Tips for Milking Parlor Safety

Wear personal protective equipment, such as rubber boots, and inspect equipment before each shift. Rubber boots must be slip-resistant and replaced when treads are worn.
Report damaged concrete so it can be repaired.
Complete flushes for lanes on a scheduled basis.
Maintain drainage at a good level. Keeping lanes and walk-ways free of standing water prevents algae growth, which can become slippery.
Ensure that all open pits and drains have covers or guard rails.
Don’t climb or sit on gates or fences.
Use adequate lighting for better visibility during night operations.
Don’t participate in horse play.
Make sure that barns, fences and milking equipment are properly maintained.<br />


Working in a milking parlor, with its 24/7 schedule, is hard work that requires long hours and attention to detail. It’s also a prime location for slips, trips and falls by dairy workers. In fact, every year dairy workers are seriously injured in those very kinds of accidents, according to The Zenith Insurance Company.

The hazards of milking cows start with bringing them to the parlor from barns or corrals. Muddy terrain, manure on the ground, pot holes and uneven concrete pads can cause an employee to slip, trip or fall, The Zenith Co. says.

Additional risks arise during the milking process itself and with each shift’s parlor cleaning. Excess water and manure on the ground during milking, and raised sprinkler valves used for cleaning cows, can create potential hazards. Outside, falls from haystacks and equipment can be especially serious.

The Zenith Co., which assists employers in evaluating workplace safety exposures, urges dairies to observe these safety guidelines to prevent slips, trips and falls:

5 Ways America’s Farmers’ Markets Have Evolved

Winter Park Florida Farmers Market. Photo by Meagan Perosha.

For National Farmers’ Market Week, we took a look at the important ways these public institutions have changed in recent years.

By Steve Holt on August 5, 2015

It’s five minutes before three on a warm July Wednesday in East Boston, a mostly working-class, immigrant neighborhood that abuts Logan International Airport. With Boston’s skyline and harbor as a backdrop, vendors busily lay out their wares on folding tables—from Swiss chard to Swiss cheese. Lines form at a few of the booths, some of those waiting are holding WIC coupons, and neighborly greetings can be heard in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Nearby, volunteers from a local cyclists’ union are already fixing flat tires and tightening bicycle seats. A youth arts organization advertises its free programs for children; families renew their “food stamps” or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits; and a DJ spins bass-heavy Latin music while four young women invite onlookers to join them in a choreographed dance routine.

Each Wednesday afternoon during the summer, the East Boston Farmers’ Market turns a sleepy pedestrian mall into a buzzing festival of fresh food, uniting the neighborhood’s six-figure earners, hourly workers, and everyone in between.

“I love seeing neighbors getting to know each other and cross paths each week,” says Katie Tong, one of the market’s managers.

As with this market in Boston, farmers’ markets everywhere have undergone big changes in recent years. Here are five ways these vital spaces are redefining themselves:

1. Most Markets Are Thriving, But They’re No Longer the Primary Way to Sell Local Food

Nationally, the number of farmers’ markets has exploded in just a few decades. By 2014, there were 8,168 markets across the United States—a 180 percent jump from 2006. Last year, the Agricultural Marketing Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) surveyed 1,400 farmers’ market managers and found that among markets open in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, 64 percent of managers reported increased customer traffic and 63 percent reported a bump in sales year over year. USDA officials say this reveals the staying nature power of a market tradition that is both old and new at the same time.

By the USDA’s own reporting, market sales, however, appear to have plateaued some in the last few years. The agency found that between 2007 and 2012, the value of direct-to-consumer food sales at farmers’ markets dropped by one percent, following a 36 percent increase in the five-year period prior. USDA officials say that rather than reflecting diminishing demand for local food, the stagnation of farmers’ market sales reflects the diversification of methods farmers are using to sell their food.

“As the farmers’ market sector matures, more farmers are using new and different models like food hubs to sell to restaurants, grocery stores, institutions, and schools,” says Anne L. Alonzo, Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator with the USDA.

