ProAgri Zambia March 2016 - Issue 005

March 2016 Nr 05

Free

Feeding on flies

Make money with small stock

Letter from the Editor

hen writing articles on equipment, we often use words like craftsmanship and superior design, and we admire the amount of research and development needed to perfect the tool tailor-made for the job to be done. It is all shiny and bright and causing a deep stir of excitement when the machine arrives on the farm for the first time. Everyone wants to try it out and not even dust is allowed to settle on it ... for the first few weeks.

Our trusted Jeremiah got quite badly Thereafter it becomes just hurt in an “accident” involving overanother daily chore, or is there confidence and lack of patience, but another way of looking at it? on page 26 you can see it toiling away One day, while visiting a farm, again.

I asked a farmer why he was so happy with the specific feed mixer we were writing about, while his neighbour wanted to give his lion in its den to elevating the common identical mixer away for scrap. His housefly from its lowly status of pest answer: “You have to get a feel for a to valuable feed source. Dr Dave Midgmachine, you must understand that ley offers practical advice on making it needs you as much as you need money with small-stock farming and I it.” trust that our tips on silage production Needless to say, his mixer was will help with next season’s planning. still in prime condition after five We are all looking forward to the years of daily use. His neighbour’s Agritech Expo and to meeting our was broken and rusted. Just to readers and the agricultural suppliers remind us all of the value of regular in Zambia face to face. maintenance on the tools we use to Take some time, sit down and enjoy make money, we included an article our 5th issue of ProAgri Zambia. on a few basic do’s and don’ts on page 23.

Farm smartly!

In this issue animals are the main attraction, and we have a few Annemarie Bremner > surprises in store - from keeping a annemarie@proagri.co.za

Cover

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Bonnox has a fencing solution for your needs. Developed in Africa for African farmers, they understand the challenges of terrain and diversity of animals farmers have to manage. Read more on p 3.

ProAgri technology for the farmer

Z a m b i a

Office no. 3 Fens Investment Building Lusaka Show Grounds

+26 (0)96-216-9801 www.proagri.co.za

Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. No material, text or photographs may be reproduced, copied or in any other way transmitted without the written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher or of the editor.

We recognise all trademarks and logos as the sole property of their respective owners. ProAgri shall not be liable for any errors or for any actions in reliance thereon.

ProAgri Zambia Editor Annemarie Bremner > +27 82-320-3642 annemarie@proagri.co.za General Manager Zambia Quintus Grobler > +26 (0)96-216-9801 quintus@vanetechnology.com

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Reporter Du Preez de Villiers > +27 82-598-7329 dupreez@proagri.co.za Marketing Xander Pieterse > +27 79-524-0934 xander@proagri.co.za Stefan van Wyk > +27 82-381-7563 stefan@agritrader.co.za

Content

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Bonnox: What belongs inside stays inside

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The secrets of good silage

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Feeding on flies

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Make money with small-stock farming

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Proper feeding of commercial egg layers

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SOIL: The farmer’s most important asset (4)

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Maintenance: Look after your implements

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Go BLUE to go GREEN with LEMKEN

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Get ready for the third Agritech Expo

ProAgri Zambia 05

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Melissa Pols > +26 (0)83-748-3413 melissa@proagri.co.za Design Esta van Niekerk

mart!

Farm s

Enquiries Engela Botha > +27 12-803-0667 engela@proagri.co.za Accounts Ronel Keet > +27 861-777-225 accounts@smartpublishing.co.za Distribution Du Preez de Villiers > +27 12-803-0667 dupreez@proagri.co.za.co.za Business manager George Grobler

March 2016

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A Porta-pen can be erected quickly and easily.

1.

Drive a Y-pole into the ground and tie the one end of the wire mesh to the pole.

2.

Unroll the wire to form a circle.

3.

Keep it upright with a few droppers.

Bonnox: What belongs inside stays inside Only the bleating of a goat or the roar of a lion can escape a Bonnox fence – the rest of the animals stay inside! For more than 50 years, farmers in South Africa have relied on Bonnox to contain their animals, and now Zambian farmers can also enjoy the benefits of this high quality, easy-to-erect fencing.

T

he story of Bonnox began in 1962 when Mr VH Schadewaldt started Bonnox to provide welded wire mesh for poultry farming and the control of small livestock. From a humble start, Bonnox has grown into a reliable role-player in the agricultural sector and game sector with more than 70 products to contain everything inside that belongs inside.

One of the first popular products was PortaPen; a temporary wire mesh kraal which can be erected in a tick to handle small livestock in places where there are no facilities. Due to its popularity the PortaPen has recently made a comeback. It is easy to transport, quick to erect, and the size can be adapted to handle different numbers of livestock. It is especially popular at shows or farmer's days where experts demonstrate livestock management.

Bonnox is continually developing new and better products because they listen to farmers and cater to their changing needs.

The game industry, with its unique needs, has motivated a number of excellent developments such as the African pattern game fence of up to 2,44 m high with more horizontal strands in the impact zone.

The whole range of Bonnox products is explained in detail on www.bonnox.co.za, but please take note of the following series: Money Saver™ has smaller spacings ProAgri Zambia 05

towards the bottom of the fence and it is meant for farm animals in general.

The heights vary from 0,65 to 1,41 m with vertical wires being 150 to 300 mm apart and between 7 and 11 horizontal wires. It can also be used for dogs and pigs.

Close Mesh™ has smaller openings with 10 to 25 horizontal wires and vertical wires from 150 to 300 mm apart. The heights vary from 0,91 to 2,44 metres. It can be used to keep all livestock species, many species of game and even ostriches inside, and unwanted predators such as jackal, outside.

Bonnox has 70 different products to meet every special fencing need of farmers.

The openings in Square Mesh™ are the same all over and it is available in heights of 0,6, 0,91, 1,22, 1,83 and 2,44 metres with 7, 10, 13, 19 and 25 horizontal strands respectively. It is an excellent security fence, especially in combination with electric fencing.

Flexi-Fence™ is an innovative development enabling farmers to fence uneven terrain. The unique Ringlock™ system gives the fence tremendous flexibility enabling fencing on gradients of up to 45 degrees, while the vertical wires stay upright.

Flexi-Fence™ is available in heights of 1,5 m, 1,8 m and 2,1 m.

Kombi-Fence™ gives you the best of both worlds with vertical wires being 100/150 mm apart in the bottom half and 200/300 mm apart in the top half. It is particularly effective in keeping small predators out while protecting scarce game.

