Killing the birds and the cows

Talking about poultry business heard that African farmers are turning away from poultry because of the high investments and low returns. Another piece of bad news is that H5 avian influenza virus, probably low-pathogenic, has surfaced on a turkey farm in southern British Columbia, Canada. According to the news item the authorities were preparing to cull upto 60,000 turkeys. The birds are killed by sealing the barns and flooding them with carbon dioxide. Then the carcasses are mixed with organic material in the barn to raise the temperature as high as 50°C during decomposition and this way the virus is also killed.

I don’t know if this is funny or to be taken seriously, but Germans, I read lately, have been advised to eat less meat if they want to preserve the planet. Reasons given to act to irrationally were that meat farming was the most energy intensive. Also the methane gas emitted by cattle and the nitrous oxide produced by their dung is harmful to the environment. (We don’t mind if your car guzzles gas by the gazillion and emits harmful gases in the atmosphere, but the cows should not be allowed to crap or kill them!!!). Also cattle drink a lot of water. Hmmm they studied that did they??

Also just heard of a new (at least for me) international fair for farm animals zootechnia for Greece and Balkans (zoo … shouldn’t it be farmtechnia or something like that!!)

Meet new friends

Meeting old friends was yesterday. Met a new guy today. A friend of a friend say. Guess what the subject was... agriculture naturally. He kept repeating not to get into goat farming. Made my head spin, but can not blame him I suppose since I was introduced as someone who wanted to do goat farming. whew.

He kept urging to buy my own land instead of experimenting with someone else's. But did tell me some nice places where I could buy land cheap and the tricks to acquire it.

At the same time listed the different stuff one could do once the land was bought. For e.g. plant different trees including the ones with different cycles so that one could have a harvest throughout the year. Then there was of course the goat farming. And poultry farming and ostrich farming and buffalo farming and exotic bird farming and the list went on and on mostly livestock. Weird for a guy who did not want me to get into goat farming. Got some news to share too, but in the next blog.

Meet old friends

Well, went to see this guy. Friend of dad. Shifted from the area long ago but comes visiting once in a while and has regular phone contact. Nice guy. Earned a lot of money through hard work I am told. It may be true his brothers are still not well to do and I do remember somethings about my childhood when he used to live nearby. Anyway, the purpose of meeting him was to learn a few things about farming, since he has agricultural land in the village. Or native place as people around here refer to it.

Well he went on and on about how he acquired the land and has taken care of it. Nothing much. However, one thing that he kept repeating was that water or the supply of it was very important. The government in a bid to encourage agriculture was doing its bit in educating farmers about what to plant and how to plant it. But has not done much about the lack of water in many villages throughout India. Although was happy to learn many private biggies were now taking interest in the farmers produce which also meant giving the poor farmers a fighting chance to earn a better livelihood.

Also with this blog I am making a fundamental change. Now instead of copy pasting news articles I will be writing about it in my own words and the same time thinking aloud what I understood. Will be a good exercise for me. Hope it helps you too.

Goat industry embraces biosecurity

Goat security anyone?? Well read on, it's nice to have some... this is Down Under... Cheers

Goat trading between states will become easier with the introduction of a National Goat Health Statement, according to Goat Industry Council of Australia's president Steve Roots.

Mr Roots said the statement has been developed by the industry to bring a "new level of assurance for producers involved with the trading of goats".

"There is always a risk involved when buying and selling goats and this statement will eliminate some of that risk for producers as it will be an important part of the transaction as it provides the health status of the goats they intend to trade," Mr Roots said.

"This statement will take effect from 1 February 2009 and introduces new measures for minimising the spread of disease from farm to farm or even state to state."

Sleep it off in a silo B&B

Another utility for your farm...

Located in the rolling hills of Willamette Valley about 32 miles from Portland, this 82-acre farm is a working enterprise with its own farm-made goat cheese and a menagerie of other farm animals in residence. Guests stay in a striking setting: Three shiny metal farm silos converted into luxury rooms with views of the farm. 