Mobile markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) subscriptions, and delivery services are extending the farmers’ market by taking fresh food right to customers’ doorsteps. Even permanent brick-and-mortar shops and markets—like the Woodstock Farmers Market in Vermont—allow producers to sell their wares together, lowering costs while increasing convenience.

2. More Markets Are Using Technology

In a few key ways, technology is bringing an 18th century concept into the 21st century, improving both how farmers’ markets themselves and the shopping experience at the market.

For starters, many markets now have robust social media communities, and more farmers than ever utilize Facebook posts and Tweets to inform followers when and where they’ll be selling their products. Peach grower Nikiko Masumoto of Masumoto Family Farm in California’s Central Valley says she’s used the farm’s extensive web presence to find new markets at which to sell, adding, “social media has given farmers a whole new tool chest for connecting with current and potential eaters.”

Technology is also improving the customer experience at the market. More than 8,000 farmers’ markets take credit cards in some form, whether that means customers can pay farmers with a card directly, or use it in a central location and receive tokens or vouchers for market vendors. Meanwhile, over 1,700 markets around the country now accept shoppers’ SNAP benefit electronically through mobile Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card swipe machines.

3. Farmers’ Markets Are Becoming More Accessible

Markets have always existed to improve access to fresh, local food in areas where there is less of it. The difference today, though, is the more concerted effort to make that food accessible to all Americans, regardless of income. In 2008, 753 farmers, roadside farm stands, and farmers’ markets accepted SNAP benefits. Today, that number exceeds 6,400, according to numbers tallied by the USDA—an eight-fold increase.

Several national nonprofits and the federal government have been working hard to bring about the change. Wholesome Wave, which piloted the first program providing low-income shoppers suffering from diet-related disease with a prescription for fresh vegetables, also provides incentives to shoppers who use their SNAP benefit at the farmers’ market. At 12 markets in the Washington DC area, shoppers spending their SNAP benefit at a market have that dollar amount matched by FRESHFARM Markets. And on the opposite coast, Fresh Approach matches the market spending of California low-income shoppers up to $10, the Fresh Bucks program does the same at the Seattle Neighorhood Farmers’ Markets, and Fresh Exchange matches up to $5 at the Portland Farmers’ markets. According to Fresh Approach, last year nearly half of all transactions made with nutrition benefit were matched through the program, helping 3,616 customers increase their buying power by more than $24,000. The USDA wants to see even more of this nationally, so much so that it distributes grants of up to $500,000 to projects that increase participation among low-income shoppers.

“It is plausible that increased exposure to farmers’ markets among low-income populations will increase their purchases and consumption of fruits and vegetables, and that financial incentives will augment this effect,” a USDA report on nutrition assistance programs at farmers’ markets stated last fall.

Some markets are also outpacing large supermarket chains by providing culturally appropriate foods to ethnic populations that demand them. In East Boston, for example, lines in front of Farmer Dave’s and Asia Farm’s tables form before the market opens, with many of the shoppers eager to get their hands on chipilín and hierba mora, green vegetables popular among the neighborhood’s Salvadoran immigrants (but unavailable at many bodegas or even the neighborhood supermarket).

At farmers’ markets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area area, Hmong farmers bring foods like long beans, bitter melon, and amaranth greens to new audiences. And a combination farm and farmers’ market set up by the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, California also caters to the area’s large immigrant and refugee populations, many growing crops native to their homelands.

4. More and More Farmers’ Markets Are Offering Education To Go With Their Produce

Here’s a scene that has likely played out for millennia: A shopper picks up a strange-looking fruit or vegetable and asks the farmer on the other side of the table how to cook it. As long as farmers’ markets exist, this type of education will take place. But markets everywhere are working harder than ever to ensure visitors leave knowing a bit more about the food they eat.

For instance, at the East Boston market’s annual “Seafood Throwdown,” two Boston chefs are given a cut of fish and a box of produce, from which they are asked to create a dish in 30 minutes or less—teaching onlookers how to turn their market finds into quick, nutritious meals. The farmers’ market in Lansing, Michigan, recently added cooking demonstrations focused on food safety at each of its markets, and shoppers go home with recipe cards and food safety tips. Markets in many cities—such as Atlanta, Austin, and San Francisco—provide a trove of information beyond recipes for eaters on their farmers’ market website—from seasonality charts and calendars, to information about farmers’ growing practices, to food storage tips.