You can also enjoy the benefits of Bonnox. Phone +2712-666-8717 or visit www.bonnox.co.za to look at the whole product range and current specials. There is also a video on the site with instructions for erecting Bonnox.

Order your Bonnox directly from the factory in Pretoria. For more details regarding transport and importation please e-mail sales@bonnox.co.za or telephone at +2712-666-8717. It is easier than you think! www.bonnox.co.za.

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Breeding Impuls Zambia specialises in reproductive services and products for dairy and beef cattle. We specialise in AI, synchronisation, pregnancy diagnosis by sonograph, semen and AI equipment sales.

Based on our international experiences we created a Breeding Manual to help farmers to choose the right breed to achieve their goals. Semen is imported from different countries over the world, to provide the best genetics at a reasonable price.

Our services: • Artificial insemination • Pregnancy diagnosis (palpitation, sonograph) • Synchronisation Our products: • Liquid nitrogen • Bull semen: - Dairy semen: Fleckvieh, Holstein-Friesian, Jersey - Beef semen: Fleckvieh, Simmentaler, Aberdeen Angus (red, black), Brahman, Boran, Brangus, Bonsmara, Tuli • Synchronisation hormones (Syntex) • AI equipment: Liquid nitrogen flasks, AI kits, AI guns universal, minicutters, tweezers, sheaths, thaw units, thaw monitors, gloves, lubricants, disinfectants

Liquid nitrogen for sale

Our contact details: www.breedingimpulszambia.com breedingimpulszambia@gmail.com Cell: +26 096 849 3432 12

March 2016

ProAgri Zambia 05

The secrets of good silage In the current drought a number of farmers decided to salvage what they could of their dying crops by cutting what was left and making silage, with different levels of success. If you have to choose between waiting for the rain to save your crops or to do what you can to save your animals, the choice is obvious. Given the weather situation in Southern Africa, it is better to always prepare for ample feed reserves for the bad years.

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ow, when all the seed companies are presenting their tested technology, is a good time to find out more about their silage products and to plan ahead for next season.

Silage, especially maize silage, provides more nutrition per hectare and also better animal production per hectare than any other method of feed preservation. Silage can also be stored for an almost unlimited period, providing that it doesn’t come into contact with air or water.

Traditionally dairy farmers were the main users of silage, but recently it is gaining in popularity in feedlots and with commercial cattle farmers. Even sheep farmers are turning towards silage, especially as winter feed.

You can make silage of almost any green plants, but maize remains the best choice.

Good maize silage begins with choosing the right cultivar. Normally, the cultivar producing the most grain in an area will also be the cultivar providing the most material for silage with the highest energy value.

Medium-short and medium-long growers provide the best balance between quality and quantity. These growth classes also mean a longer window period for cutting silage.

Ultra-fast growers may provide two silage harvests in one season if there is sufficient water and heat units, but mostly they do not produce adequate plant material for a satisfactory silage yield.

Experts recommend that maize for silage should be planted at 10% more plants per hectare than maize planted for grain. You need to achieve a bal-

ProAgri Zambia 05

ance between your green material and your grain - fewer plants per hectare mean more grain with more nutrients, but less green material and thus a smaller total yield.

Another balancing act is the height of the cut. If you cut low above the ground you get more stalk in relation to soft greens and therefore the food is less palatable. But the higher you cut, the less material you have. Your seed agent can give the best advice in this regard, because some cultivars are more palatable than others.

You only have a short period for

cutting while the moisture level of the maize is at its best for silage. If possible, try to spread out your planting to correspond with your capability of cutting and making silage, for example, if your equipment allows you to ensilage 100 hectares per week, try to plant 100 hectares per week.

Some golden rules Rudi Kuschke, feed expert of K2Agri, says there are a few golden rules for producing the best silage: Do not use material that is either too wet or too dry. The moisture level of the plant should be between 65 and 75% and the bottom leaves of the plants should just be beginning to dry out.

The milk line should be halfway in the kernel and the kernels should all be dented inwards at the tops. If you squeeze some of the chopped plant material between your hands, your hands should feel moist, but not wet

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– then your maize is exactly right for silage.

If you are still not sure, use the following method recommended by Pieter Rademeyer from PANNAR: - Chop up 10 plants representative of the field.

- Mix it well and measure off exactly 1 kg - Put in the oven at 105â °C for 24 hours leaving the door of the oven slightly open. Then keep another 24 hours in the oven with the door closed.

- Let it cool down and weigh it again.

The weight equals the percentage dry material times 100.

- If that percentage is between 30 and 40%, your maize is ready to make silage.

If plant material is too dry, you are not producing silage but compost. The material will become too warm and turn brown. It means less protein, less palatability and loss of dry material.

You can try and salvage the situation by adding water to the blower, by cutting the material finer and by adding preservatives such as antibiotics, sterilising aids such as salt, sulphur dioxide, sodium metabisulphite, sodium nitrate, fatty acid and formalin, and carbon dioxide. Sodium metabisulphite works best and 4 kg need to be added to every ton of silage.

If the material is too wet, on the other hand, it can lead to leaching of nutrients, rancid and unpalatable silage. The best way is to wait until the material is dry enough to ensilage the material.

Adjust your silage cutter for a cut of 5 to 8 mm in size and stamp it down properly in the silage pit. If it is not stamped down tightly, air may penetrate and spoil the silage by destroying the nutrients.

Silage can be made in a special silage bunker, a silage pit or a ditch, in specially made silage bags, as wrapped bales or even simply as a heap on the ground. If done correctly, every one of these options can be effective.

The silage heap or ditch must be narrow enough so that you can take out the silage you need every day and then cover it up tightly again to keep air out.

The chopped plant material must be offloaded layer by layer into the silage pit, and each layer must be tightly stamped down by driving over it with a tractor. Afterwards course salt can be spread over it to prevent mildew from forming and then it must be closed tightly with canvas or plastic held down with soil, stones or old tyres.

The silage process As soon as the material is ensilaged, ProAgri Zambia 05

a fermentation process and certain chemical reactions commence. As long as there is oxygen in the material, acetic acid is formed, but as soon as the oxygen has been used up, lactic acid is produced. The ph and temperature of the silage then start to go down.

Within three weeks, the process is completed. After six weeks, your animals can start enjoying the best feed ever.

What does good silage look like?

- The moisture level is between 60 and 67%.

- The colour is a bright light yellowgreen or khaki.

- It has a pleasant, slightly sour, fruity smell.

- It has a pleasant, sour taste, not stinging or bitter.

- It does not contain mildewed or spoilt material.

- It has a crude protein content of 7 to 9%.

What can be used to make silage?