Abbey Road Farm is in a rural area of Carlton, but don't think there's not life in the beautiful boonies. This is Oregon wine country, and some of the state's _ no, the nation's _ best wineries are a short distance away. Across the street is a Trappist abbey, Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose bookstore sells the monks' own fruitcake. To the southwest, in McMinnville, is the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home to Howard Hughes' giant "Spruce Goose" flying boat. Fifty miles to the west you'll reach the Pacific Ocean.

‘Food outsourcing is a $5-billion opportunity for India’

Ahmedabad, India: The food outsourcing business from India has an opportunity of $5 billion as of today, said Mr Piruz Khambatta, Chairman & Managing Director, Rasna Pvt Ltd, at Amaethon — the fifth edition of the Agri-Business Summit of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

But it is still untapped potential, said Mr Ajit Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industry. “Only six per cent of the total amount of food produced in the country is processed. This has led to an annual loss of Rs 33,000 crore in the agricultural sector through perishable commodities,” said Mr Kumar. He said this was the single biggest reason why agriculture was becoming unviable for the farmers and they are diversifying to other sectors.

Mr Khambatta said there were several fruit and vegetable varieties in India such as the sweet lime or mosambi, which can be promoted and exported as an exotic fruit, but was not explored.

Food covered in film

January 13 marked the DVD release of Our Daily Bread, an award-winning, head-spinning, at times stomach-churning glimpse at the mechanics of industrial food processing. Director Nikolaus Geyrhalter doesn’t editorialize, but lets the images speak for themselves. For 90 minutes, Our Daily Bread simply shows of vast machines and bored human operators raising produce and harvesting livestock. You’d think Our Daily Bread would be as exciting as watching vegetables ripen, but it’s a weirdly engrossing experience. There’s always something happening in Geyrhalter’s artfully arranged shots.

Click  headline for more ...

Melamine in baby food sold in United States

Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 27, 2008; A02Public health groups, consumer advocates and members of Congress blasted the Food and Drug Administration yesterday for failing to act after discovering trace amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in baby formula sold in the United States.

"This FDA, the Bush administration, instead of protecting the public health, is protecting industry," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the FDA budget. In an interview, DeLauro said she wants the agency to disclose its findings and to develop a plan to remove melamine from formula. "We're talking about babies, about the most vulnerable. This really makes me angry.

"The FDA found melamine and cyanuric acid, a related chemical, in samples of baby formula made by major U.S. manufacturers. Melamine can cause kidney and bladder stones and, in worst cases, kidney failure and death. If melamine and cyanuric acid combine, they can form round yellow crystals that can also damage kidneys and destroy renal function.

Food companies work to ensure safety from salmonella

As the list of food suspected of salmonella contamination continues to grow, food safety experts recounting a similar outbreak two years ago are asking why some lessons from the past have not been universally learned.

In February 2007, the industry giant ConAgra Foods of Omaha, Neb., recalled thousands of jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter because tests revealed salmonella contamination. The product had been shipped to all 50 states and 60 foreign countries. The bacterial problem was traced to a ConAgra peanut-processing plant in Sylvester, Ga.

In response, ConAgra remodeled the entire plant, separating the areas for raw peanuts from finished peanut butter and paste, which must remain sterile. With the source so difficult to trace, that was the safest way to assure it didn't happen again, experts said. No ConAgra products are named in the current outbreak.

Food Processors Ahoy... Read more click headline...

BPC Comments on Chicken Welfare TV Programme

UK - The British Poultry Council (BPC) has responded to the TV programme, due to be shown tonight, under the title Chickens, Hugh and Tesco Too.

The British Poultry Council has commented as follows on on the content of Chickens, Hugh and Tesco too ahead of its transmission on Channel 4 on Monday 26 January:

We and our members have worked with Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and his TV company during the last two years and it has been interesting to see his level of familiarity and understanding develop to the extent that he has moved away from advocating only organic and free-range farming to supporting Freedom Food indoor chicken production.

In the year preceding this 'round up' programme, we have seen spikes in demand for free-range and growth in the differentiation of indoor systems. As predicted, these changes came back into the gradually increasing trend we were seeing before the 'Chicken Out' campaign. We would expect to see this trend continue into 2009 in some of these categories.

to read more click headline...