5. Now More Than Ever, Farmers’ Markets Help Build Community

One of the best arguments for farmers’ markets (as opposed to online distribution or alternative local food retailers), is that they connect neighbors to producers and each other in a unique way. Live music has become a staple at many markets, as have partnerships with area nonprofits. At the NorthEast Market in Minneapolis, nonprofits ranging from Meals on Wheels to a childbirth collective set up information tables. The Motor Avenue Farmers’ Market in Los Angeles collaborates with local schools and community spaces to plant urban gardens and educate neighbors in sustainable agriculture. And several more markets, from New York to Denver to San Francisco, have specific stands that cater to or are run by area youth.

“Across the country, these markets are at the heart of many towns and cities,” says Alonzo of the USDA. “In some ways, they are the new town squares.”

Back at the East Boston farmers’ market, an 18-month-old little girl sways her hips with a group of dancers as a farmer tells an attentive customer the story of the cheese he sells, and Alonzo’s town square hypothesis rings true. Farmers’ markets can have a profound effect at a time when communal public spaces are becoming increasingly rare. The farmers’ market may be modernizing and evolving, but they probably won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

- See more at: http://civileats.com/2015/08/05/5-ways-americas-farmers-markets-have-evolved/#sthash.llZ2BvN4.dpuf

How Milk gets from the Cow to the consumer.

Essentials for setting up a Milk Processing Business

Milk production and processing business have become the key industry in the European countries as well as all across the world. Currently the largest producer and consumer of milk and milk products are Asian countries like India and China but it appears that very soon the consumption in the European countries will overcome the Asian countries. The facts and figures suggest that there will be a steep rise in the value added milk products in the year 2015. This means that there will be a great opportunity to jump into the milk processing business and be a part of the packaged dairy food producers.

To be ahead and distinct from the rest of the dairy food players in the market you will need to concentrate on proper development, marketing and distribution of dairy products. Below is some essential piece of information which you need to know if you are planning to set up a dairy farm or milk processing business.

Depending on your investment capacity, you can set a small scale business, moderate capital cost or a high investment sophisticated dairy plant to yield the benefits of milk production and milk processing business. Also the plant setup will require various equipments based on the how many value added dairy products you wish to manufacture.

There are various capacity solutions which depend on the quantity of milk to be processed each day.

500 Liters per day: This quantity of milk for processing is suitable for dairy farms having 60-100 buffaloes and cows. To reap higher benefits than the usual, the business owners can sell pasteurized milk in pouches instead of raw milk. For small scale milk pasteurization and pouch production, the required equipments will be:

•    Refrigeration system
•    Milk pumps
•    Storage Tanks
•    Cream separator
•    Pasteurizer
•    Pipes
•    Control Panel

All these milk processing equipments are available at various places but they should be bought from a reputed and trustworthy store.

1000 liters per day: This quantity of milk is ideal for dairy farms having 50-100 cows and buffaloes. The business owners can produce milk pouches, pure ghee and yoghurt.

2000 liters per day: This quantity of milk is perfect for dairy farms having 200-300 cows and buffaloes. The business owners can produce milk pouches, pure ghee, yoghurt, cottage cheese, flavored milk etc.

5000 liters per day: This quantity of milk is perfect for dairy farms having 300-500 cows and buffaloes. The business owners can produce milk pouches, pure ghee, yoghurt, cottage cheese, flavored milk, milk based sweets, ice-creams, butter, buttermilk, cheese etc.

It should be noted that the size and quantity of the equipments will change according to the quantity of the milk processed each day. Along with the equipments mentioned above a number of various other equipments are required.

The new dairy farm business aspirants can start up on a small scale with 500 liters of milk processing each day and then expanding the business accordingly. Along with the ease of availability of tankers and milk processing machines, other documentation and help is available at many organizations. The help includes support in setting up the processing plant, documentation, infrastructure planning, estimate and guidelines for civil construction and all other help.  