Silage can be made of any green crop, but maize is best. Certain cultivars of feed sorghum are perfectly suitable for silage production. Famers even use grass for silage in order to capture the advantages of nutritiousness and palatability during its peak growth season and extend its value to a longer time in the feed programmes.

Plants such as maize, sweet sorgho, oats and rye have sufficient sugar to form the needed lactic acid during the fermentation process. When plants with higher protein levels, such as lucerne, cowpeas, soy beans, vetch, canola and lupines are being used, sugar in the form of diluted molasses should be added to prevent the formation of butyric acid which will spoil the silage and make it smell rancid.

The starch levels can be increased with maize meal in the following relations: - Grasses, feed sorghum and millet: 2% molasses or 4,5% maize meal.

- Legumes: 4% molasses or 9% maize meal.

- No additives are needed when sugar rich grain crops are added to legumes or grasses in a relation of 2 to 1.

When to cut other crops: Lucerne: 10% flowering Soy bean: From the middle to full flower stage before the leaves start falling down Cowpeas and other beans: As soon as the pods are well filled Grass: Full flower stage Feed sorghum: In the soft dough stage, just after the grain has been formed Sunflower: 10 tot 15% flower stage Small grain: Hard dough stage Grain sorghum: In the early hard dough stage.

Lupine and seradella: Cut during the soft dough stage and allow a few days to wither before chopping and ensilaging.

Next month we shall look at silage equipment.

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Feeding on flies

by Du Preez de Villiers

F

or most people, flies seem to be creatures from hell. Their obvious dirty habits – moving from waste products to humans – made them enemies, but perceptions our sworn e are changing. Th The offspring of flies are quite useful. The larvae of these controversial insects help to convert products into harmful natural waste produ useful resources that are extremely use especially in agriculture.

This is just the first level of usefulness. Recently, a second level was discovered: The commercial application of the housefly larvae in the animal feed industry for the production of a high protein source. Protein is a very important food component for humans and animals, but it is rapidly becoming extremely expensive to produce.

Protein sources such as fish meal, blood meal and bone meal are becoming more unpopular due to the concerns about the heavy footprint it can leave on nature and the concerns about diseases that may arise from feeding animal products to animals.

Another issue with protein for human consumption is that animal

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Maggot meal has a minimum crude protein content nt of 500 g/kg and a maximum crude fibre content of 130 g/kg and animals don’t complain. production is seen as a big culprit in the contribution to climate change due to the emission of greenhouse gasses like methane, CO2 and N2O. Therefore, any attempt by the industry to gain positive credits will help to reduce the bad rap. If we can use two of the harmful by-products of animal production – animal waste and flies – to produce one of the most important raw materials in the production of commercial animals, it will be very appealing in our day and age.

Chickens and fish are natural insect eaters and fly-larvae are regarded as

a delicatessen by these animals. Why not produce insect larvae on a great scale to feed it to them? When one kilogram of fly eggs can turn into 380 kg of larvae in 3 days and dried into 76 kg of protein, you have a business!

A simple solution The experimental process behind this brilliant thinking dates back to 1969 when the harvesting of pupae was more popular since it was believed to be easier. The issues have since been overcome and the economic viability became more appealing.

In 2010, the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa engaged in research with laboratory based animal trials on broiler chickens. The first academic publications followed suit. Common houseflies, black soldier flies and blowflies, which consume most forms of organic waste seem to be the best candidates in this process. Houseflies are a common species worldwide and are NOT difficult to find.

The process is quite simple: Capture a lot of flies, let the creatures lay eggs and cover it with almost any form of animal waste to stimulate hatching. Extract the larvae, dry it, mill it into meal and mix it into your feed rations.

According to the literature, houseflies have a five day life cycle. Under natural conditions, they can lay 500 to 600 eggs, which will hatch after eight to twelve hours. The larval stage lasts about five days and, thereafter, the pupal stage lasts four to five days.

Under controlled conditions the picture looks much more impressive. With good managemment, a fly can lay 2 000 eggs and the ten day larvaeto-pupal phase can be reduced to six days. The optimal hatching condition is a temperature above 25 °C with a moist environment.

Flies prefer to lay their eggs in moist substrates of decaying organic matter on which the maggots feed.

An unbelievable variety of raw materials can be used. A fly farmer cannot complain that he cannot get access to any of the following: Poultry manure is regarded as the favourite, but animal offal, rotten fruit, pig manure, cattle blood, wheat bran, cattle gut and rumen content, fish guts and a mixture of egg and hatchery waste are used.

Uneaten food from restaurants and ProAgri Zambia 05

AgriProtein means business with the neat rows and rows of cages filled with flies. hotels, out-of-date food from supermarkets and abattoir waste can be used by the maggot farmer closer to the city.

er pulation,” says Jason Drew, co-founder and director of AgriProtein. “We are looking at returns on investment in o the mid-twenties,” he says. “We aim to undercut the cost of fishmeal by aboutt 15 percent.”

Another two farms are still undergoing environmental impact studies and will be 1,8 times larger than the first one. The farms will take in 110 tons of organic waste per month as a feed source for the larvae. To secure the continuation of the process, three to four percent of the flies will complete their life cycle to maintain the farm’s insect supply.

Plants are also being built in the USA, Cambodia, Chile, Indonesia, and Europe. The European Union still has some issues regarding legislation.

“Currently we can produce and sell maggot meal (in Europe), but once it is dried (processed) it can only be used in pet feeds. Enabling legislation is expected in 2017,” Jason says. His vision is that ten international factories will be up and running in 2020 to start the revolution in sustainable animal protein production.

In Europe there is another legal technicality that needs time to be resolved. No animals, including insects, are currently allowed to be slaughtered (processed) on a farm. Hopefully

there will be clarity on this matter in the nearby future.

Luckily, Africa is not hampered by this kind of red tape, or at least not in the foreseeable future. Since maggot meal has the ideal amino acid profile for monogastric animals, the target market is the pork, fish and poultry industries. Maggot meal is also better than soy as animal feed and it doesn’t compete with human food at ALL! AgriProtein also manufactures Omega 6 rich MagOil, which is used in pet and pig feed. They also produce Magsoil for organic farmers as well as whole dried larvae for pet food.

“Magmeal is a natural and sustainable feed for fish and chicken, and in time it will be considered normal to recycle our waste nutrients into useable protein. In a food constrained future, we need to innovate to feed our p planet sustainably,” Jason Drew said.

The buckets filled with fly eggs and animal waste are producing 225 tons of MagMeal per month.

Tonnes and tonnes of larvae vae are slowly sent through rough the drying prop opr cess on n a conveyer belt.

