PRESERVING A 250 YEAR FAMILY FARM LEGACY.

Farmer and former Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Roger Richardson and his family have farmed on Maryland’s Eastern Shore since 1767. They remain steadfast about ensuring the land stays healthy and productive for the next 250 years.

The family legacy began on 60 acres, primarily woodlands. Little by little, the farm has grown to more than 3,000 acres. Richardson, 81, is the ninth generation of his family to steward the operation. Along with his daughter and son-in-law (the 10th generation) and grandsons (the 11th generation), Richardson’s family  grows corn, soybeans and wheat on land in three southeastern Maryland counties, surrounded by water on three sides.

He is a staunch proponent of Maryland agriculture and farmers’ dedication to producing quality food, feeding the world and protecting the environment.

“The first environmentalists were farmers,” Richardson says. “They understood more than anyone else that if you don’t take care of the land, it won’t take care of you. The land is the resource that has been good to our family for 250 years. We don’t take that for granted.”

Managing the different soil types, especially the abundant sandy soils, of Maryland’s Eastern Shore is challenging, Richardson admits. Switching to no-till helped minimize soil erosion and reduce production costs, but managing nutrients was difficult until he started using N-Serve® nitrogen stabilizer.

“You can’t see it, but we know that if nitrogen is not put deeply enough into the soil, especially sandy soils, it will leach and vaporize,” Richardson says. “N-Serve is a big help in stopping that.”
Given current commodity prices, controlling costs also is important.

“You have to closely watch expenses with any crop, but nitrogen is an asset you need to raise corn,” Richardson says. “N-Serve will lock it (nitrogen) in. It’s invisible, which makes it difficult to give a perfect answer to quantify yield benefit, but we feel strongly it has helped, especially last year with all the rain. We had some of the best corn yields we’ve ever had.”

Richardson is pleased with how well N-Serve® nitrogen stabilizer works to keep nitrogen in place for corn uptake. He also knows it’s the right thing to do to protect water quality and his family’s farming legacy.

“If you want to increase yield, nitrogen is the key to that, and N-Serve is the key to keeping nitrogen where it should be,” Richardson says. “I also like that N-Serve helps protect our precious natural resources. We consider N-Serve an investment, not just for yields, but also to help sustain this land for another 250 years.” BY DOW AGROSCIENCES.

MEXICO MULLS PORK AS RESPONSE TO U.S NAFTA PRODUCE PROPOSAL.

MEXICO CITY, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Mexican negotiators are working on a response to informal U.S. proposals to include protections for fresh produce in the re-negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), two people briefed on the proposals said.

U.S., Canadian and Mexican delegations finished a second round of talks last week to renegotiate the 23-year-old treaty, which U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to abandon if he could not get a better deal for U.S. workers.

One suggestion U.S. negotiators raised prior to the first round of talks in Washington last month was to protect certain products by making it easier for U.S. seasonal produce growers to launch anti-dumping cases against Mexico, the people said, citing a presentation made by Mexican officials after the Washington talks.

Mexico is looking at creating its own list, that might include pork, in case Washington formally proposes to give seasonal fruit and vegetable farmers added protection, the people briefed on the matter said.

Mexican negotiators are studying the inclusion of pork legs in its counterproposal, including possible limits on the volume of U.S. exports to its southern neighbor, the people said.

The legs account for the bulk of Mexico's pork imports from the United States and are used to make some of the country's most popular dishes, like tacos al pastor and carnitas.

Some Mexican agricultural leaders have said that dairy and chicken could also be deemed sensitive, though those products were not mentioned by the sources briefed on the proposal.

In its NAFTA negotiating objectives published in July, the Trump administration said it would seek a "domestic industry provision for perishable and seasonal products" in trade cases. Since then the issue has not come up in official statements and it was unclear whether the idea was brought up again in the latest round of talks.

However, the possibility of a tit-for-tat response by Mexico to a potential U.S. proposal to limit fresh produce trade highlights the risks of granting exceptions to selected interests. Several U.S. retail, restaurant and agriculture groups flagged such risks last week in letters sent to Trump administration officials.