Source:

http://www.abl-tech.com/en/articles/milk-processing-business

How To Start And Run A Dairy Business?

The bees continue to disappear: in just one year beekeepers lost 40% of their hives

Published by the       

The scandal of bees is simply more exaggerated and viral rumor, it is an ecological imbalance that could be related to the companies that produce pesticides.

The bee health is an issue that has for years been concerned farmers and environmental organizations because of the importance of this insect pollination.

Sudden disappearance of bees a global concern

That is why every year in the United States, the organization Bee Informed , conducting a study funded by the US Department of Agriculture, in order to reveal the behavior and death of these insects.

Data from the latest report are troubling, since between April 2014 and March 2015, it was estimated that beekeepers have lost 40% of their hives.

One thing that caught the attention of entomologists is that it is the first time shows that bees die more in the summer than in winter. In fact, the study details that 27.4% of the colonies were lost in summer, the figure last summer was lower (19.8%).

Professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland and director of the project Bee Informed, Van Engelsdorp, states that "traditionally thought that losses in the winter were a more important indicator of the health of the colonies, because to survive the cold winter months It is a crucial test for any bee colony. But we now know that loss rates in the summer are also important. This is especially true for commercial beekeepers, who are now losing more colonies in summer compared to winter. Years ago, it was unheard of " .

The situation is serious for beekeepers, especially if we consider the economic losses and this not only affects insects in particular, but hundreds of crops, such as almonds, totally dependent on bees for pollination.

According to studies, the economic value of pollination services of bees is more than 10,000 million dollars a year.

Smallholder farmers to benefit from online trading platform

Published by the Newvision Date: Aug 07, 2015

East African Community’s Secretary General, Richard Sezibera. 

Photo/File

The Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) has  launched the G-Soko Platform which is an online trading platform that links smallholder farmers to grain buyers through a networked and structured market mechanism.

The platform was launched at a ceremony held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nairobi on July 31, 2015. It  was officiated by the East African Community’s Secretary General, Richard Sezibera.

Notable regional and international stakeholders graced the occasion key among them being, The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Department for International Development (DFID) FoodTrade ESA and The British High Commission.

The G-Soko platform is developed by the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) in partnership with FoodTrade Eastern and Southern Africa, and Virtual City, a leading mobile software solutions firm supporting the supply chain and agribusiness industry in Africa.

This is through a 5-year trade enhancement and promotion programme that aims to encourage trading in regional staple food markets.

The UK through DFID Africa Regional Department has invested £35 million( Kes 6 billion) in the Food Trade Eastern and Southern Africa programme to stimulate the regional grains market through partnerships with private companies and policy influencing.

During the unveiling ceremony, Mr. Gerald Masila, Executive Director of EAGC said, “Right now there is urgency to expand regional food trade due to the exponential growth of staple food imports. Linking rural food surplus production zones in Eastern Africa to major deficit urban consumption centres requires a well-functioning regional market. We wanted to address this deficiency but also do it in a way that is inclusive and effective. This is why we developed G-Soko; a market transaction platform that will enhance food trade across borders, and contribute towards making trading more transparent.”

The platform performs a structured trade function that integrates the entire grain trade from farm to market. Through G-Soko, farmers are able to aggregate their produce through a certified warehouse and also access financial services using their grains as collateral. For the first time, grain farmers in the region including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will now be able to trade their grain free, competitively and transparently across the region, through the G-Soko Platform.

Reiterating the technical capabilities of the platform and its role as a solution-provider, Virtual City Managing Director, John Waibochi noted that, “The model addresses the challenge of funds inadequacy by devising affordable export/import financing modalities. It creates synergies from the small scale farmers to the bulk buyers based on tested market structures.

This system also enhances traceability of grains. Its Grain Bulking feature allows farmers to consolidate and sell their grains at aggregation centers linked with certified warehouses. More importantly, G-Soko will Increase the utilization of East African standards for grain commodities and products because quality assurance is key.”