Flies for Africa Africa is one of the leaders in the field of maggot meal production. In 2013, a maggot meal demonstration research plant was opened in Kenya. The big year was in 2014 when product licenses to produce maggot meal were granted by the Department of Agriculture in South Africa. In the same year the United Nations backed Innovation Prize for Africa was awarded to a maggot meal producer. The prize winner, AgriProtein, opened a 9 000 square metre, undercover maggot farm near Cape Town. Today, their monthly output is 225 tons of ‘Magmeal’ – the name of their brand.

“The product is well accepted as a sustainable alternative to fishmeal there is more demand than supply of protein in general with a growing po-

Magmeal is the brand name of the maggot meal produced by AgriProtein.

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Watch the YouTube-video o where Jason Drew tells the story y of his revolutionary idea behind mag-got meal to a Tedx audience. ce. m/ https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=hxeuQtFbwZo March 2016

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Make money with small-stock farming F

arming is a business, whether you have 10 or a 1 000 female animals.

The aim is to increase your wealth – to make more money or to have more sheep and/or goats.

The best way to achieve this is to get more lambs/kids and then to make sure they do not die or become sick.

Apart from theft, the main constrains most of us are dealing with are: - Nutrition - Parasites - Internal - External - Diseases and death In the past we have looked at those things separately or each one on its own. In practice we have learned that they all work together.

When small-stock lose weight as a result of a food shortage, for instance, their resistance drops and they get more parasites. A food shortage can mean a drop in either the quantity of the available food, or a drop in its quality. They then become thinner and also often acquire diseases and die.

Sometimes there is still a lot of food available, but they become infested with parasites. As a result they then become “thin” (lose weight), become more prone to ailments, and die.

The third alternative is where a healthy animal gets sick – for example getting an abscess on the body. The animal then gets thin/weak, resulting in parasites and other diseases attacking it, and eventually causing death.

Other losses that we have often missed in the past, are production losses. If ewes lose condition, they do not breed. If they do not grow out well, they miss or skip a breeding cycle and only start breeding a year later in their lives.

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No lambs or kids mean no money If “young stock” gets sick or parasite infested, they grow slower and it takes them longer to reach the target or “market weight”.

The longer they take to grow, the more animals you have on the available food source. If or when food gets scarce like during the winter months, you have more mouths to feed and to utilise the diminished food that is available outside.

So our aim must always be to get: MORE LAMBS/KIDS + BETTER LAMBS/KIDS… Next, we want to sell off these lambs/kids before nature turns and food gets scarce. In other words, we strive to balance the number of animals we keep on the available food source.

Most markets prefer a lamb or kid that weighs 40 - 45 kg live weight (giving a carcass of 18 - 20 kg).

By Dr Dave Midgley

Mutton breeds can reach these weights at ± 4 months of age, while dual purpose breeds take longer to achieve the same target weight.

Management guideline Our aim is to get more lambs/kids and/or better lambs/kids (quantity and quality).

To reach this we need to do the right THINGS, in the right WAY, at the right TIME. It is important to understand the way the bodies of the animals we are dealing with, “work”.

If the ewe or doe is sick or thin because of a food shortage or parasite infestation, she will not come on heat and breed. She feels that she is battling to survive and can’t bring a lamb or kid into this world under these circumstances.

After good rains, the FOOD supply usually increases, but so do the parasites! Parasite control, as well as vaccinating against diseases, should therefore also be synchronised with seasonal changes which occur after good rains. By doing so, the animals feel better, come into cycle, and get pregnant sooner, leading to more progeny being born.

The art or trick to get more lambs or kids, is thus to let the “mothers feel better”.

Now we ask ourselves: “Can’t we make the ewes/does “feel better” when there is not really much food available and let them lamb or kid just before or just after we expect the rain to come, so that we have progeny when nature gives us food?”

By deworming, vaccinating, administering trace elements, vitamins and LICK, we can actually make the ewe feel better and get pregnant when WE want them to and not if and when nature dictates.

ProAgri Zambia 05

More lambs/kids mean more money

The next important “production phase” is pregnancy: A ewe or doe “carries” for 5 months; that is 150 days. There is nothing you and I can do to make this faster or longer. At 50 days the foetus is a little bigger than a matchbox. At 100 days it is roughly the size of a margarine tub (500 g). At birth (146-150 days) when the female “lambs down” or kids, the “baby” weighs 3 - 4 kg (the weight of a brick).

The foetus grows most in the last third of pregnancy. When this happens, the mother’s body realises that a baby is going to be born and that it must make milk (food) for this baby, so the udder starts developing at the same time that the baby inside increases in size.

The first milk is called colostrum.

In addition to being an important food source, it also supplies antibodies which protect the lamb against reigning diseases.

If we vaccinate the mothers, they will make the best colostrum that will protect their offspring the best against the most important diseases! The ideal time to do this, is 4 - 6 weeks before birth, and that is roughly 4 months after we treated them to get pregnant!

The worms inside the ewe also get the “message” that lambs are going to be born – so they start laying eggs to make sure that their children are outside on the veld or grazing when the babies are born and start nibbling on the grass.

If we deworm the mothers 4 - 6 weeks before giving birth, there will be fewer female parasites in them to lay eggs and soil the pasture!

We also make them feel good again, so that they have enough good milk to feed a healthy strong lamb that is well protected against the reigning diseases by the “good colostrum”.

More offspring and better offspring means more money Remember to also give vitamins, trace elements and LICK during these times!

- Pasteurellosis - Corynebacterium

We now know that the best times to treat the mothers are:- Before mating - Before lambing/kidding What about the offspring?

When must they first be treated?

It has been proved that the passive immunity given via the colostrum lasts between 2 - 3 months against most bacterial diseases and up to 6 months in the case of viral diseases!

The START a lamb or kid gets in life, determines the quality of animal you will have for the rest of its life!

So at 2 - 3 months of age we should:- Deworm the lambs/kids for the first time.

- Vaccinate them against diseases.

- Give them a tonic to grow (vitamins and trace elements) - Supply them with food (creep feed to young stock and a lick to the mothers which will help them to make more milk) When parasites are abundant or “in season”, you can consider deworming your sheep and goats again – in most cases this is ± 4 months after the last deworming and 1 month before lambing!

So in a year an adult female is dewormed roughly every 4 months.

Above all, you are doing the right things very close the right or “ideal” times.

Always read the instructions supplied on the package insert of each product. By doing this you can make sure that they are administered in the right way.

