Zambia Agribusiness Society

Buying cattle is an essential part of raising cattle and adding money to your business. Knowing what to look for and finding the best deals available when purchasing cattle can present a bit of a challenge, especially if you don't know what's involved or how to go about buying cattle. There are two main ways cattle can be purchased: by auction or by private treaty (or one-on-one). This article doesn't go into the deep specifics; rather, it presents you with the initial basics of what you'll need to do to start out buying cattle. 1. Know what kind of cattle you are looking for You need to already know what breed, age, weight, class and type of cattle you're looking for. The type of cattle you're looking for determines what breed (or composite) you're interested in. Type : Beef or dairy. Class : Age/sex group for a particular kind of livestock, in this case cattle. Classes for sale cattle include the following: Bulls : Bull calf, weaner/weanling bull...

The post today is on a crop with a long and tortuous path, and one that isn’t finished not by a long shot. Garlic is such an amazing plant with a multitude of uses that I was excited when I first tried growing it. The excitement was short lived however as when the plants were dug as their tops died down. I found bulbs that were not substantially bigger than the ones I had planted. This was in my old intensive style garden that relied on truckloads of mushroom compost and regular irrigation. When facing a failure like this there are a lot of different ways to respond. One option I have become fonder of as I get older is to simply give up on that particular plant and focus my energy on something that is more sincerely rewarding. The opposite extreme is to throw everything and the kitchen sink at the problem, hoping that if you just add enough of the right ingredient or work hard enough at the right technique then the problem can be solved. With biological systems there are a multitud...

On the basis of organic matter content, soils are characterized as mineral or organic. Mineral soils form most of the world’s cultivated land and may contain from a trace to 30% organic matter. Organic soils are naturally rich in organic matter principally for climatic reasons. Although they contain more than 30% organic matter, it is precisely for this reason that they are not vital cropping soils. This soils bulletin concentrates on the organic matter dynamics of cropping soils. In brief, it discusses circumstances that deplete organic matter and the negative outcomes of this. The bulletin then moves on to more proactive solutions. It reviews a “basket” of practices in order to show how they can increase organic matter content and discusses the land and cropping benefits that then accrue. Soil organic matter is any material produced originally by living organisms (plant or animal) that is returned to the soil and goes through the decomposition process (Plate 1). At any given time...

I have a confession to make: I hate bugs. They give me the goosebumps and shudders like everyone else, but they also make me crazy. I don’t necessarily scream when I see a spider dropping from the ceiling or cry at the sight of ants marching across my floor, but I do start performing karate moves that I have never actually learned. The other day, a spider found its way onto my lap, and I lost consciousness for several minutes, but I am told that I beat the spider repeatedly, even after it was obviously dead; my bruised leg is my only memory of the event. Again, bugs make me crazy. So when it comes to controlling pests in the city, I want to do it efficiently and naturally. I want them out of my place without exposing my family to harsh chemicals. A small part of me even wants the creepy things to live a long, happy life elsewhere. If you are in need of some serious pest control, here are five healthy concoctions you can make right at home that won’t harm you or the bugs. 1. Essential...

  The humble carrot is a great example of how a single species can express itself in many different ways. The humble carrot is a great example of how a single species can express itself in many different ways. The wild species from the Middle East from which carrot is derived is barely more of a root than a parsley plant and like many modern vegetables started as a medicinal herb. The oldest barely domesticated forms show increasing root size and a wider variety of colours, including white, yellow, orange, red, purple and black. As the crop was taken outward to Europe and Asia its diversity of forms increased, with roots the size of a man’s arm to tiny round shapes. The final push toward industrial salad types saw plants with rapid growth and high fertiliser response under perfect conditions (regular watering and perfect sandy soil) allowing crops of tender and mild tasting roots suitable for munching straight from the bag to be churned out year round. For a long time I suspected...

To grow healthy crops full of nutrients, farmers need to ensure they have healthy soil. Without fertilizers, nature struggles to replenish the nutrients in the soil. When crops are harvested, important nutrients are removed from the soil, because they follow the crop and end up at the dinner table. If the soil is not replenished with nutrients through fertilizing, crop yields will deteriorate over time. Careful analysing and fertilizing of crops enables a chain that provides humans with nutritional food: The nutrients feed the soil The soil feeds the plants Plants feed animals and people The three most common mineral fertilizers are those based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) estimate that 85% of the soils globally are deficient in nitrogen. 73% of the soils are deficient in phosphorus, whereas 55% lack potassium. What is fertilizer used for? Often, the plants have few possibilities to avoid nutrient deficien...

You may be saying to yourself, ‘What is Broccoli?’ Basically, Broccoli is also one of the delicious and edible green vegetable plants, which falls under the cabbage family. In general, the large flowering head of broccoli is eaten as a vegetable in our day to day life. In fact, it is a cool-season crop, which can be grown in the spring season & fall season. The main advantage of growing Broccoli is that this green vegetable plant can be harvested throughout the year if plantation is done accurately. As a member of the cabbage family, it is most selected for the home garden. Fresh heads of broccoli are rich in almost all kinds of vitamins & minerals. Apart from this, they are tasty and delicious when eaten raw in salads as well as when lightly steamed and frozen well. And, it is the best choice for making a big profit in the rural area as a good economy. However, when it comes to the description of the Broccoli plant, a large and green flower head grows on its plant, speci...