NAFTA gradually eliminated nearly all tariffs for goods from the three countries. But disputes over certain sectors, such as sugar, have led to negotiated agreements establishing regulated trade in the form of minimum prices and export limits.

Mexican officials have repeatedly said NAFTA's aim should be to increase, not limit market access. New seasonal produce protections that could more easily curb Mexican fruit and vegetable exports but also invite retaliation, went "against the interest of free trade," said Raul Urteaga, head of international trade for Mexico's agriculture ministry.

Urteaga told Reuters there have been no proposals "so far" from Canadian or U.S. negotiators to designate certain sensitive products.

Bosco de la Vega, president of Mexico's National Agricultural Council, an influential private sector chamber representing farmers interests to the government in NAFTA talks, told Reuters that existing Chapter 19 dispute resolution mechanism was sufficient to resolve allegations of illegal dumping or health safety concerns.

U.S. companies with production on both sides of the border said granting special protection to produce growers in the United States' southeast over the rest of the industry would limit U.S. consumers' access to affordable produce.

"The proposal to put temporary tariff barriers to protect one sector will lower vegetable consumption," said Carlos Visconti, CEO of Red Sun Farms which has greenhouses in Mexico and the United States, during the NAFTA round in Mexico.

In Mexico, pork farmers have similar grievances to U.S. growers of tomatoes, complaining their U.S. rivals dump into Mexico cheap cuts, such as pig legs, that are less in demand in the United States.
Apples and potatoes, which are major U.S. exports to Mexico, are also caught up in battles between the two countries, with Mexico using health concerns to slow imports.

Total U.S. exports of pork legs to Mexico reached some 690,000 tonnes last year, or nearly 80 percent of total U.S. pork shipments to its southern neighbor, according to data from Mexican pork association OPORPA.

Overall, Mexico relies on imports for about 44 percent of domestic pork consumption, which last year reached about 2.5 million tonnes. Before NAFTA, Mexico produced about 90 percent of the pork it consumed.  BY David Alire Garcia.

STARTING A POULTRY FARM, AVOIDING PITFALLS.

Starting poultry farming in Nigeria is an ideal business to venture because of its lucrative turnover and huge consumption rate of chicken products in Nigeria.

At the moment there exists a huge market potential for chicken and poultry products in Nigeria given the high rising population. Out of the needed annual 200 million birds to meet demands, only about 140 million birds are produced annually, creating a huge gap of over 60 million birds annually.

Poultry farming has become one of the most important aspects of agriculture in Nigeria. It creates business opportunities for entrepreneurs, provides employment for job seeking citizens and brings in a lot of income for families.

Unfortunately some poultry farmers end up losing greatly after starting up their farm, this is simply because they lack basic knowledge on what it takes to make good yield, and therefore end up getting it all wrong.

Most new and prospective investors lack proper information and investment knowledge to decide if they should invest in Broilers or Layers. For others they clearly lack the informed knowledge of why they should start with day olds as against point of lays.

The more knowledge and poultry set up tips and tricks you acquire, the more successful your poultry business in Nigeria will be.

To set up a profitable poultry farm, certain factors must be put into consideration as well as the acquisition of basic knowledge, some of these include;

• Different Breeds of Chicken, their advantages and disadvantages as well as which is more profitable.

• How much funding to take off

• Poultry / Livestock Insurance (Very necessary)

• What number of chicks are considered sufficient

• Day old or Point of Lay (Their advantages and disadvantages)

• Quality of Chicks (Especially day old)

• Identifying quality chicks.

• Pen set up (How to save money when starting by choice of equipments)

• Suitable location for the pen

• Appropriate spacing of the chicken pen to reduce overcrowding.

• Selection of best materials for chicks

• Vaccination and timing (Very important)

• Temperature regulation (Very crucial)

• How to maximize profit by using local feeds formulation (very crucial)

• Types of feed given to the chicken at every growth stage

• Feed timing

• Effective management of various areas, such as changing the food or water in the event of fecal contamination which lowers the risk of disease

• Enhancement of egg production for layers

• Debeaking of chickens to avoid pecking

• Water treatment

• Identifying your target Market before set up (Very important)

Are you interested in investing in poultry farming? Business Plan? Guideline, Farm Set Up & Management? BY AGRONEWS.