge all the secrets of his practice even when paid to do so. Yes humans are innately selfish like that. Secondly, you dont seem to understand that there is always a chasm between theory and practice; not to mention the contradictions in literature. I did a lot of research before starting my farm. I was also aware that grasscutters gnaw on wood like you stated hence the wood ought to be covered by mesh wire. In fact that was why my first cage was made of metal all through but still the grasscutters gnawed on it. And mind you there different types of mesh wire and certain types are suitable. So it's only through practice that the weakness of theory can be exposed and then reformulated to fit a farmers unique situation.

Is grasscutter marketable

jethro2:

Lol at waiting for me. Thanks for the vote of confidence. You are not yet a farmer if you have not made bundle of mistakes. The utmost importance is learning from your mistakes. I have committed a lot of errors in the farm one that vividly comes to mind is when a supposed farmer give me the assurance of how i will make N10,000,000 from an hectare of tomatoes. Unbelievable you think.
Hmnnnn. With my careful calculation i cut it down and within me i was targetting atleast N5,000,000.
Lo and behold I plunged in all my resources, all my efforts to meet my desire target. I was always on the phone with her to give me instruction.
The truth dawn on me when i could only realise 10 basket instead of expected 1000 baskets.
The tomatoes hardly survive from the nursery. All my hope were dashed.
But farming is for the passionate. You cant afford to give up.
I traced my step back. Bought the another set of seed, give it to the practising farmers and said try this.
Unbelievably, their tomatoes was bigger and yield more than my farm produce despite that they did not make use of any fertilizer.
What i have learnt
1. Farming is not a get rich quickly profession. You ve got to learn the ropes. Get it right first before plunging in
2. There are lot of factors that one needs to really considered and find a way to work around.
3. practise¡ practise¡¡ practise¡¡¡. Farmer A succeding in year one does not automatically means that farmer B will be.

NOTE
I later found out my so called mentor has been feeding me with informations from the internet.

The farmers tomato did well due to soil factor.
My nursery were affected from too much use of chemicals.

Thank you very which for listening to and answering my questions. God bless u....
With time, I'll ask more.... Thanks again

fayahsoul:

lol. first of all it's difficult to find a practical farmer that will divulge all the secrets of his practice even when paid to do so. Yes humans are innately selfish like that. Secondly, you dont seem to understand that there is always a chasm between theory and practice; not to mention the contradictions in literature. I did a lot of research before starting my farm. I was also aware that grasscutters gnaw on wood like you stated hence the wood ought to be covered by mesh wire. In fact that was why my first cage was made of metal all through but still the grasscutters gnawed on it. And mind you there different types of mesh wire and certain types are suitable. So it's only through practice that the weakness of theory can be exposed and then reformulated to fit a farmers unique situation.

when I say mesh, I dont mean all those chicken mesh oo, i was refering the those ones with square holes and thick gauge. I'll like to say this again - theory is very important bc when u practice or experiment, you put it in writing and that's theory. If u know how to access the right info there will be no much gap b/w theory and practice. Like I said, read wide and deep, and read the right stuffs.
..
And when it come to the part of keeping secrets and being selfish, I'll say that's not totally correct bc everyone and every bizness have their secrets, that's how u stay competitive and remain in bizness. Those secrets cost them sth b4 they could get it and it is not selfish to keep it.

christian11:



Thank you very which for listening to and answering my questions. God bless u....
With time, I'll ask more.... Thanks again

You are highly welcome sir and i will be expecting more question

cbrass:


Is grasscutter marketable

yes of course but it's a delicacy. It's not as readily available as say poultry or beef because breeders are few hence supply is way below demand. Abi you no dey chop bush meat?

FarmTech:

when I say mesh, I dont mean all those chicken mesh oo, i was refering the those ones with square holes and thick gauge. I'll like to say this again - theory is very important bc when u practice or experiment, you put it in writing and that's theory. If u know how to access the right info there will be no much gap b/w theory and practice. Like I said, read wide and deep, and read the right stuffs.
..
And when it come to the part of keeping secrets and being selfish, I'll say that's not totally correct bc everyone and every bizness have their secrets, that's how u stay competitive and remain in bizness. Those secrets cost them sth b4 they could get it and it is not selfish to keep it.