Let’s take a closer look at vaccines and at immunity (protection) against disease: There are many diseases of sheep and goats, but the three causing most losses (production loss and deaths) are: - Pulpy kidney

Vaccination of sheep and goats: The body produces soldiers that attack the germs and kill them before they cause disease.

This differs from antibiotic treatment, where you have a disease and inject or treat the animal against the disease by supplying an agent which then kills the “bug” that is causing the problem.

A vaccine is given to a healthy animal to protect it against a disease or diseases.

An antibiotic is given to a sick animal to treat it.

If you have lots of soldiers, they usually WIN the “battle” against the germs. Sometimes you have more germs or stronger germs and they then win the battle, with the animal then still getting sick or dying despite being vaccinated. In the case of a possible outbreak, you now might lose one or two animals whereas someone else who did not vaccinate might lose 8 or 10 animals!

More animals – healthy animals!

To summarise: - My aim is to help you make MORE MONEY! - I want to achieve this by helping you to do the RIGHT THING, the RIGHT WAY, at the RIGHT TIMES. - Adult sheep and goats are dewormed roughly 3 times per year – about every 4 months. This leads to fewer treatments – just enough to keep your animals healthy and producing well.

- With these recommendations they are vaccinated against the most important diseases at least once per year.

- Please remember that animals being vaccinated for the first time must receive a BOOSTER in most cases, especially when dead or killed vaccines are being used.

- Deworm and vaccinate lambs and kids at 2 - 3 months for the first time and again a month later at 3 - 4 months of age.

- Supplement vitamin A, trace elements and give extra food or licks at times when animals might need it: • Before mating • Before lambing • To young animals It all comes down to - More lambs/ kids – better lambs/kids.

To arrange a consultation with Dr Dave Midgley for a comprehensive animal health programme specifically developed for your farm, send an e-mail to dave. midgley@vodamail.co.za.

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March 2016

ProAgri Zambia 05

The proper feeding of young hens before they start laying eggs is crucial to your egg production business. Rowena Blanco, Nutritionist at Tiger Animal Feeds, explains why.

B

ody weight is a factor that is often overlooked by poultry producers who purchase pullets* and sometimes by those who produce replacement pullets. The two most important criteria of pullet quality are uniformity within the flock and proper body weight at a specific age. Almost anything that adversely affects a pullet will usually be reflected in lower body weights and poorer flock uniformity.

The poultry producer should always know the body weight, flock uniformity, vaccination schedule, feeding program, lighting, environmental conditions during grow-out and the general management of his pullets.

Without the basic knowledge of the flock grow-out, it is virtually impossible to understand and possibly solve problems which may later occur during the laying period. Remember that once egg production begins, it is too late to solve problems resulting from poor nutrition or management during the grow-out period.

Pullets are grown to attain a certain body weight at a particular age.

During this growing period the tissues and organs develop at different rates and therefore feeding to the nutritional demands for these various tissues and organs are imperative.

For example, growth during the first 6 weeks of a pullet’s life is not in fat, but in high protein organs such as

heart, liver and kidney. “Critical periods” exist during the growing period and simply feeding to body weight while ignoring these critical periods of development may have a detrimental effect on performance in the laying house. It is essential to have the correct amount and balance of amino acids, other nutrients, and energy in the diet at different stages of the growing period.

Underweight pullets approaching peak egg production will not be able to consume enough energy each day to maintain or even attain peak production. The bird, at this point, will use her body stores of fat and protein to provide the energy in an attempt to produce eggs at her full genetic potential.

Small pullets reaching peak egg

*Females over a year old are known as hens and younger females as pullets. In the egg-laying industry, a pullet becomes a hen when she begins to lay eggs at 16 to 20 weeks of age.

ProAgri Zambia 05

production will usually experience a decline in egg production at or shortly after peak. This is often referred to as the “post-peak” production drop. In addition, a flock of pullets exhibiting non-uniformity of body weight will result in a lower, flatter production peak.

Many of the problems which occur during the early part of lay can be traced back to insufficient or improper type of body weight attained during the various stages of the growing period. In order to avoid these problems, pullets must be fed in a manner that will allow full expression of their genetic growth potential during the growing period.

Because each strain of egg-type bird available today is the result of intense genetic selection by a particular breeding company, each strain is different. The desired body weight of the flock is usually the weight the breeder recommends at a given age.

Being above the recommended body weight at any given age should not give cause for as much concern as a pullet being underweight, especially in hot weather.

Summary: The main goal in feeding pullets is to produce a flock of birds which, when placed in the layer house, will attain optimum performance. At point-of-lay, the highest quality pullet will usually be a profitable laying hen throughout the laying period. The genetic potential of the pullet is fixed prior to hatching. From day of hatching onward, successful performance in the layer house is influenced by factors to which the pullet is exposed both before and after the onset of lay. Body weight and uniformity are extremely important, and many of the problems resulting in reduced profitability from a commercial layer flock could have been eliminated if the correct pullet body weight and condition at the desired age of sexual maturity had been achieved.

Remember, although feed is the major cost in the rearing operation, it does not pay to try and cut costs in this area, especially in the critical first 12 weeks of age. This error may result in losses in the layer house.

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s PART 4: The clay minerals Martiens du Plessis, Soil Scientist, NWK Limited & Prof Cornie van Huyssteen, Lecturer: Soil Science, University of the Free State

Soil is the most fundamental resource for the farmer, without which food and natural fibre cannot be produced. This article forms part of a series to highlight this resource. In this article, we discuss the most important clay minerals occurring in the soil.

P

rimary minerals weather chemically to form the basic elements for the formation of secondary minerals.

Because oxygen (O; 46,6%), silicon (Si; 27,7%), and aluminium (Al; 8,1%) are the most prolific elements, in the earth’s crust, one may conclude that these three elements will also be the most prolific in the secondary minerals.

CLAY SHEETS The silicon cation is surrounded by four oxygen anions to form a foursided tetrahedron. The tetrahedral clay sheet forms when the tetrahedra arrange themselves to form a layer.

The aluminium cation is surrounded by six hydroxide (OH) anions to form an eight-sided octahedron. These octahedra also arrange themselves into a sheet, which is then referred to as the octahedral layer. It is combinations of these tetrahedral and octahedral layers that form the basic building blocks of the clay minerals. Because these secondary minerals occur mainly in the clay fraction and, as a result of the layered nature thereof, the terms secondary, clay or phyllosilicates (layered) minerals are used interchangeably, but they all refer to the same thing.

