Cowpea as foodder!

Our goat herd has been steadily growing over the last one year. There have been more than 80 births and the kids are growing at a steady rate. Initially, we used concentrate comprising of Maize powder, daal, groundnut cake for accelerated growth. However, often the mix was adulterated with mud, salt etc. The feed was not only inferior in quality but also expensive.

So in the last few months we stopped using concentrate and augmented our fodder acreage. Currently, we give a mix of CO4, sorgum, maize, agathi, subabul (and mango leaves during pruning). The latest addition has been Cowpea. This grows well under rain fed condition.

Interestingly, cowpea has a lot of health advantages ranging from controlling blood pressure to having anti-aging properties. Of course, this does not apply to the goats since we are harvesting leaves and not seeds. You should be careful not feeding leaves that have been infected with leaf eating pests. We noticed that often goats experienced a rather nasty round of dysentery after feeding on infected leaves. 

Fresh Fodder Development : Importance, Constraints and Options

At Savera Farms, we have now been raising our Goat herd to close to a year now. Apart from capital intensive expenses like the shed, it soon became clear that most of our resources will be spent on procuring and preparing the daily feed. This experience seems to be universal to most animal husbandry practices, including dairy and meat production. It is estimated that no less than 70 per cent of the cost of milk production in India goes towards fodder and yet fresh feed remains woefully deficient in quality in India.

Adopting balanced feed-rations and breeding animals with higher “feed-conversion efficiency” seems to have become critical in increasing their productive life, reducing the incidence of disease, and lowering the cost of production. In India, livestock is largely fed on agricultural residue and straw-based fodder which were deficient in several nutrients. While green fodder is more nutritious, only 10 per cent of the area under green fodder is sown with certified seeds. As the demand for milk products and meat rise in India, agri operations will have no choice but to increase fodder yield and productivity.

Among high yield techniques there are very few which surpass the efficiency of Hydroponics. While Hydroponics has been a widely discussed topic in online forums, very few operators have adopted this in a significant way. Savera Farms has flirted with the idea but we have not committed serious effort behind this yet. Not withstanding the high capital investment, there is still a lack of competent and widely available expertise in India. This has been a constraint for a while but with initiatives like PetBaro, there is increased awareness in urban locations. We are hoping, over time such knowledge building initiatives will help with increased adoption of Hydroponic practices. There was an interesting commentary online around the constraints of Hydroponics in the Indian landscape.

Listed below are a few pioneers and solution providers in the Hyroponic space in India. We share this with our readers so they can seek inspiration, benefit from current innovations and yet make informed decisions. Do share your experiences, favorable or cautionary, with the community for better decision making.

•     AgroVision
•     GrassFodder Hydroponics
•     Greentech Hydroponics

Disclaimer : We do not endorse or have used the above service providers. Readers should be diligent while determining their Hydroponic strategies.

Savera Farms Goat Operations - 6 months hence

Massaging my mommy

Savera Farms got into Animal husbandry last July with a couple of dozen Tellacherry and Kanni goats. So far we have had a good run with as many births and a couple more bulk purchases. In a few months, our herd was over 100 strong. Entry into animal husbandry was a strategic decision to minimize the risk from our land crops (Mango & Moringa) and capture the opportunity of increased meat consumption. We have not limited ourselves to just the meat segment but are breeding pureline Tellacherry goats as well. In another a couple of months, we should be ready with our first batch of kids for sale.

Blue eyed buck!

Tertiary benefits include collection of manure. During our initial analysis, manure volumes were marginal at best. Over the months, we have developed ways to increase our manure. Fresh manure is briefly dried and mixed with urine soaked soil. Later this mixture is moved to a compost pit for curing. Over the past 4 months, we have been able to fill 2 pits. Into this pit we also add other organic matter such as Moringa waste. Each pit should produce about 40-50 tractor loads of enriched soil and manure in about 4 months.

King of the cell

At Savera Farms, we hope to be able to introduce artificial insemination (AI) in the near future. There has been a lot of research done in this field in recent years. Bovine AI has been particularly successful while small ruminant AI has seen successfully pregnancy rates of up to 25-30%. Govt. of Kerela is spearheading field trials in this space in India using Tellacherry goats. While current techniques provide lower pregnancy rates, AI can be useful for cross breeding and to prevent issues related to inbreed of animals. 