Speaking at the event Marc Van Uytvanck, Team Leader of FoodTrade ESA said that, ”FoodTrade is proud to be associated with the East Africa Grain Council and its G-Soko Project that unlocks trade for smallholder farmers through a private sector-driven market platform that will link buyers and sellers in staple foods in Eastern Africa against spot market condition. The platform will provide farmers utilizing the certified warehouses to access local financing from participating banks for inputs; will increase production and create surpluses; and accelerate the utilization of grades and standards for grains and beans.”

The East Africa Community (EAC) also put its weight behind the G-Soko platform reinstating its commitment to develop sustainable structures in Grain Trade.

Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana, Director Productive Sectors, speaking on behalf of the Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, noted that the G-Soko Platform, was instrumental in driving regional integration and Trade, while assuring quality grades and standards for economic growth. “The EAC is committed to working with the Eastern Africa Grain Council and its regional partners in regional economic growth and support to regional trade within the EAC member states. As a private sector partner, we believe G-SOKO, will provide a wider grain market for all the countries in the region. Farmers from the member states can now trade freely as part of the common market protocol, through this partnership.”

A pilot project in Kenya that ran prior to the official launch attracted 10 warehouses and 5 banks, setting the pace for an optimistic gradual scaling throughout the Eastern Africa region. The event culminated into an exhibition where participants logged onto various workstations and were able to test out G-Soko’s features.

Activists challenge plant law

Published  by the Newvision Date: Aug 07, 2015

By David Lumu          

Denis Magola, a farmer in Mityana district is a very bitter man. Not because of bad weather or failure of crops to germinate.

Magola’s nightmare lies in what he calls the ‘venom’ that the Plant Variety Protection Act has unleashed into the country’s lifeline—agriculture, which according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, employs 72% of the 36 million Ugandans.

“The law removes our rights on food we grow and we don’t have a right on the seeds we produce. This means that we have no right to re-plant or sell seeds without the authority of the plant breeders,” he said.

Magola planted maize on three acres but as he waits for the harvest, he is equally disturbed with how to deal with the produce from seeds he purchased from breeders.

In 2014, Parliament passed the Plant Variety Protection Act.

The law gives plant breeders exclusive rights to produce, sell and also license other persons to sell and export plant varieties and reproductive materials of plants of that variety for sale.

“If we do so (sell, reproduce and produce), it will be illegal,” Magola told New Vision Thursday.

To some activists, the law gives a few people powers to the seeds—locking out so many farmers—in the traditional game of agriculture.

To cure this trend, civil society groups represented by the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), Food Rights Alliance Uganda (FRA), SEATINI Uganda and Action Aid Uganda yesterday petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging the Plant Variety Protection Act.

“The grant of exclusive rights to plant breeders over reproductive material of plant varieties amounts to privatization of Uganda’s food system and holds common farmers at ransom since seed is at the heart of the food system in Uganda and is the only source of livelihood for farmers,” said Agnes Kirabo, the executive director of Food Rights Alliance Uganda.

James Zeere, one of the lawyers representing the farmers said that: “By petitioning court, we want to balance the rights of farmers and innovators”.

“Plant breeder’s rights should stop at the seed and not the usage of the seed by the purchaser,” he said.

Alex Lwakuba, a commissioner in the department of crop protection and marketing at the Ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries, said that he could not comment on the intricacies surrounding the contentious law.

Katunkuma: Bitter berries are Iga’s gold

Published in

The Newvision. Aug 06, 2015

Patrick Iga grows bitter berries on four acres of land. (Credit: Umar Nsubuga)

By Umar Nsubuga

Patrick Iga has maintained a vegetable farming business for many years, and like any other business, he has seen days of profits as well as the low ones of losses.

Today, he is earning handsomely thanks to a friend who introduced him to the idea of growing bitter berries – or pea eggplants – two years ago.

His change in strategy has not only benefited Iga, but also several other people in Luwero district whom he taught and are not growing the highly nutritious bitter berries (locally katunkuma) commercially.

Iga never earned as much from growing African eggplants (locally entula) as he does fromkantunkuma, which he grows on a four-acre piece of land.

"I used to make a profit of one million [shillings] from the four-acre land, but with katunkuma I get almost double after every harvest. When you compare, there is a big difference," he says, urging more farmers to take on the agribusiness.