KAOLINITE CLAY MINERAL Kaolinite is the most common clay mineral in poorly structured soils, which include the vast majority of the arable land in Zambia. Kaolinite is formed when one Al octahedral layer and one Si tetrahedral layer combine to form a 1:1 clay mineral (Figure 1a and Figure 2). Limited isomorphic substitution (replaced by the same shape) of Al3+ which replaces Si4+ in the tetrahedral layer, leads to the formation of a negative charge of between 10 and 15 cmolc kg-1 of clay.

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[One mole is equal to 6,023 x 1023 (Avogadro’s number) particles. One centimole is therefore one hundredth, or 6,023 x 1021 of this. Therefore, kaolinite has 10 x 6,023 x 1021, or 6,023 x 1022 (60 230 000 000 000 000 000 000) negative charges per kg of clay.] This charge has to be balanced by cations and gives clay the ability to bind cations – the so-called cation exchange capacity (CEC). [Kaolinite’s charge is mainly pH dependent – more about this in a later issue.] Hydrogen bonding takes place between the Al-OH octahedral layer and the adjacent Si-O tetrahedral layer, of the two respective clay minerals. This bond is relatively weak, but is strong enough to prevent water moving in between the layers. As a result, kaolinite minerals do not expand and shrink during wetting and drying. It therefore has stable physical properties. Kaolinite clay crystals are relatively large and occur in the coarse clay fraction. The clays are therefore non-sticky and are kaolinite (1:1) non-swelling 0.7 nm

tetrahedral layer octahedral layer tetrahedral layer octahedral layer

fine mica (2:1) non-swelling tetrahedral layer

“non-plastic”. The kaolinite minerals occur towards the end of the weathering cycle, are rather resistant to weathering, and weather further to form aluminium oxides. As a result of the low CEC, it does not retain many cations and is therefore a poor provider of basic cations (potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium).

Halloysite is also a 1:1 clay mineral, but of lesser importance in soil.

THE 2:1 CLAY MINERALS The 2:1 clay minerals form when one Al octahedral layer occurs between two Si tetrahedral layers. The most important 2:1 clay minerals are the fine micas (Figure 1b), vermiculite (Figure 1c) and montmorillonite (Figure 1d).

The fine micas The fine micas and vermiculite have undergone isomorphic substitution in the octahedral (Mg2+ replacing Al3+) and tetrahedral (Al3+ replacing Si4+) layers. In the case of the fine micas, the negative charge is balanced to a great extent by potassium (K+), which fits snugly between respective clay layers. As a result, the fine micas cannot expand and shrink during wetting and drying. The fine micas are an important source of K+ in the soil when it weathers. The nett CEC of fine mica is 40 cmolc kg-1 of clay.

Vermiculite Vermiculite forms when the fine mica minerals lose the K+ cations in the interlayer spaces due to weather-

vermiculite (2:1) moderate swelling tetrahedral layer

1.0 octahedral layer 1-1.5 octahedral layer nm nm tetrahedral layer tetrahedral layer water and cations

tetrahedral layer octahedral layer tetrahedral layer

tetrahedral layer

montmorillonite (2:1) high swelling tetrahedral layer 1-2 octahedral layer nm tetrahedral layer water and cations

octahedral layer tetrahedral layer

tetrahedral layer

chlorite (2:1) non swelling tetrahedral layer

1-4 octahedral layer nm tetrahedral layer octahedral layer tetrahedral layer octahedral layer tetrahedral layer

octahedral layer

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

tetrahedral layer

Figure 1: Schematic representation of (a) a 1:1 clay mineral (kaolinite), (b) a non-expansive 2:1 clay mineral (fine mica), (c) a moderately expansive 2:1 clay mineral (vermiculite), (d) an expansive 2:1 clay mineral (montmorillonite) and (e) a non-expansive 2:1:1 clay mineral (chlorite).

ProAgri Zambia 05

Mg2+ which replaces Al3+ solely in the Al octahedral layer. The charge is therefore lower than is the case of vermiculite and is also concentrated in the middle of the clay mineral. The cations are therefore not attached as strongly as in the case of vermiculite and water, together with cations, can move easily in and out of the interlayer spaces. This results in montmorillonite expanding and shrinking considerably (almost doubling in size) during wetting and drying. These clay minerals are small and have a Figure 2. Scanning electron microscopic image of high CEC of 100 cmolc kaolinite crystals, which indicates the kg-1 of clay. The charges hexagonal (six-sided) piles of crystals and of 2:1 clay minerals interlayer spaces. (http://www.rdg.ac.uk/cfam/ are mainly permanent imageofthemonth/2008/February2008.html) and are not influenced by pH. Montmorillonite ing. Vermiculite clay, therefore, has clay minerals are very small and are a high CEC of 140 cmolc kg-1 of clay. therefore extremely sticky and “plasWater and cations can move into the tic� and have a high affinity for water interlayer spaces but, because the clay and cations. These clays are therefore strongly binds the cations, the clay good providers of plant nutrients but, has a limited expansion and shrinkage as such, can retain water so strongly ability during wetting and drying. The that it is inaccessible to plants. As most important property of vermiculite the soil shrinks, it results in major is that it can fix K+ in the interlayer cracks. Water infiltration will thus be spaces, making it inaccessible to rapid when the soil is dry, but very plants. It is therefore a significant fixer slow when wet. The sticky nature of of sink of potassium fertilizer in the the clay results in it being difficult to soil, although this K+ can be released till when wet. When dry it is usually in the long-term through weathering. too hard to till. Soil comprising mainly montmorillonite is problematic to till Montmorillonite and to irrigate, although it is very Montmorillonite (Figure 1d and fertile. This soil is known colloquially Figure 3) is also a 2:1 clay mineral, as turf or black cotton clay. but has isomorphic substitution of

Chlorite Chlorite (Figure 1e) is a special 2:1 clay mineral, where an Mg octahedral layer is found in the interlayer spaces, which neutralises most of the negative charge. Chlorite is therefore in essence a 2:1:1 clay mineral. Isomorphic substitution, (Mg2+ replaces Al3+) in the Al octahedral layer, provides chlorite with a CEC of 40 cmolc kg-1 of clay. The properties of chlorite are very similar to those of the fine micas.

They have a limited CEC and moderate hydration, expansion, and plasticity. The exception is that it is a good source of Mg2+ during weathering.

SUMMARY Clay minerals may be seen as the engine room of the soils, as it is the clay that retains water and cation plant nutrients. Although the various clay species comprise the same Al octahedral and Si tetrahedral layers, they have widely divergent properties, as a result of the varying degrees of isomorphic substitution in these layers.

Knowledge of the type of clay mineral in the soil can therefore enable the land user to better manage their soils.

