LIMING: HOW TO IMPROVE SOIL pH.

There are various factors that determine the success of any crop cultivation. Part of them is the soil pH. Soil pH is the degree or amount of acidity or alkalinity of a soil. It is important and highly recommended that farmers test the pH of their soil before planting. Different crops have individual pH preference; some crops are acid tolerant while others are not. In order to put the round peg in the round hole, that is, knowing the type of crop to plant on a particular land, testing of soil pH is highly recommended.

style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">

Soil pH scale ranges from 0-14; having 7 as the neutral point. Any value below 7 means the soil is acidic while above 7 means the soil is alkaline in nature. Most crops thrive best at pH value 6.5-7.5. When a soil has a low pH, that is, acidic; it can be corrected. One of the methods of correcting low soil pH is liming.

So what is liming?
Liming is the act of applying some material, usually calcium and magnesium containing material, to neutralize or correct the soil pH to a favorable level for crop growth and development. In other words, liming is the process of adding liming materials to the soil to raise the soil pH, thus, enhancing crop growth. Liming is a traditional procedure in preparing soil for planting. Materials used in liming process are called liming materials; they are usually calcium and or magnesium rich compounds. What liming materials do is to reduce the acidity of the soil, thus, raising the soil pH to a more favorable level.


Examples of liming materials that can be used to correct your soil pH are:

• Calicitic Aglime: It is a ground Limestone containing mainly calcium carbonate.
• Dolomitic Aglime: It is a ground limestone containing a mixture of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. 
• Slaked lime: It is composed of calcium hydroxide or a mixture of calcium and magnesium hydroxide. 
• Quicklime: It comprises of calcium oxide or a mixture of calcium and magnesium oxide. 
• Marl: It is a deposit of calcium carbonate derived from mollusk shells, usually mixed with silt and clay. 
• Wood ashes

These are the commonly used liming materials. Another important aspect of liming is the effectiveness of the liming material. The fineness of the liming material determines the effectiveness of the liming material; the finer the liming material the more effective and greater the neutralizing activities of the liming material. Hence, fine liming material should be selected ahead of granulated ones.

How to apply liming material to soil
Getting a good and effective liming material is a lofty prerequisite to successful control of the soil pH. The mode of application also contributes greatly to the success of this practice. The best way to apply liming material to soil is through broadcasting. You must ensure you broadcast the liming material evenly on the soil such that the liming material surfaces on virtually all corners and spots on the plot. This can be done using a spreader on a large farm or manually using farm labor.

If this is properly done, the pH of your soil should be adjusted within 2 weeks. Alternatively, you can apply the liming material on strips or borders of the plot. What matters is getting the liming material on your farm and it does its job perfectly.

When all necessary pre-planting operations are carried out as required, farming will be very lucrative and profitable than we envisaged. Doing the necessary practices rightly is a prerequisite to the success of any business.

Now’s time to give your love-life a make-over!

By Bunmi Sofola

Now the year has fully taken off, I thought readers should revamp their sex life (if indeed it needs revamping!) by following these experts’ top tips on how to keep the spark in your relationship.

style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">
Lead separate lives: Try to think of your partner as independent from you— you’re not joined at the hips. Imagine them at work, playing a sport or doing something well without you. See them as the vital and interesting individual they are when they’re not with you. This is far sexier than the claustrophobic familiarity that can kill attraction when all you see is the socks left on the floor and your partner slumped on the sofa. Learn to read secret signals: If your relationship is full of hostility, you won’t have a good love life. Your anger is a barrier to enjoying sex. You have to resolve conflict, don’t bottle things up. Ask him: “Can we talk about it?” Solve the problem, then you’ll be able to enjoy each other. Everyone has their favourite things in the bedroom—whether it’s having their ears nibbled or their feet tickled. But they’re almost always too embarrassed to tell. So how do you discover your partner’s fantasies? Look at what they’re doing to you! For example, someone who loves having their ears nibbled with nibble on their partner’s ears. Pay attention to your man’s moves and you’ll get an idea of what he wants you to do to him. – Kate Taylor, relationship expert Don’t worry, be happy: These days, sex is just another lifestyle product and another way for people to make money by selling us things we don’t want or need. But you don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations. A good sex life is one that makes you feel happy and comfortable, whether you’re doing it ten times a week or ten times a year, it’s quality not quantity that counts. When you make love, focus on your partner’s pleasure, not on your own. The better you are as lovers, the more enjoyable they’ll get from sex and the more likely they open up and tell you what they require. Do they want more foreplay? Are you picking the wrong time for sex? Suggest that you bathe together or give them a massage first. Ask for feedback during sex and give them time to become aroused. – Tracy Cox, sex expert. Hit the spot: Strip naked together and take it in turns to run your hands slowly over your partner’s body, loving it for every wrinkle, fold and flaw. As you do so, tell them what makes them sexy. Remember a time when you had great sex and talk about it.