He did not hesitate to start growing bitter berries after his friend had explained to him the benefits.

To begin with, the first season of his new agri-venture saw most of Iga’s customers being his immediate clients. Today, he says, people travel from afar to buy the berries.

In fact, prices have since shot up, a factor that has seen the hardworking and equally inspiring farmer reap big from his beloved agribusiness.

Following his first harvest, he planted more of the ever-bearing variety and now he says that he will never stop because he has benefited from it.

 "My workers normally harvest them every day since they ripen very quickly and you can harvest them continuously for two years before uprooting them and planting new ones.

Every day, Iga and his workers make sure they harvest and keep the bitter berries clean at all times. He then sells when they are dry.

A kilogramme goes for sh5,000. Iga earns a monthly profit of sh2m – after harvesting and packaging the product.

Packaging, he says, allows him reach supermarkets where he sells his produce on time and when still fresh.

This also gives him enough time to return to his farm and plan for the next harvesting.

Nutritional and medicinal values

From the consumer point of view, katunkuma comes with plenty of nutritional benefits.

According to Sharon Naluwende, a nutritionist at Mulago Hospital, bitter berries are low in calories, fat and sodium, but contain essential minerals and dietary fibres.

They are also rich in antioxidants such as Vitamin C, polyphenols and carotenoids.

"Bitter berries help in preventing conditions like diabetes and hypertension," she says.

The ability of katunkuma to prevent high blood pressure comes about because the polyphenols in the berries aid the muscle layer of blood vessels around the heart to relax, which in turn regulates blood pressure, she explains.

How to cook them

Hadija Namatovu, who is her 60s, says that back in the day, bitter berries would be put in a banana leaf and steamed on top of food (matooke/bananas).

"And when the food was ready, the katunkuma would be quickly mashed and mixed with boiled water. A little salt to taste and your katunkuma sauce would be ready to serve with your matooke.

“Sometimes, it would be steamed, still on top of the food, together with dodo or nakati (local leafy vegetables) and they would be eaten together as vegetables to accompany the main sauce of beans or fish,” explains Namatovu.

To benefit from katunkuma's medicinal value, Namatovu says you can cook it with groundnuts although people who find it bitter may be unable to eat that kind of sauce.

Although it has been with us for a long time, the medicinal value attached to bitter berries is slowly giving them a new face.

I am one of the most successful small-scale Farmers-Nikodemus Wambua

By John Nderitu -

Jul 28, 2015

Nikodemus Wambua 38, married to Regina (25) has two children and is living in Kamuru, Makima, Kenya. He is one of 25 members of the Kamuru FFS (Farmers Field Schools) group. The 25 members are farming drought resistant crops and using new techniques that require less rainwater.

“There is no doubt, that the training has helped me raise the output of my farm. I am now one of the most successful small-scale farmers in the area.”

There are over 90 Farmers Field Schools in operation now since the drought in 2011. In essence they are farming cooperatives. Farmers and their neighbours are replicating what they learn in their households. So far the cooperatives have recieved 30 tones of drought resistant seeds, 40 hand irrigation pumps and 20 drip kits. These were distributed while 2 major water pans were being constructed.

The pupose of the cooperatives is to build resilience among smallholder farmers in arid and semi-arid rural areas to ensure food security and improve farm income at the family level. The farmers organize themselves into smallholder farmer’s cooperatives and Farmers Field Schools (FFS).The movements are important for lobby and advocacy groups at county and national levels. By supporting the new cooperative movement, 2,500 people’s lives are being improved directly and 10,000 people indirectly.

“I am one of 25 members in the Kamuru FFS group. Being a member has improved my life in many ways. My farm output has gone up and secured income and food for my family. My sense of belonging to this community has also improved – I have become proud and I interact with more people than ever before.”

Nikodemus has just harvested Sorghum for 32,400 shillings. This is the first time he has made such a big profit. After sowing, he had his first harvest. Then he cut the Sorghum down in a special way that he had learned at the Farmers Field Schools (FFS), and now he has harvested again. This way, Nikodemus has improved his income a lot despite low rainfalls in the past months.