REFERENCES The following sources were used extensively during the compilation of this series of articles: Van Huyssteen, CW. 2009 Soil ecology. Unpublished class notes for GKD214. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

Brady, NC. And Weil, RR. 2002. The Nature and Properties of Soils.

13th ed. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

ProAgri Zambia acknowledges Grain SA for the use of this series which originally appeared in Afrikaans in SA Graan/Grain.

Figure 3. Scanning electron microscope image of montmorillonite. The fineness and amorphous character of the mineral is clearly visible. (http://www.minersoc.org/pages/gallery/claypix/smectite/a-rose.html) ProAgri Zambia 05

For further information, please contact: Martiens du Plessis: martiens@nwk.co.za Cornie van Huyssteen: vanhuysteencw@ufs.ac.za March 2016

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Use PHOSTOXIN® for fumigation and gerbilles If it does not say PHOSTOXIN® PHOSTOXIN®,, it is not PHOSTOXIN® • Protect you stored grain against weevil • Get rid of moles, meerkats & field mice • Degesh produces Phostoxin® • Package sizes: 90 g or 1 kg These products can be supplied to you for your mill or Silo FUMIGATION needs

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All your Fumigation requirements available from our Agent 20

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Old but spotless. With proper preventative maintenance, tractors and other implements can serve you faithfully for many, many years.

Maintenance

Look after your implements and they will look after you One of the most unpleasant, most expensive experiences for a farmer, is lax equipment while he wants to plough, plant, spray, bale or harvest crops. Mr Koos le Roux, Agricultural Engineer, implement expert and publisher of the Mechanisation Guide, which helps farmers everywhere to plan for profitable application of technology, says that tractors and farm implements often leave one astonished with the long, faithful service they can render, but he also claims that a farmer can get the best service from machinery if he follows a sound preventative maintenance programme.

A

ccording to Mr Le Roux, the three main benefits of preventative maintenance, are: • Less downtime • Lower running costs • Safer machines When the work programme on a farm ProAgri Zambia 05

is at its most hectic, major losses can be caused by untimely downtime of machines. Mr Le Roux admits that any machine may break down at any time, but he still believes that a proper maintenance programme can diminish downtime during critical times.

A preventative maintenance pro-

gramme also helps to cut back on the running costs of farm machinery.

Some 30 engines are overhauled in the workshop of a well-known co-op every month. According to a spokesman of the workshop, most engine trouble are caused by the following: • Excessive dust in engines because air filters were not cleaned or changed regularly.

• Overheating because the cooling system was not maintained properly.

• Insufficient lubrication because the oil level was too low and not checked regularly.

• Excessively high engine revolutions because somebody fiddled with the diesel pump.

Where hydraulic systems malfuncMarch 2016

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A tedder in action.

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ages. Regular maintenance could have saved farmers this time and expenses.

The tractor’s hydraulic system is out of order. In most cases, this was caused by air in the system because the oil level was not checked regularly and was thus allowed the drop too low. Here also, planned maintenance would have prevented downtime, costs and damage.

Only in a few cases a mechanic was really needed to rectify defects.

Fuel wastage The Agricultural Engineering Department of the University of Natal launched an investigation into the fuel consumption of tractors. Their finding was that most of the tractors they tested used more fuel than necessary due to incorrect adjustment of their diesel pumps.

Nowadays, computers can help you to identify problems before they cost you big money. Companies, such as John Deere, spend a lot of money to train their technicians to do advanced diagnostic tests. tioned, the main cause was low oil levels. This permitted air to enter the system, which is very harmful to the hydraulic pump.

Farmers are often astonished to hear that their problems were caused by low oil levels, because they could not detect any obvious leakages in the system. However, it must be kept in mind that most implements operate with remote hydraulic cylinders. Often oil is spilled while the hydraulic pipes of the implements are attached to the tractor. This lost oil should be replenished daily.

Usually, the main problem with transmission systems is the clutch which becomes faulty and has to be replaced. More often than not, this is also caused by insufficient or bad maintenance, because:

Safety When an operator has to struggle with malfunctioning implements, he gets impatient, and then he may run risks in an effort to recover lost time.

Sometimes he may even try to fix

Proper maintenance also includes the regular cleaning of equipment, on the outside and also on the inside where material such as fertilizer and even grain can cause damage if left too long.

• There is no play on the clutch pedal, which means that the clutch is constantly working or slipping; • The clutch is adjusted so that the gears cannot disengage smoothly; • Badly trained operators are driving with their feet on the clutch pedals.

In a further investigation, it was established for what kind of breakdowns or interruptions mechanics were summoned to farms. The most general defects that mechanics had to rectify on farms were: The tractor does not start. The reasons for this were air filters that were so packed with dirt that no air could pass through to the engines, and diesel filters that were clogged up because they were not changed for ProAgri Zambia 05

Regular lubrication is one of the keys to years of dependable service.

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defects without stopping the machine or switching off the engine, thereby creating a very dangerous situation.

Loose bolts and nuts, unbalanced or open PTO shafts, mowers with damaged blades… all these create dangerous situations as a result of lack of proper maintenance.

Every farm should have a firm rule that machines are

One of the most important aspects of preventative maintenance is regular cleaning and replacement of air, fuel and oil filters.

Modern tractors are designed for easy access to parts that need regular maintenance.

only used after they have been thoroughly checked to be in good working order.

Maintenance programme A fixed maintenance programme can effect major savings on a farm. The success of such a programme will depend on the training of operators and the availability and regular consultation of an operating manual for every implement.

After many years of service, this tractor (Jeremiah) can still do a fair day’s work – all because of proper care and maintenance.

*Read more about the Mechanisation Guide at http://www.proagri.co.za/maak-jou-somme-reg-met-diemeganisasiegids-se-hulp/, and order it from Koos le Roux at 082-828-9531 or per e-mail at koosleroux@live.co.za.

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Go BLUE to go GREEN

Create healthy soil with LEMKEN Pieter Janse van Rensburg, who has been farming in the Mpongwe region for the last 20 years, believes in healthy soil. He also believes that burning wheat stover and relying completely on herbicides for weed control will, in the long run, deplete his soil. The challenge was to find economically viable alternatives.

G

oing blue with LEMKEN provided solutions. “I still spray Roundup when I need to but I try to cut it out as much as possible,” says Pieter.

As most irrigation farmers will know, the period between harvesting wheat and establishing soy beans or maize is extremely short and many farmers are still burning the mass of stover providing a quick fix to clear the land before planting.

