Zambia Agribusiness Society

Cattle respiring to cool off “As uncomfortable as we are during the heat of the day, it is important to remember cattle generally do not handle heat as well as humans,” according to Dr. Rick Machen, Professor and Texas AgriLife Extension Service Specialist. Heat stress is a function of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. The core body temperature of cattle does not peak until two hours after the peak in ambient temperature, which often comes at five o’clock or later. Cattle need at least six hours to dissipate the heat accumulated during the day. Consequently, night-time cooling is essential for managing heat stress. Warm humid nights with no breeze following a plus 100-degree day pose a real challenge for cattle. Machen offered the following tips for managing livestock during times of potential heat stress. 1. Do not work cattle after 10a.m. on potentially (heat) stressful days. 2. Do not work cattle in the evening of a heat stressed day. 3. Wait...

Have you ever considered rabbit farming as a top business opportunity? Though rabbit meat may not be as common as chicken, beef, or pork, there’s no doubt it’s a very lucrative business; every year, over one million tons of rabbit meat is consumed worldwide. In Africa, the consumption of rabbit meat is gradually taking off and a few farmers on the continent are already enjoying the benefits of this niche business. Rabbits are also easy to raise; they’re clean and require little capital, labour, time and space to manage. Three major reasons why you should seriously consider the rabbit farming business opportunity include; 1. There is a Huge Market Opportunity for Rabbits The growing rate of heart disease and related ailments has increased awareness of the harmful effects of cholesterol in our diets. More people are now going for ‘white’ meat which contains low amounts of cholesterol. Unlike ‘red meats’ (especially beef and pork), white meats like poultry, fish, ostrich and r...

Almost every Motswana owns cattle. It is the basis of the culture and root of all developments in the country Botswana. Most Batswana are part time farmers who go to the cattle post almost every weekend or on monthly basis, but there are those who want to start this production and do not know how to start or where. The following will answer most common questions asked by start-up farmers. 1. Anatomy Cows give birth after 9 months of fertilization from the bull. A cow goes on heat almost every month, it begins its oestrus cycle at the age of 14 to 15 months, and they are able to conceive or give birth. There are also signs that the cow is on oestrus being: a) Thick clear mucus : this mucus will come from the cervix of the cow to lubricate the penis of the bull and help transport sperms. b) Instinct of riding others : this may occur when the cow is approaching oestrus; they ride on other cows frequently and do not drift away from doing that a few times. c) Swollen vulva : which...

For producers to benefit from the growing national and international demand for live goats and goat products, it is essential to have healthy flocks. Dr Alan Rowe, chief state veterinarian for the Harry Gwala District Municipality, shares tips on goat health management. The profitability of a goat enterprise depends largely on the animals’ health and productivity. It is crucial, therefore, that a goat farmer has the skills to identify an animal in poor health, diagnose the illness and treat it, or obtain assistance from other knowledgeable goat farmers, state animal health officials or private vets. The key is to act swiftly. “While the advice that follows can be helpful, the diagnoses and treatment policies are not carved in stone. They need to be tested and adapted where necessary because of the varying goat production conditions across the country,” cautions Dr Alan Rowe, chief state veterinarian for the Harry Gwala District Municipality. Prevention is always better than cure, and i...

Technology has become a dominant part of our everyday lives and our food production system is no exception. Accordingly, since the turn of the 20 th century, the standard approach to production has shifted from extensive production to intensive production as businesses have opted to replace natural services with technology. In this respect, intensive livestock production systems  use higher amounts of labour and physical capital [e.g. machines] relative to the land area where production takes place. The physical capital and human labour aim to replace the need for free space, grazing area, and natural sources of water. To replace natural inputs with technological alternatives, it is necessary to rely on inputs produced thousands of kilometres/miles away – a factor that maintains agricultural dependency on fossil fuels. Animal feeding operations [AFOs] and concentrated animal feeding operations [CAFOs]   are the most notorious examples of intensive livestock product...

Aquaculture is the rearing of aquatic organisms in an enclosed water body under controlled conditions. Aquatic organisms may be plant life such as phytoplankton, lilies, and other forms of algae or animal life such as fish, crocodiles , oysters etc. Controlled conditions include physio-chemical water parameters (dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, phosphorus, etc.), water level, as well as feed. The basic idea here is to imitate what is prevailing in the natural waters so as to achieve optimum yields. African aquaculture is growing in terms of intensity and pr oductivity. The main types of investors are commercial and non-commercial. Within these domains, there exists a wide range of investment strategies from small to large-scale. Two main groups dominate; large-scale commercial producers and small-scale artisanal producers. For small-scale artisanal producers, aquaculture increases revenues, crop diversity and ecological sustainability, while lowering risk and improv...

Introduction The transplanting process can be a shock to rapidly growing seedlings especially when set out into the cold windy garden in the spring. This is especially true for transplants started in the greenhouse, cold frame, hotbed or home. These young seedlings can be made somewhat resistant to heat, cold temperatures, drying and whipping winds, certain types of insect injury, injury from blowing sand and soil particles and low soil moisture by a process termed “ hardening .” The term “ hardening ” refers to any treatment that results in a firming or hardening of plant tissue. Such a treatment reduces the growth rate, thickens the cuticle and waxy layers, reduces the percentage of freezable water in the plant and often results in a pink colour in stems, leaf veins and petioles. Such plants often have smaller and darker green leaves than non-hardened plants. Hardening results in an increased level of carbohydrates in the plant permitting a more rapid root development than occurs...