GUIDE ON BUILDING A MODERN POULTRY HOUSE

Housing is very important in poultry farming; its main function is protection, from adverse weather conditions and predators. These two factors are great threats to the productivity of the poultry birds. Building a modern poultry house has strategies and approaches for it to enhance the productivity of the birds.

style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">


Many poultry businesses fold up today as a result of the ignorance of the farmer. It is very possible you feed your birds with highly nutritious feed, serve fresh clean water and follow a strict medical program yet have a poor production. Productivity of birds does not only lie on the nutrition and health program alone; environmental factors also play a germane role on the productivity of poultry birds. Your poultry house is the interphase between your birds and the environment; hence, poultry house should be constructed such that it compensates the welfare of the birds.

There are different types of poultry house and several factors have to be considered in building a poultry house. A poultry house should be constructed bearing in mind the effects of some environmental factors, such as: heat, rainfall etc.; a good poultry house must abate the effects of these environmental factors. Here are some guides you should follow when constructing a modern poultry house.

• Orientation of the house:

Did you know there is a way you must position your poultry house to enhance their productivity and make the birds very comfortable? Yes, there is. The longest side of your pen, that is, the breadth, should face the direction of the prevailing wind. This has several advantages. The most cogent advantage that your birds receive is even ventilation. Also, moisture dries up easily in such poultry house. Ventilation is very important in poultry farm. It eliminates heat stress and makes the bird comfortable, thus, enhancing their productivity. One of the ways to ensure good ventilation in a poultry house is it orientates the poultry house in the direction of the prevailing wind. For you to know the direction of the wind, just throw up a kite and watch where it moves to up the sky, alternatively, set up a small fire watch the direction of the smoke or hold a strand of thread in the air and watch the direction it orientates to. This is one of the factors to consider before setting up a poultry house.

Materials used in poultry house:
The materials you use in the construction of your poultry house depend on your financial strength. Poultry house can be made with different materials but you have to bear the purpose of the house in mind. The most prominent purpose is protection, from harsh weather and predators. Ensure any material you will use serves this purpose duly.




style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">

• Ventilation:

Ventilation is very important in a modern poultry house. There are several biological processes going on in a poultry house that tends to generate heat; ventilation serves two purposes: elimination of heat stress and drying up of moisture in the poultry house. Heat stress is very detrimental to poultry birds; it can reduce the productivity of birds greatly and also cause death in severe cases. Also, moisture in a poultry house is not good for the well-being of the birds. Moisture provides a favorable condition for disease pathogens to thrive, thus, causing disease outbreak in the farm. Ventilation is the principal solution to these threats; proper ventilation eliminates the heat in the farm and also dries up moisture. The poultry house must be designed in a way that is well ventilated.

• Planting of tree crops:

Trees are beneficial entities to humans, especially those that bear edible fruits. However, deforestation is one of the banes of environmental pollution the world today. Trees are not only good for man; they are as well beneficial to animals. Trees provide fresh air and also bring a cool sensation to animals. Planting a tree around your poultry house makes your birds healthy, eliminates heat stress, provides a cooling effect and shields your birds from harsh weather condition. You can plant tree crops like banana, plantain, orange, mango, etc.; although some of these trees may harbor some pest. This can be controlled with proper security measures, use of repellants etc.

• Protection from predators:

Predators can be micro, in form of bacteria, fungi and others, or macro, in form of snakes. All these can be controlled biologically; there are pest repellants crops you can plant to keep macro predators away from your farm. Also, use of biosecurity is very important, it eliminate the emergence of micro predators; these are very destructive.

• Litter material:

In our homes, we have carpets and rug to adore the floor, so also in a modern poultry house, litter material serves this purpose too. Litter materials are placed on the floor of the pen to absorb moisture from the birds’ droppings, facilitate easy cleaning and also make the birds comfortable. Wood shaving is the common litter material used, others are groundnut husk, newspaper for chicks etc. do not use saw-dust; its small particle size can enter the birds’ eyes and make them blind or cause a respiratory disease.
All the aforementioned guides must be implemented to achieve success in the poultry business. Feeding alone does not determine the success of a poultry farm; these are structural and environmental aids to poultry birds. 

POULTRY FEED ADDITIVES: 8 NATURAL MATERIALS THAT GIVE BRIGHT YELLOW EGG YOLK

Non-nutritional components of poultry diet are called poultry feed additives. They are added to poultry feeds to improve feed performance and animal well-being. Poultry feed majorly contains cereal and legumes; these two components take larger percentage, like 95%, of the feed formulation. Others are vitamins and minerals; they all play significant roles in poultry well-being.

style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">

Feed additives in animal nutrition usually take very small percentage, less than 1%, of the feed composition. They are meant to improve the performance of the animal through boosting the immune system and protecting the animals from various infections. There are different examples of feed additives for poultry, they are: antibiotics, antioxidants, pigmenters etc.; in this article, we shall discuss pigmenters and their relevance in poultry nutrition.