“After advice from ActionAid, we are now growing a bigger variety of crops and I am using drought resistant seeds. We have sorghum, pumpkins, cassava, beans, peas, and many other crops on our fields. The big variety is good for the soil and the crop output. A shift towards drought resistant crops has really given my farm a boost.

Nikodemus received training in farming drought resistant crops, in using water saving methods, in crop management, in farming with new tools, in changing crops to maintain a healthy soil, and in many other areas.

At the FFS, members farm together under the guidance of agricultural experts. They share the output. However, the main benefit has been the knowledge and experience members have taken home to their own farms. The weather has become much drier, and therefore it is very important, that they are able to adjust with drought resistant seeds.

“My neighbours are looking at my success and I help them duplicate the new methods I am using. When everybody prospers, we benefit from a stronger and better community. ActionAid has also trained us in women participation. In some ways, I guess I treated my wife as an employee. She will not accept this anymore. Now we make decisions together. I feel it has helped me a lot when someone tells me not to be too single minded.”

Types of breed for profitable dairy farming in Kenya

Published By Bizna Reporter -Jul 29, 2015

In Kenya the main dairy breeds that have been selected include Ayshire, Friesian, Jersey, Guernsey and their crossbreeds.

Fresian Breed
The Friesian cows have a large body that weighs between 500-550kgs with black and white coat design. Their milk potential is 40-50 Litres of milk daily. They’re the preferred choice for dairy farming in Kenya highlands. They are heavy feeders eating 90-110 kg fresh forage per day or 3 gunny bags. They should have plenty of clean water about 60 Litres/day should be provided. They have a few shortcomings though; They are heavy feeders thus feed expense will be higher than other cows,Susceptible to diseases, milk fever and  high temperatures.

Ayshire Breed
Ayshire cow is a large bodied animal with average live-weight of 450 Kgs. Its milk potential is 30 Litres per day. The body of the ayshire cow is covered in brown with white patches in almost equal amounts. It requires around 90-110 kg feed consisting of fresh forage per day or 3 gunny bags. It also needs plenty of clean water about 60 Litres/day should be provided. Ayshire are hardy animals and is adaptable to most climates, thus making it suitable for dairy farming in Kenya.

Guernsey breed
Guernsey cow is yellow to reddish-brown with white patches around its body, adaptable to all climates and management systems with milk yield potential of 25 Ltrs per day. Amount of feed required is 65-85Kg fresh forage per day or 2 gunny bags and  40 Ltrs of water per day.

Jersey Breed
Jerseys usually have a body colour of light brown, though the colour can range from almost grey to dull black. Its average milk production is 20 litres per day. To spot a true its nose is black and bordered by almost white muzzle.

How UoN students turned part-time pocket money project into a multi-million greenhouses business

The just concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit featured many innovators and entrepreneurs. As the curtain fell on the GES on Sunday, some young entrepreneurs were smiling all the way to the bank.

The GES brought together many passionate and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, tenderpreneurs and techpreneurs from all over the world. However, on the final day, Africa was in the spotlight as it produced winners of the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST), which attracted 792 contestants.

The overall winner of GIST was Esther Majisola Ojebode, a Nigeria techpreneur, followed by Kenya’s Taita Ngetich who runs greenhouses.

Mr Taita Ngetich (pictured above), a fifth-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Nairobi (UoN, won $15000 (Ksh1.5 million) for his Illiminum Greenhouse project. The greenhouses offer a controlled and regulated environment, manned by sensor technology.

“Wherever you are, you can know what is happening in your farm,” he says. A farmer can open and close the irrigation system, as well as query and get alerts on current greenhouse status on such things as temperature, humidity and soil moisture by simply sending an SMS. The system is powered by a 14-watt solar panel and can work in rural areas, where electricity is a challenge.

The farmer also gets warning text messages on irregular parameters, such as high temperatures inside the greenhouse and, in turn, the system opens the flaps to correct the situation and immediately sends an SMS to the farmer informing about the correction carried out.