Sibling love!

Goats at our farm are given nutritious and diverse feed ranging from CO4, Agathi, Subabul, Tamarind leaves, Neem leaves, Azolla, Bajra and Maize fodder, in addition to concentrate feed. They are dewormed every 3 months and have been vaccinated with PPR and ETV. If any of you are planning to start a new farm, we would be happy to provide mature breeding animals with prior kidding history and practical advice, invaluable for a new operation!

Fodder Security : Bajra & Maize updates

Late last year, Savera Farms made a conscious decision to attempt Maize and Bajra grain cultivation. Our focus was to supplement and lower the unit cost of our current goat fodder. While our seed propagation was field dispersal, we did ensure that it is done along our drip lines for maximum germination. Since sowing, it took about 40-50 days for the flowering to start. Although our initial plan was to collect seeds for the concentrate mix, we decided against it due to heavy labor requirement.

 

Maize fields

Instead, everyday we are providing our animals a couple of bundles of fresh green Maize and Bajra fodder and the Goats seem to be happy with this succulent addition to their meal plan. Overall, the growth of maize was quite good, while the growth of Bajra was inconsistent since it was less tolerant to soil conditions.

Fresh Corn-on-the-Cob

 Bajra

With the labour availability being inconsistent, we have debated the feasibility of continuing with this cultivation and overall benefit accrued to our operations.. We may try another season but our focus will be to grow and store. Generating silage is on our agenda for 2014 and we plan to focus on the most efficient options to source ingredients. For the existing drip infrastructure, we should be able to make good use of it for our other short term crops.

Azolla Cultivation 101

To supplement our growing fodder needs, we have been busy developing alternate (and hopefully cheaper!) sources. Once such alternative on our list was Azolla. Due to competing priorities, Savera Farms Azolla initiative had been on the back-burner but recently we have begun our Azolla trials. 

For those who may not be familiar, Azolla is a great source of protein and we are hoping to reduce a significant portion of concentration mix once our initial attempts are successful. It is quite easy to cultivate and one does not need many resources to get started. Supposedly, it is rich in proteins, essential amino acids, vitamins and several key minerals. On a dry weight basis it contains 25 - 35 percent protein, 10 - 15 percent minerals and 7 - 10 percent of amino acids.

During our trials :

• 10-15 kg of sieved soil was uniformly spread over the Silpauline pit.
• Slurry was made of 2 kg cow dung and 30 g of Super Phosphate mixed in about 10 L of water. This was poured onto the sheet and additional water was added to raise the level to 10 cm. 
• About 0.5-1kg of mother azolla culture seed material was spread uniformly over the water. After a mild stirring of soil and water, the Azolla bed was allowed to settle.

 

Sieved soil with cow dung slurry 

• Fresh water was sprinkled over the Azolla immediately after inoculation to make the plants upright.  
• In about 5 days, sprouted Azolla had started to spreads across the bed. In the coming days, this is expected to develop into a thick mat.

 

                                                                    Azolla in Silpaulin pit

•  Per our instructions, a mixture of 20 g of Super Phosphate and about 1 kg of cow dung will be added once in 5 days in order to maintain rapid multiplication and encourage a daily yield of 500 gms.
• About 5 kg of bed soil will be replaced with fresh soil, once in 30 days to avoid nitrogen buildup. Periodically, fresh water will be replenished as well. 
• Mature Azolla beds are expected to yield upto  25-40 tonnes of dry matter per hectare. Their rapid, thick development is represented in this staged visual.

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There is a lot of research being done on Azolla and it has proved itself to be a legitimate source for fodder supplement and even biomass for renewable fuel production. In India, several organizations like Natural Resources Development Project (NARDEP) have been spearheading the use of Azolla for rural applications. Here are a few tips from them :

• It is important to keep Azolla at the rapid multiplication growth phase with the minimum doubling time. Therefore biomass (around 200 g per square meter) should be removed every day or on alternate days to avoid overcrowding.
• The temperature should be kept below 25°C. If the temperature goes up the light intensity should be reduced by providing shade. If possible, it is best to place the production unit where it is shady.
• The pH should be tested periodically and should be maintained between 5.5 and 7.
• The Azolla bed should be cleaned, the water and soil replaced and new Azolla inoculated once every six months.
• Wash the Azolla to get rid of the cow dung smell. Washing also helps in separating the small plants which drain out of the tray. The plants along with water in the bucket can be poured back into the original bed. 
• For use as a livestock feed, the fresh Azolla should be mixed with commercial feed in 1:1 ratio to feed livestock. After a fortnight of feeding on Azolla mixed with concentrate, livestock may be fed with Azolla without added concentrate.