ok but does your theory tell you the exact size of that square holed mesh wire that's suitable for use in cage construction? Does it tell you that is ok to construct all sides of the cage with said mesh wire? does it also say that grasscutters can lie comfortably on the mesh wire? does it mention any possible problems that the mesh wire could pose when it comes to feeding? nwanne like you rightly said; theory is based on observation which is acquired through practice or experiment and this goes back to what i have been saying all along. Only natural laws are constant and universal. Theory on the other hand can be adjusted and improved on through better practice and technology. Mind you grasscutter is not like goat or chicken or cow and so on that have been domesticated for millions of yrs. It hasnt been up to three decades since Grasscutter farming began and a lot is still not known about these interesting creatures. More, since you agree with me that most successfull practical farmers are unwilling to divulge their secrets then it should also be understood that the reason behind it is the desire to monopilize supply of goods. So if the drive to monopolize isnt driven by selfishness then do tell me what is. lol.

fayahsoul:

yes of course but it's a delicacy. It's not as readily available as say poultry or beef because breeders are few hence supply is way below demand. Abi you no dey chop bush meat?

I dey chop am but I hear it's only hotels that do buy them and they don't pay on time

fayahsoul:

ok but does your theory tell you the exact size of that square holed mesh wire that's suitable for use in cage construction? Does it tell you that is ok to construct all sides of the cage with said mesh wire? does it also say that grasscutters can lie comfortably on the mesh wire? does it mention any possible problems that the mesh wire could pose when it comes to feeding? nwanne like you rightly said; theory is based on observation which is acquired through practice or experiment and this goes back to what i have been saying all along. Only natural laws are constant and universal. Theory on the other hand can be adjusted and improved on through better practice and technology. Mind you grasscutter is not like goat or chicken or cow and so on that have been domesticated for millions of yrs. It hasnt been up to three decades since Grasscutter farming began and a lot is still not known about these interesting creatures. More, since you agree with me that most successfull practical farmers are unwilling to divulge their secrets then it should also be understood that the reason behind it is the desire to monopilize supply of goods. So if the drive to monopolize isnt driven by selfishness then do tell me what is. lol.

..
If I shud go back to my ebooks on rabbits and grasscutter, I'll get all those things u asked. Common sense will also tell u that if the rabbit/grasscutter head can pass through the mesh, then it is unsuitable for the cage. For feeding, u can use a manger, u dont place the feed on the floor bc they'll trample on it and soil it. This can cause disease problem and a lot of wasted feed bc they dont eat soiled feed. If there is problem with foot pad injury due to the floor, u can put a resting pad in the cages. Theory can answer all these questns and more - bc some theories are the experiences of practical farmers in writing, and those experiences contains the natural laws u talked about.
..
A saying says that "if u want to hide sth from a black man, put it inside a book". Whoever said this know that it is either a black man will not read, or if he read he'll not believe what he read. So folks, I want to encourage everyone to be a believing and thinking reader.
..
Both theory and natural laws (if our definition of natural law is the same) can be adjusted, eg, if ur climate is different from that of the writer, of course the house design and other things have to be adjusted, u may need to cover some sides in cold weathers bc grasscutter are sensitive to cold. The natural law wrt weather in both places are different.
..
Revealing or concealing secrets can be a selfish act sometimes, but not at all times. Do you know what glut or oversupply can do to a bizness man? Well, if u discover a secret in bizness, go out and tell everyone. Then wait and expect to keep making profit for the next 4 years. A rich, single player can come in with economics of scale and wipe u out from the biz. I hope u'll understand me better here, I'm not trying to challenge u, but to point out facts we shud do right in order to succeed. U can fail in life if u look down on theory and tell ur farming secrets to everyone. Note: some farming tips are not worth hiding, but those ones that will threaten ur bizness when exposed are worth hiding.

FarmTech:

