News

Fresh produce; produce

Marketing tips: Your road map to successful fresh produce ma...

  4th December 2018

Every fresh produce farmer must have a plan for how he’s going to sell his crops. Your marketing plan is like a road map that guides you through the steps of marketing so that you can successfully sell your fresh produce. It gives you “check points” to provide direction, measure…

disease; poultry; crusts

Poultry production: Dealing with crusts on your chickens’ ...

  3rd December 2018

Question: We are new to keeping chickens and housed them in an enclosure. They subsequently developed crusts on their legs. We’ve read in books and asked around and have had answers such as its being mites and that we’d have to use old engine oil to get rid of them!…

pig farm; biosecurity; pork; sows; feeding

Pork production: Feeding your pigs for the best results

  12th November 2018

Without correct feeding, a farmer won’t be able to run a profitable pig production business.  To raise healthy pigs, farmers must ensure that their animals receive a nutritious, well-balanced diet at every stage of production. SUITABLE RATIONS Nutrition is a fairly specialised branch of pig production. Farmers are encouraged farmers…

costs

Livestock production: Save on feed costs with arrow leaf

  9th November 2018

This hardy legume can reduce farming costs when feed sells at a premium.  Poor feeding strategies can result in heavy losses if feed has to be bought in at a time when costs are at a premium (eg late summer) or as a result of poor conception rates during the…

crop; investment; buy

Money matters: What to consider when you want to buy a farm

  8th November 2018

Question: What are the financial considerations if I want to buy a farm? First and foremost you should have money or assets. It would help if you had collateral, such as a house, livestock and vehicles. A good monthly income, or a good yearly income in the case of a…

sheep

Small stock production: Back to basics with sheep nutrition

  1st November 2018

What sheep eat has a great impact on their condition and performance. These basic feeding principles can help you improve their nutritional status. Feed is the single biggest budgetary item associated with raising ruminants, such as sheep. It usually accounts for at least 60% of the total production costs in…

Lungu, planting; maize; exports; millers; pests

Crop production: Maize pests – control starts with kno...

  24th October 2018

Early identification and effective control practices can significantly reduce the impact of pests on crops. Farmers should not only familiarise themselves with pests that pose threats to their crops, but also learn more about their developmental stages and the best methods to control them. Dr. Annemie Erasmus, a research entomologist…

central; livestock; cattle; hormones; FMD; trace; diseases

Livestock production: How to control fly-borne diseases

  22nd October 2018

Flies not only cause irritation, but can also transmit disease. This may happen either mechanically, as a result of picking up micro-organisms while feeding, or by being a biological vector – an intermediary host for micro-organisms. Culicoides midges are tiny insects, 1 mm to 3 mm in length. They occur…