This was an interesting video we found online touting the overall potential and opportunities with Azolla. Hopefully this will spur a few of you onto an entrepreneurial track!

Credits : http://www.vknardep.org/

Fodder Security : Maize Cultivation

At Savera Farms, we currently produce a large part of our fresh fodder needs for our goat operations. However, there are additional ingredients in the goat feed which are critical as well. In general, goats require energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber (bulk) and water. In our case, of meat goats, calorie intake is an important and usually the most limiting nutrient. For meat production, goats have to be able to gain lean fat. Similarly, any deficiencies, excesses and imbalances of vitamins and minerals can limit animal growth, lead to health problems and result in wasteful feeding expenses.

Multiple factors affect nutritional requirements of goats: maintenance, growth, pregnancy, lactation, fiber production, activity and environment. As a general rule of thumb, goats consume at least 3% of their body weight in dry matter feed. The exact percentage varies according to the size (weight) of the goat, with younger animals needing a higher percentage intake during the growth phase. Environmental conditions also affect maintenance requirements. During cooler (or wet) months, we noticed that goats require more feed to maintain body heat. The added stresses of pregnancy, lactation and growth further increase nutrient requirements as well.

Keeping in mind our growing demand for quality goat feed, we planted a few acres of Maize in hopes of reducing per unit feeding cost. The crop has been in the ground for a few weeks and has started to show signs of life. Gap filling was performed after 15 days of initial sowing. Estimated germination rate is about 80% based on the seed dispersal method used. Given we have no prior experience with Maize, we are eager to see how this crop performs.

We are drip irrigating the crop twice a week for about 45 min. To further minimize cultivation cost, we are not using any fertilizers. Flyash was used in small quantities during soil preparation and it seems that it was a wise choice.

We expect our goat feed demands to continue rising as our initial herd has now stabilized and we plan to continue growing it in size. Current suppliers of goat feed or ingredients like Maize (powder form) can reach out if interested in working with us. Partnering with experienced producers allows us to focus on our core activities and we can outsource other tasks for additional job / employment opportunities in an already stressed industry.

Fodder Cultivation - Bajra & Maize

This year the retreating monsoons commenced rather late at Savera Farms. Significant rains came pouring in only around mid October. When the monsoons finally set in, we grabbed the opportunity to augment our fodder acreage using traditional rain fed method. Occasionally our fodder mix includes Bajra and Maize and we needed to increase the supply. This is our first attempt into land crops like these so we are anxious to see how these fare at Savera Farms. We were told to expect the first harvest in about 90- 100 days, sometime in February 2014.

We are already feeding our goats CO4, Agathi, Subabul in addition to the concentrate mix. A treat of Bajra and Maize fodder usually gets them pretty excited. While we chose rain fed irrigation for most of the acreages, we planned for drip irrigation as a back up as well. Rain fed acres were broadcasted with seeds after initial soil prep. Since these crops are annual harvests, namely during monsoons, our drip fed areas should be able to secure uninterrupted production during lean monsoon months.

There are several fodder crops available and our currently choice of Bajra and Maize was driven by season, resource requirement and net cost of production.We were advised line spacing of 15 cm by 60 cm though there were various options discussed. Minimal investment was made on land preparation but keeping an eye of self-sustainability, soil enhancement using goat manure was done. For those interested in learning more, here is a brief article on goat manure. A couple of rounds of disc plough and 5 fingers seems to be sufficient prior to direct seeding. With recent showers, sprouting was seen in about 4-5 days as seen here. This section includes drip feed acres will be supplement with urea. The expectation is to harvest in excess of 18-20 tonnes per acre due to controlled irrigation and fertigation.