..
If I shud go back to my ebooks on rabbits and grasscutter, I'll get all those things u asked. Common sense will also tell u that if the rabbit/grasscutter head can pass through the mesh, then it is unsuitable for the cage. For feeding, u can use a manger, u dont place the feed on the floor bc they'll trample on it and soil it. This can cause disease problem and a lot of wasted feed bc they dont eat soiled feed. If there is problem with foot pad injury due to the floor, u can put a resting pad in the cages. Theory can answer all these questns and more - bc some theories are the experiences of practical farmers in writing, and those experiences contains the natural laws u talked about.
..
A saying says that "if u want to hide sth from a black man, put it inside a book". Whoever said this know that it is either a black man will not read, or if he read he'll not believe what he read. So folks, I want to encourage everyone to be a believing and thinking reader.
..
Both theory and natural laws (if our definition of natural law is the same) can be adjusted, eg, if ur climate is different from that of the writer, of course the house design and other things have to be adjusted, u may need to cover some sides in cold weathers bc grasscutter are sensitive to cold. The natural law wrt weather in both places are different.
..
Revealing or concealing secrets can be a selfish act sometimes, but not at all times. Do you know what glut or oversupply can do to a bizness man? Well, if u discover a secret in bizness, go out and tell everyone. Then wait and expect to keep making profit for the next 4 years. A rich, single player can come in with economics of scale and wipe u out from the biz. I hope u'll understand me better here, I'm not trying to challenge u, but to point out facts we shud do right in order to succeed. U can fail in life if u look down on theory and tell ur farming secrets to everyone. Note: some farming tips are not worth hiding, but those ones that will threaten ur bizness when exposed are worth hiding.

This is exactly the problem. A theoretical grasscutter farmer is here lecturing a practical farmer. You really believe that your ebooks has taught you all you need to know about grasscutter farming. well good luck with that. Your ebooks says a "manger" should be used but you dont know how grasscutters eat. In your theoretical mind you think that they will eat from the "manger" like humans eat from a plate. Will you also put grass in a "manger?". Then you talk about resting pad; what exactly is that? what is it made of? pls explain further. Yes literature will tell you that grasscutters are sensitive to cold but does it tell you what the symptoms are? you cant know exactly how sensitive they are to cold unless you observe their response to it. It's quite amusing that you claim to have read far and wide yet you dont know what natural laws are and how they differ from theory. Quietly go and read up on that ok. You also seem to have difficulty with comprehension. Look, i'm not saying research is inconsequential rather i'm saying people shouldnt follow it like zombie. Dont swallow every thing you read hook, line and sinker. Be analytical and observant. The flaws in any given theory becomes apparent when it's being put to practice. na wa o.

stagger:


I have planted cassava, sugarcane, vegetables like waterleaf, scent leaf used in peppersoup, pears (both avocado and native pear), plantain, beans and yams, etc. My plantain trees are still standing today. The palm trees became way too tall and had to be cut down to make way for new ones, having been planted in 1988. The plantain farm was started in 1987. In my mother's village I have up to 1 hectare which I bought for agricultural use, since my dad's people are too fetish and have tried to have me killed severally.

I have planted coconuts and orange trees there. These were started 10 years ago.

I do not know how old you were as at 1980 when I first handled a pickaxe and hoe to farm on one plot of land allocated to me by my school for all students of agricultural science. That was the way we learnt agric science in those days: practically, and not by theory. The day of marking, your parents would be invited to come and see where their school fees money was going. You dared not disgrace your parents in front of other parents because everyone, the whole school, would be at the field then. I have also farmed pineapples strictly for domestic use, with a species which were given to me by an Eritrean Professor of Agriculture who was on exile as at then because Mengistu Haile Mariam's government had a bounty on his head. I am sure history students will know how this man slaughtered Eritreans in their thousands before the UN gave them their own country. I was too young then so I cannot remember the name of this man or the species of pineapples.

I answer you this way because I see the sarcasm in your question, and I will not dwell much on it because trying to convince you the cucumber farmer about it is a waste of time. So I will go to the main point on this thread: mistakes we have all made.

Yes, there was a mistake I made when I did the plantains. I had never heard of black sigatoka virus, which entered Nigeria in 1986. It nearly devastated the plantation, but somehow, we recovered. Had to burn the entire plants and get new ones. I also have to mention that I nearly lost the first fruits to villagers by allowing them to ripen on trees. They would just come at night and cut them down. So I had to make myself a clean cutlass which I would use to mount vigils in the place some evenings and nights, but stopped when I noticed snakes around the place. Eventually, I started to cut them when mature, without allowing them to ripen on the tree.

Now to answer your sarcastic question: IITA gave me a lot of help in my cassava research. I even have a book on the commodity markets for cassava products in Nigeria. That publication is not available anywhere on the open market. Nasarawa state ADP gave me a video documentary on application of herbicides for weed control. I have got quotes for cassava processing machines from PRODA in Enugu.