Pieter says he has three to four weeks and he decided to rather use this time to put the biomass back into the soil.

He has already been using LEMKEN’s Rubin disc harrow in combination with the Solitair planter for a number of years to handle maize or soy stubble and plant in one pass, but for wheat stover a deeper cultivation is needed. LEMKEN’s Karat came to the rescue.

The Karat is a tyne combination implement that does a lot more than loosening soil. Working at a depth of 10 to 30 centimetres, the Karat incorporates straw and organic material intensively and distributes both evenly in the ground.

Pieter says he makes one pass with the Karat after harvesting to work the organic mass into the soil. He then irrigates the land to encourage germination of weeds and regrowth.

Secondly he comes in with the Rubin/ Solitair disc harrow planter combination which cuts through the stubble and uproots the seedlings for mechanical weed control, eliminating the need to spray whilst planting.

The Karat or Rubin can also work fertilizer into the soil while preparing a perfect seedbed for the new season.

Pieter uses a 6 meter Karat drawn by a John Deere 8335R which provides enough horsepower for deep cultivation if necessary. He is very impressed with the quality of all the LEMKEN equipment. “You can see a lot of thought went into the design, and they must have run many tests to develop an implement that can handle so many conditions perfectly.”

Being a pioneer commercial farmer in the Copper Belt, Pieter has faced some difficult times, but he is encouraged by the growth and development of agriculture. He says: “New technology and the support of a reliable

The Karat intensive cultivator is ideally suited for both the first, shallow stubble cultivation across the full surface after combine harvesting, and for subsequent, deeper passes with intensive mixing.

ProAgri Zambia 05

by Annemarie Bremner

Pieter Janse van Rensburg says LEMKEN’s equipment is all about quality. “The machines are user friendly, easy to calibrate, and the German craftsmanship is brilliant.”

On the right is Kotie van Rooyen, his farm manager. service network as established by AFGRI, have certainly helped us to farm more productively.”

He has bought his LEMKEN equipment through AFGRI and is very satisfied with the service provided by JP Smit and his team from Mkushi. “I know the essential parts are available, and if not, they can have it send up from SA in a relatively short time.”

JP also recently had the distinction of selling the very first Solitair 12 planter in Africa. It was sold to Golden Lay LTD egg farm to establish soy beans and other crops used for chicken feed.

The Solitair 12 is a trailed pneumatic seed drill with working widths of 8 to 12 metres. With a volume of about 5 800 litres, the large seed hopper supports extended periods of work.

The seeding shafts in the metering unit are driven by an electric motor and are electronically regulated for an even flow of seeds.

Call Blackie Swart at +27-82-404-9651 in South Africa, or contact your closest AFGRI dealer. JP Smit can be reached on +260-96-584-9068 or jp@afgri.com.zm.

See the complete range of equipment at www.lemken.com.

March 2016

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Get ready for the third Agritech Expo

by Benine Cronjé

The third leading outdoor agriculture expo in Zambia, Agritech Expo, takes place from 14 to 16 April at the GART Research Centre in Chisamba. This year it will be even bigger than last year with 130 exhibitors, demonstration fields, zones for different agricultural sectors and more than 15 000 visitors. The Agritech Expo is owned by the Zambia National Farmers Union and enjoys support from the government and the whole agricultural-sector.

Dr Evelyn Nguleka, Zambia National Farmers Union President.

T

he Agritech Expo has become the biggest event on the National Farmers Union’s agricultural calendar.

“As you visit Agritech Expo 2016, look out for our new Energy Park designed to offer you innovation and cleaner energy solutions to help you wipe away your electricity outage blues and the ever increasing costs of energy,” says Dr Evelyn Nguleka, Zambia National Farmers Union President. “Our extended Livestock Zone is another must-see area, for you definitely need the right stock genetics and technologies to survive climate change-induced vagaries of weather.

She adds: “Our Expo will, for the first time, also feature live Centre Pivot demonstrations; a very critical feat as Zambian agriculture focuses and seeks to expand irrigated farming at all levels. The all new 4x4 Test Track is another feature that will finally help you decide which 4x4 workhorse is best for your farm. We have also extended the SME Zone to make sure ProAgri Zambia 05

we bring in as many small and medium enterprises in agri as possible. This is important to us as we strive to showcase the Zambian agricultural industry in totality.”

The Agritech Expo is a business-tobusiness platform for agricultural professionals, from small-scale farmers to commercial enterprises, to engage and conduct business with some of the world’s leading suppliers to the agricultural industry. Agritech Expo prides itself on being the only business event servicing the needs of the entire agricultural value chain in Zambia and its neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, DRC, Angola and Malawi.

“Within its first two years, Agritech Expo has opened up agribusiness opportunities for all these countries in the region. Agritech Expo has also managed to attract more than 35 regional and international countries,” Dr Nguleka said.

Dr Nguleka’s message at the Agritech Expo this year is: “As farmers, we hold the destiny of our country

and nation in our hands. Let us apply all the knowledge and skills to produce more food and to venture into value addition to earn incomes for ourselves.

If we can move from our back row as primary producers we can shape the welfare of the industry.”

The German pavilion will promote “Made in Germany” and is double in size compared to last year. Products include animal housing installations, animal identification (ear tags), silos, consultation, planning and building of dairy facilities, dung removal systems, cattle breeding and marketing, crop protection, mixers and pumps, silage bags, slat flooring, poultry equipment, modern farming in Zambia, agricultural machinery such as feed mixers, maize choppers, agricultural films and nets as well as dairy equipment.

Martin Botzian, Head of Communication at DLG International GmbH says: “We are pleased to be part of the show for the third time. From the beginning of Agritech two years ago, we have been part of this very well organised show in Zambia, and we are expanding our participation every year. This year we successfully convinced the German Ministry of Agriculture to launch an official German pavilion.”

One of the VIP visitors at the Expo is Dave Gordon, owner of Sable Farms in Zambia's Chibombo district. He is very impressed with the Agritech Expo and says it is very important for Zambian farmers: “I am looking forward to an increase in the livestock this year at the Expo, but generally everything is most interesting because it covers so many different fields of agriculture. I think last year it was very well organised.

Well done to all,” Dave said.

Grace Musonda, Zambian teacher, farmer and visitor to last year’s Agritech Expo, said: “My experience at the Agritech Expo was heartthrobbing. I learned a lot and even met contacts to acquire my first Boran heifers. I cannot overstress the importance of this event for the Zambian farming community.””

Agritech Expo: 14 - 16 April 2016

Gart Research Centre, Chisamba, Zambia www.agritech-expo.com March 2016

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