Those with interest in cultivation and production capabilities of Bajra and Maize, please get in touch with us. We would like to consider long term procurement contracts. Ideal producers would be within 200-250km radius from Sivagangai with some cultivation infrastructure and experience.

Goat Feed and Concentrate

This posting is in response to the reader queries around feeding. In regards to the composition of feed, we are currently trying out a few things. Based on my research thus far and discussions with other herd owners, there is no clear consensus on the perfect formula. The general guidance however was based on availability and economics of the feed. 

Fortunately, there is a large wholesale market in Madurai which is helpful to procure grains. Currently we are providing an average of 250 gm of concentrate per goat, devided over two daily feedings.

Our current concentrate comprises of Maize powder, Rice bran, Wheat bran, red Gram powder and Groundnut oil cake. A pinch of salt and chelated mineral mix is mixed in the feeding bowl as well.

Additionally, 2-3 Kgs of green fodder comprising of CO4 and Agathi (or Subabul) is given per day per goat. The general rule of thumb is that green fodder given per day should be 10% of body weight.

Bowls are sorted by color for easy preparation to ensure all ingredigents are included. 

So far the goats relish the feed and none is wasted

Agathi leaves provide much needed vitamins and are supposedly helpful with digestion.

Mineral licks are attached to the stalls for easy access.

Looking forward to hearing back from the community on additional tips and feeding practices!

Pruning of Mango UHD - Summer 2013

With a couple of showers earlier in the month, mercury has been hovering at 35-37 celsius, which is a huge relief from what we witnessed in April and May. Most days have been partially cloudy in the month and we took the opportunity to prune the mango plants at this time. Pruning was long due but we delayed due to high temperature (in excess of 40 celsius).

Typically, June experiences strong winds and this time around the wind farms across the state have been delivering 3 phase power 24x7! We did have a few of the heavier branches suffer damage but noticed new growth sprouting promptly from the damaged areas.

Most plants are being pruned for the third and fourth time. We have started to see a well defined canopy emerge in most plants.

Alphonso plots are being pruned for the third time now.

 

Imampasand plots have shown steady and uniform growth. 

As stated in an earlier postings, we need to de-weed. Mulch sheets are a significant investment for the lengths we need so we plan to try a dual approach of bio weed retardants and card boards squares as an ad-hoc measure. Lets see how they fare.

 

Why not recycle - the sheep make a go at the mango greens!

Day 9 - New growth from a damaged branch

On a closing note, does anyone have experiences around feeding Mango leaves to Goats / Sheep? We are being advised that mature Mango leaves are not very conducive for Sheep but our herd seems to be quite enthusiastic about this occasional treat so far. Observations around prior pruning attempts have been posted in earlier postings. Feel free to research the blog and provide your commentary around better or other best practices.

Commercial Sprinkler System at Savera Farms

For this year, one of our goals was to install a sprinkler based system for our short term crop. At this time, we are under pilot for 4 acres of CO4 fodder and high density Moringa (leaves) using sprinkler system as the primary irrigation delivery.

Earlier in the year we had inter-cropped CO4 grass within our Mango plots with wide spacing. This impacted our Mango plants due to nitrogen deficiency created by CO4. Although our inter-cropping was 'experts approved' no one advised us of the nitrogen deficiency CO4 can cause. Since then we decided to separate the CO4 grass cultivation to prevent further impact to our Mango plots.

As part of increasing our short term crop portfolio, we decided to venture into Moringa leaf cultivation. Although the trade mostly comprises of traders and middle men, we feel encouraged by a recent spurt of processing units in India. We feel there is a good scope for expansion into Moringa leaves cultivation given its significant  health benefits and (slowly) growing acceptance &awareness. The biggest advantage is that it can be processed, packed and stored - unlike most short term crops. Note : Most buyers we got in touch with turned out to be brokers. Cultivators should establish contact and visit processing facilities of end customers during their crop planning phase.

During our plot design phase, we decided not to go for lateral based drip irrigation due to its high installation and maintenance cost. Inline and online drippers are often challenging to clean/unblock when dealing with intensive cultivation. Rain gun was considered but its limited irrigation area and high water pressure requirement was a deterrent. Eventually, we decided to implement a sprinkler based system. Low maintenance cost, fixed infrastructure (unlike rain gun that requires to be moved around) and uniform coverage were attractive features. Since we are still in pilot phase, the only disadvantage we can foresee is of water penetration into the soil. That may need to be mitigated by extending irrigation time. We hope once CO4 and Moringa take root, extensive watering will not be essential.