Mr Ng’etich says he teamed with a colleague to create a project to raise pocket money as they studied in campus, which later turned into a winner.

Chemical analyst wins for killing pests

Majisola Ojebode is a Nigerian applied biochemistry graduate from the Federal university of technology, Akure. The chemical analyst runs Bioresource Company, which offers solutions to killing weevils to reduce post-harvest losses. Ms Ojebode took home $15,000 (Ksh1.5 million) for the overall prize plus another $5,000 (Ksh500,000) for emerging the best in agriculture.

She says was an inquisitive child and remembers wondering how food expiry dates were determined. “I have always loved anything to do with science, and I studied it in the hope that it would enable me to combat environmental issues in my community, such as the pest problem on farms,” she says.

Ms Ojebode’s area of research is metalobomics, the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites, which are extracted from plants. “Metabolomics entails using a robust approach to discover what pesticides are doing, and to ensure that they work on the pest and not on the humans applying them,” she explains. “In other words, they need to be bio-selective.”

The process involves taking a model plant that has already been sequenced through genetic coding. Next, they take compounds whose bioactivities are already known. “We apply these to the model plant, to get their metabolic ‘fingerprints’ via gas chromatography instrumentation,” says Ojebode. “This will show us the effect that the applied compounds have on the plant. We do that on several plants using several compounds so we have a large range to examine.”

Ojebode has conducted such tests on lemongrass and dongoyaro (Azadirachta indica), a medicinal plant that people sow around their houses to deter insects. She now has enough information to contribute to the databases of scientific bodies, such as the International Metabolomics Society. “My intention is to figure out the exact properties of these plants and extract them for direct use,” she said.

How to start a dairy farm and remain successful in dairy farming.

Part One: 

By Bizna Reporter -

 Jul 31, 2015 

The following feature first appeared in farming Afrika.

Dairy farming has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. From being a hobby activity, dairy farming in Kenya has been transformed into a full blown business venture. There are more than enough examples of people making a more than good living from dairy farming but almost all of them will agree with me when I say it requires you to give a lot for you to receive.

Good and affordable feeds

Many people practicing dairy farming today are not satisfied with the amount of milk the cow is giving them. Especially when there are successful dairy farmers getting 30-45 liters of milk per cow per day. The easiest solution to this would be to buy some of the successful farmers’ cows. This is solving the problem without actually solving the problem. Il explain, if your cow is producing less than 10 liters a day, then you are not feeding it right.

To solve the problem, a farmer should first learn to feed the cows as required before buying high producing cows. Many farmers end up with diminished milk production after spending a lot of money buying quality breeds but fail when it comes to feeding them. To ensure that you gain maximum profits from your dairy venture, make sure you drive the cost of feeds down. Reports have it that the main cost in dairy farming in kenya is from animal feed which accounts to is between 40%-60% of the total costs.

There are several ways in which farmers can drive the costs down for example planting their own food if there is enough land available. Farmers can also make their own concentrates such as dairy meal. This will significantly reduce the cost of farming. There are new technologies that help reduce the cost of feeds for dairy farming in kenya such as hydroponics fodder where fodder is planted without water and is ready in just 6 days.

Proper Feeding

Feeding is the most important factor when dealing with dairy cows. In most cases it distinguishes the successful farmers from the unsuccessful ones. With feeding, there is not any one Golden formula that guarantees success. However, there are guidelines/rules of thumb that when followed will more often than not produce good results. It is however important for farmers to understand that they have to choose a formula that works both for the dairy cows and them. In that, the cows improve milk production and at the same time not strain the farmer. Some of the best animal feeds are expensive and this at times produces losses even with good milk production. Some farms have resorted to planting their own feeds and this has greatly driven down the costs.

Good technical support

Every farmer requires good technical support to be successful. Having a qualified veterinary doctor to visit your farm regularly can save you lot of costs amounting from medical expenses. It is also important that a farmer has a nutritionist visit the farm once in a while to advice on the feed to give the cows in the different lactation stages. Soil analysts are also important because if your soil lacks certain nutrients needed for cow development, then the crops grown on it will most likely also lack the same.