Success for OFW poultry business

In 1988 the wife of seaman Jerly Peyra started an egg production business in their hometown of Baao, Camarines Sur, using his dollar remittances as starting capital for the J. Peyra Poultry Farm.

Josie ran the business with Jerly, even though he was overseas. Their initial investment covered 100 ready-to-lay-birds, nipa housing, and two helpers.

Josie initially had a hard time, lacking basic knowledge in poultry production. But she observed in nearby poultries, attended seminars, and obtained tips from her veterinarian friends.

In 1992, Jerly came home and managed the business, which was doing well. He invested all his savings in the business so that they could go full blast in their operation, even though it had problems like stiff competition, financial constraints and poultry diseases.

The couple prioritized research and development, upgraded their facilities and improved their working area, production methods and productivity. Today, after 20 years of operations, the J. Peyra Poultry Farm is considered a leader in the industry. The business now has more than 200,000 birds and 44 poultry houses, two warehouses, a feed mill, an office building, and a sales office with egg graders and classifiers.

Their market also expanded, from vendors, stall-owners and bakeries in Bicol, to Manila and about 50 percent of the Visayas market.

Fuel only one production cost, say farmers

... and that is in Victoria, Australia...

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is concerned at suggestions that a drop in diesel prices could see supermarkets slashing the shelf price of fruit and vegetables by up to 15pc.

VFF Horticulture Group president Peter Cochrane said Victorian farmers have limited control over the price they receive for their produce, and while ‘industry experts’ have predicted that prices will fall, this cannot be at the farmers’ expense.

"Fuel is only one component of the cost of production. Prices paid to farmers did not increase in line with the increases in fuel prices and there is no reason for farm gate prices to now fall in line with fuel prices," Peter Cochrane said.

While the cost of transport from farm to market may be stabilising, the price of fruit and vegetables is primarily determined by the supply and demand situation of any given product in the market place, not whether or not the price of fuel comes down by a few cents.

click headline to read more...

Innovations needed in agricultural sector

MANGALORE: Animal husbandry, poultry farming and fishing should be popularized among farmers to help them achieve economic empowerment, suggested K P Sucharitha Shetty, president, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat. 

Inaugurating a training programme on animal husbandry for the farmers here recently, Shetty said development in its real sense is possible only through empowering the agriculture sector that provides livelihood to highest number of families in the country. 

Referring to the state of agriculture and animal husbandry in the region, he said the main reason for this is lack of innovations in the sector. "Agriculture, the backbone of India's economy, can generate good employment opportunities provided innovative methods are introduced like in other sectors," he said. 

Broiler Quail Farming

Hey!!! Found a good blog about quail farming .... check it out...

Farm Site 

Growing of quails does not require a large area. This is an advantage because of the small size of the quails as compared to chickens. Nevertheless the growing requirement is identical to chicken rearing. Farm site should follow laws and bylaws of the state. As an example, in Johor, a license is required to rear quails as provided in The Animal Industries Enactment Act. 

In selecting suitable farm site, it is advisable the area should be away from domestic houses and other poultry farms. The area should be free from flood with transportation facilities for the movement of goods. Hilly and undulating areas are also suitable but incur high cost in land works. Areas with good ventilation must be considered. 

Read full: http://kebunwarisan.blogspot.com/2009/01/broiler-quail-farming.html

Rochester conference covers all the angles of organic farming

Organic seed production. The environmental impact of gas drilling on area farms and forests. Pioneering organic wheat production to supply bakeries and food retailers across the Northeast. How to keep a family milk cow.

These were some of the workshop topics that drew nearly 1,000 attendees from across the state this weekend to the Riverside Convention Center for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York's 27th Annual Conference, titled Meals Without Wheels: Revitalizing our Local Organic Foodshed.

NOFA-NY is a nonprofit educational organization made up of farmers, consumers and gardeners that promotes organic, regional and sustainable food systems. Its subsidiary company, NOFA-NY Certified Organic LLC, is the largest organic certifying agency in the state.