Pigmenters are examples of feed additives for poultry that enhance the quality of the chicken’s egg yolk color. Egg yolk colors are almost completely dependent on the feed served; yolk color is one of the internal qualities of an egg, egg with bright yellow yolk is more preferred to egg with orange or pale color yolk.
The bright yellow color of the yolk is due to the presence of xanthophyll pigment in the diet. It can be sourced naturally or artificially, depending on the preference of the farmer. Yellow maize is a good source of xanthophyll pigment in poultry diet.


Take a look at this:

Yellow maize contains this pigment; when fed to poultry birds, it gives the yolk a bright yellow color. But wheat does not have this pigment. Hence, the use of wheat in poultry diet requires the inclusion of pigmenters as additives to ensure the bright yellow color is achieved.

Poultry feed additives are classified into two; namely:

• Natural or organic feed additives 
• Artificial or synthetic feed additives.

The natural poultry feed additives are those ones that are naturally present in feedstuff, like the presence of xanthophyll in yellow maize. If this maize is used as a whole source of energy in poultry diet, then, inclusion of pigmenter in the feed may not be necessary. However, if other energy feedstuff like wheat is used, then pigmenters can be added to the feed.

Synthetic feed additives are those materials developed to improve the performance of the diet and animal fed. They are the real feed additives. They are not sourced in the feedstuff but synthesized in the laboratory and certified for animal use. Example of synthetic pigmenter is canthaxanthin. This can be added to poultry diet to improve the egg yolk color.

However, people are becoming more conversant with what they consume. Everyone craves organic nutrition; as an organic poultry farmer, instead of adding the synthetic pigmenters to your poultry diet, you can add any of the below material as various researches have proven that they have pigmenting property in them. They are:

• Sunflower Petals 
• Marigold leaves 
• Alfalfa 
• Orange peels 
• Algae 
• Carrot 
• Annatto Seed 
• Chili pepper.

These are examples of feed additives for poultry with the ability of enhancing a bright yellow color in egg yolk. They are natural and have no side effects; unlike the synthetic ones that tend to have residual effects upon consumption. These materials are applied in dried form with no limitation since they are organic in nature. They give better yolk color compare to the synthetic ones. 

GESTATION PERIOD OF FARM ANIMALS

• Livestock production is indeed very lucrative. The business brings smile to the face of the farmer as the farm animals reproduce, thus, increasing the stock population and conversely increasing profitability of the business. This is the function of the gestation period of the farm animals.

style="display:inline-block;width:970px;height:90px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-6180445391063621"
data-ad-slot="6286854131">

Gestation period is the time interval between the conception period and parturition, that is, the period between the formation of foetus in mature female farm animal and reproduction; we can also call it the period of pregnancy. Gestation period for farm animals varies greatly; some farm animals have short gestation period while others have long gestation period. The knowledge of the gestation period of farm animals is very crucial as it enables farmers plan adequately, aids productive decision making and allows expansion of the business.

After successful copulation, fertilization occurs and the foetus develops. The foetus develops gradually and transforms fully into a replica or kin of the animal within a stipulated period. This period is called gestation period. Parturition, the act of giving birth in farm animal, marks the end of the gestation period. Within this period, farmers are expected to carry out some practices to aid parturition. One of these is the preparation of the pen so as to make the new animal confortable and aid growth.

Aside from the pre-parturition practices the knowledge of gestation period aids, it also helps farmers decide, know when to expand and the expected yield or stock per year. Some animals can reproduce more than 3 times in a year, while others are just once; knowledge of the gestation period helps greatly for planning and decision making to improve the productivity of the farm.

For this sake, I have compiled a list of gestation period of common farm animals. They are:

• Cow

The gestation period for cows is 274 days. Cows have a long gestation period; this means that it takes 274 days for a cow to reproduce after pregnancy has been detected. Also, a cow can only reproduce once in a year, not like other farm animals that can reproduce twice or three times and above in a year.

• Ewe

The average gestation period for ewes is approximately 147 days, ranging from 144 to 152 days. This implies that ewes can reproduce twice in a year.

• Goat

The gestation period for goats and sheep is almost the same. The gestation period for goats ranges from 148 to 152 days with an average gestation period of 150 days. This implies that a goat can also reproduce twice in a year.

• Rabbit

The gestation period for a rabbit is only about 31 days! Rabbit has the shortest gestation period of only one month or less. Rabbits are prolific animals. They can reproduce up to ten times in a year.

As a farmer, gestation period of your flock should always be at your fingertips. Part of the practices you are to carry out during this period is the preparation of your pen; ensure you clean up and disinfect the pen, provide nutritious meal to serve the mother and the young animals.