The way you approach these organizations will determine how they give you what you need. I will not say more.

can i get ur contact?

fayahsoul:

This is exactly the problem. A theoretical grasscutter farmer is here lecturing a practical farmer. You really believe that your ebooks has taught you all you need to know about grasscutter farming. well good luck with that. Your ebooks says a "manger" should be used but you dont know how grasscutters eat. In your theoretical mind you think that they will eat from the "manger" like humans eat from a plate. Will you also put grass in a "manger?". Then you talk about resting pad; what exactly is that? what is it made of? pls explain further. Yes literature will tell you that grasscutters are sensitive to cold but does it tell you what the symptoms are? you cant know exactly how sensitive they are to cold unless you observe their response to it. It's quite amusing that you claim to have read far and wide yet you dont know what natural laws are and how they differ from theory. Quietly go and read up on that ok. You also seem to have difficulty with comprehension. Look, i'm not saying research is inconsequential rather i'm saying people shouldnt follow it like zombie. Dont swallow every thing you read hook, line and sinker. Be analytical and observant. The flaws in any given theory becomes apparent when it's being put to practice. na wa o.

..
We're not fighting any war here oo. Before I became a practicing poultry farmer, I was telling some practicing farmers mistakes they were making. Being a practicing farmers does not mean u shudnt be open to corrections and suggestions.
..
No, my ebks hav not taught me all I need to know about grasscutters or rabbits, but they've thought me a lot. For eg, most practicing grasscutter farmers believe that grasscutter need only the succulent stem from grasses, so they usually strip off the leaves. But I've come across one research that proves this wrong. The leaves are higher in nutrients and lead to faster growth. Grasscutters teeth grow continuously and they need something like wood, twigs to wear the teeths down, so u give it to them.
..
Manger: yes, grasscutters and rabbits can comfortably eat from a manger. Although most practicing grasscutter farmers place grasses on the solid floor of their cages, that practice is not better than using a manger. The manger is made of mesh wire and the animals pull the grass through the mesh and it is cleaner this way. For feeding concentrates, you'll have to use a feeding trough made of heavy material like clay. Lighter materials shud to fastened to the floor so they wont knock it over. Another ebook said that feed wastage (concentrate feed) can be greatly reduced by using a deep feed trough. They specified a depth which I can't remember.
..
Resting pad: wire floor can sometimes cause footpad injury to heavy animals, so such animals need a resting pad where they can rest on most of the time. Rabbits like the newzealand and california white have become use to wire floor and they dont need resting pads. But u hav to use a thick gauge wire for the floor, one ebooks specified the gauge but I cant recall now. If u like the resting pad can be of hardwood so that they can also use it to wear down their teeth. Or you can use metal or fired clay slabs.
..
Sensitivity to cold: bro, it u search for that you'll find it. I dont have time now I would have done that for you.
..
Natural law and theories: we're not fighting a war pls, if you use a term in a discussion, kindly define what u mean bc our understanding differs. It's not a matter of reading far and wide and I may not hav the time to search for that.
..
That I hav difficulty in comprehension: that's quite a rude way of talking to somebody who's trying to add knowledge to a discussion.
..
Dont follow what u read like zombie: you're right, but this also applies to what practicing farmers tells you. It is very wrong to glorify practice and look down on books/theory. Non among the two are greater, they go hand in hand.
..
And finally folks, I want to say this again: don't look down on theory, neither shud u look down on practice, dont reveal secrets that when exposed, can threaten ur bizness. Thanks.

FarmTech:


Sensitivity to cold: bro, it u search for that you'll find it. I dont have time now I would have done that for you.
..

Lol i dont need to search for what's right in front of me. Listen, oga stop imagining things. I will continue this discussion with you only if and when you actually start practicals. Anything short of that is an excercise in futility.

@mods, can we make this thread sticky?

Good morning all, pls let share our experience here, pls we are not here to war against one another, just drop ur points pls.

To all farmers who planted/nurse seeds and have younger plants for the past three weeks (during the Hamattarn) pls what are ur experience in terms of germination and growth? Pls what do you notice? What I notice this period of hamattarn is that, I discover most plant in the farm did not grow so well as expected, also the seed planted at this time delay before germinate.. Tomato seeds that is suppose to sprout at 4-5 days take up to 7days before it germinate. The fact remain that the relative humidity is very low......

fayahsoul:

Lol i dont need to search for what's right in front of me. Listen, oga stop imagining things. I will continue this discussion with you only if and when you actually start practicals. Anything short of that is an excercise in futility.