Read more: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090125/NEWS01/901250350/1002/NEWS

Seeds planted for local produce service

Here is an innovative way to promote produce without middlemen at the same time ensuring consumers know where their produce comes from ...

Residents in Seneca County can know the farmer who is growing their food by participating in a program known as Community Supported Agriculture.

Sister Rita Wienken manages such a farm business, known as Seeds of Hope, at Saint Francis in Tiffin. Riehm Farms in Old Fort also operates a C.S.A. Seeds of Hope and Riehm Farms are coming together to present an informational program on C.S.A.'s 7 p.m. Tuesday at Tiffin-Seneca Public Library.

C.S.A. links local farmers in the program directly to families or individuals. Individuals make a commitment and pre-purchase a number of weeks of produce.

The Seeds of Hope farm offers 22 weeks of produce that come directly from local farmers. Wienken said what is received depends in what is in season, but each delivery on average contains what a family of four would consume in a week.

"This is a way to see where their food comes from and a way for the farmer to have an established market," Wienken said. "You can get to know the farmer and how he grows food."

She said farmers in the program farm either certified organic or use sustainable agricultural methods, which integrate environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.

To purchase a full non-working share costs $450.

Read more: http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/content.detail/id/512067.html?nav=5005

Local firm wins state tourism award

Ann Dougherty spends a great deal of time promoting Learn Great Foods, a national touring company that teaches people the link between sustainable farming, great cooking, and the environment. Her efforts have tripled the size of the business since its inception five years ago.

Dougherty is the president of the company, which was recently named the "Outstanding Agritourism Company of the Year" by the Agriculture and Tourism Partners of Illinois.
Learn Great Foods has a center located in Mount Carroll which covers northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and Iowa. There are also locations in Michigan and new centers are about to open in Missouri.

An important part of the Learn Great Foods mission is to educate consumers on where our food comes from and how it is grown.

During its tours, guests get an up-close look at the operations of sustainable and organic farms and have a chance to ask local farmers and vintners questions about anything from growing techniques to ecological issues. Tour destinations include organic beef and dairy farms, fruit and vegetable farms, wineries, creameries and local coffee roasters.

Read More: http://www.journalstandard.com/news/business/x716054654/Local-firm-wins-state-tourism-award

Area under horticulture increases

Chandigarh, India: The area under horticulture crops in Haryana has increased to about 5.01 per cent of the total cropped area of the State.

While stating this here on Friday a spokesman of the Horticulture Department said that 38,479 hectares of land had been brought under fruit cultivation till December, 2008 against a target of 40,410 hectares of land for the year 2008-09. As much as 1,66,530 tonnes of fruits had been produced against a production target of 2,75,000 tonnes.

He said that as much as 2,10,480 hectares of area was brought under vegetable cultivation till December 2008 against a target of 2,85,000 hectares of land for the current financial year. Similarly, 4248 hectares of arable land was brought under flower cultivation and medicinal plants were grown over an area of 909 hectares against a target of 6000 hectares and 3500 hectares respectively.

Australia-MLA Halal accredited brand.

HALAL BRAND.

The global expansion of the MLA's Halal Brand, is an important step towards expanding markets for Australian red meat, according to Ian Ross the Middle East regional manager for the MLA.

Ross said "with 28% of the worlds population being Moslem and with most of these people living in countries with growing economies, its vital the Australian red meat industry positions itself in the best possible way to supply these important markets".The world has over 2 billion Moslems and the market for Halal products, exceeds US$500 billion.

The major problems in getting Moslem nations to take meat, as opposed to live animals are two fold, one they prefer fresh meat and secondly mistrust of the Halal slaughter procedures, in countries such as Australia and the South American countries.The Australian MLA brand for certified Halal meat, goes a long way towards removing half of the problem.

In Argentina, the Council of Mosques organizes all the Halal slaughter, through a private company, that provides the service at the meat plants www.halalcatering.com.ar .

Palermo Buenos Aires, boasts the largest Mosque in the whole of the America's north and south.