..
Practical alone won't lead u very far. You need theory too. It's not just about practicing, it is about practicing right.

mercylicious:
@mods, can we make this thread sticky?

Interesting
..

Soloxam:
Good morning all, pls let share our experience here, pls we are not here to war against one another, just drop ur points pls.

..
I wish the verbal war did not occur. But it's not a good thing to see something wrong and close your mouth. I don't like the way a lot of nigerians look down on theory.
..

mercylicious:
@mods, can we make this thread sticky?

..

FarmTech:
Interesting
..

..
I wish the verbal war did not occur. But it's not a good thing to see something wrong and close your mouth. I don't like the way a lot of nigerians look down on theory.
..

..

Sir I get ur points and I really appreciate it, but if a point is proved not every one will agree or concur, the fact remains that there must be disagreement, so taking it too much may result to some verbal war which will not be best for this thread. Sir you have make ur points any one that like let Him/Her follow, so far I know what work for A may not work for B, so instead of engaging in augment just let it be... Thanks and God bless us all........

Good morning to all practical farmers, I wish us best in all our endeavour today.......

Pls I need a link up to any farmer who farms sugarcane or wheat.

tomkay8:
Pls I need a link up to any farmer who farms sugarcane or wheat.

Any sugarcane or wheat farmers in the house pls some one in need of help here, pls link tomkay8 up. Thanks.

My contribution to this post would be to advice those interested in venturing into cattle/sheep/goat farming business to make security of their livestock a #1 priority with an unwavering diligence

I ventured into cattle farming (starting with 6 cows) about two years ago in Abuja using a well gated and fenced 2 plots of land. Unfortunately, when I was close to reaping the fruits of my labor, one night some armed cattle rustlers (thieves) broke into my farm stole all my cattles, along with several others in the neighborhood. Search parties were sent out the following morning, but to no avail. And the police, were useless.

Cattle rustling is now very rampant in Nigeria and even more rampant than highway robbery. It is a major dream killer for many prospective livestock farmers. Cattle rustlers are often well armed, and carry out their nefarious acts with utmost sophistication. using sophisticated weapons and so on. I was not unaware of the menace posed by cattle ruslers before I started, which was why I chose to locate my fenced farm in abuja. Sadly, what I was not aware of, was how daring they can be; to even break into a gated and well fenced farm located around Abuja and in a thriving neighbourhood, says alot. It means no location is safe from these people. However, you can secure your farm in a manner that would make their nefarious task very very difficult and expensive for them to carry-out.

Despite my unfortunate experience, my passion for cattle farming business remains unshaken, because it is a very lucrative business when successfully run. I have learned some important lessons with my experience and which I like to share:

1) Construct a very strong iron boulder fencing for your livestocks inside your farm, do so, even if your farm is already fenced. Double fencing means double risk for would-be thieves. Construct the iron fencing in a manner such that once you placed your livestock inside, it would be very hard for them to be taken out of it. Also, repair any lapses you may find in your fence or gate. Put metal caps on your fence & gates interlocks, so it makes it harder to break the locks. Any extra break-in time , is bad omen for would-be thieves.

2) Be wary of strangers around your farm location , Any new face loitering around your farm should be a warning sign. If they dont have their insider/spy who already knows your farm, livestock/Cattle rustlers spend a great amount of time (days & weeks) surveying/spying a farm, before they strike.

3) Be wary of who you invite into your farm, from the common farm help to the professional veterinarian. Some croocks among veterinarians (not to even mention farm help/workers) are known to profit by passing their client's farm herd infos, routines & security details to livestock/cattle rustlers, so beware.

4) It is very important that you have dogs in your farms. If you cant afford dogs, geese would do. The commotion dogs and geese create from their barking or quacking at intruders would significantly deter cattle rustlers from striking. The night cattle rustlers strucked my farm, they attempted to steal cows from another neighbourhood not far from my farm location, fortunately, that farm had dogs. Their constant barkings woke the people in the area, and the thieves fled.

5) keep your farm routines to yourself and to those who you can trust, and try not to create a consistent farm visitation time for yourself. Thus, be less predictable even to your farm workers, should u decide to hire any.

6) Finally, if you can afford it, hire a security guard, or build a dwelling place in your farm, and have someone live their. The presence of a person or people living inside your farm can dissuade would-be thieves.