A view of the pilot plot after the sprinklers were installed. The sprinkler installation matrix is similar drippers but adjusted to crop, soil, irrigation and spacing considerations.

We took advantage of a recent bout of summer monsoons to disc plough the moist plots. 

Healthy red soil, post ploughing..

Finally, the sprinkler test in progress!

We have recently started with the sprinkler systems and are expecting a learning curve. Are there any cultivators which have hand-on experience with the setup, maintenance and usage of commercial grade sprinkler systems? I am sure all of us can benefit from hands-on experts ..:)

Raising Sheep - 2.0

Three months back, we bought our first batch of sheep. It was our foray into animal rearing so we were pretty excited about it. A few months into it, we are happy that the animals have become used to the 'stall-fed' life and our adjusting well. It took them about a week to understand the whole concept of climbing up the ramp and being secured in a stall.

During our research, we were advised that sheep were the 'grazers' and goat the 'climbers' and the former did not eat anything above ground. Well, that is not true! When they are hungry, they will stand erect on their hind legs and munch anything that is green and tasty. A handful of smaller and weaker Melia Dubia trees were defoliated by them. Thankfully they do not have a voracious appetite for mango leaves but they will eat tender Moringa leaves.

There is a stark difference between the comfort level of the male and female animals with our staff. The lone male is friendly, playful and occasionally head-butts people. On the other hand, the females are still apprehensive about our staff getting too close to them. I guess it is a matter of time or the mystery of the female thinking is universal! :).


A few sheep being fed CO4 fodder. The branches at the bottom of the picture is that of Agathi. As evident, leaves were cleaned up pretty nicely, leaving only the hard branches.

Deworming in process. Has anybody tried feeding Neem leaves as a deworming agent ?






















For now, the animals are not strictly stall fed. With the onset of summers, grass has turned dry and are being fed CO4 grass. The day starts at 8 am and they are let out in the compound. Soon after, they are fed freshly chopped CO4 grass (approx 20-25 kgs) along with a bundle of Agathi or Subabul. They seem to have taken a liking towards Agathi and Subabul, however it is not advisable to overfeed. At 430 pm, they are fed another round of CO4, after which they are locked up at 6 pm.

 During a recent vet visit we were delighted to find out that quite a few females are 1-2 months pregnant. The gestation period is about 150 days and we hope to see Gen-Next by August. I am aware of a few blog followers have recently started their goat or sheep projects or are contemplating getting into it. Would anyone have insights into sheep's projected weight gain timelines or have recommendations around how to expedite weight gains?

Processing CO4 fodder for Goats & Sheep

After much delay, we were able to procure the chaff cutter machine last month. CO4 fodder which was screaming to be harvested finally saw the light of day of being chopped and processed.

The machine comes with a 2 hp motor and is available from Agri Engineering dept under subsidy. There is approx 50% subsidy available and the beneficiary pays about Rs 15000/-

While the stem of the fodder had become yellow and hard, it was chopped up and mixed with sheep manure. Eventually, we should get some good decomposed manure in a few months. Using the chopped material as a mulch was considered, but a couple of horticulture experts warned us about the risk of attracting termites.

I had posted a blog on the diet of goats and sheep a few weeks back. In case you missed it, you can find it here. 

Green fodder is chopped separately and the sheep seem to enjoy the taste of their new food.

CO4 fodder was harvested manually and will the bush cutter.

Part of the process was to finely chop the stalk for compost processing. Usually, we would try to use the fresh, succulent stem as part of animal fodder as well.

Deweeding by Brush cutter

As part of our efforts to mechanize farm operations, brush cutter is another implement which we have added recently to our growing list of machines.
The machine marketed by Oleo mac is a very handy tool to keep the weeds under control in areas of intensive cultivation and is powered by petrol. In our experience so far, it consumes 1 litre in 1.5 to 2 hours (depending on thickness of weeds).

Brush cutter in action

 

Before pic..

After pic..

Currently, we are using the brush cutter in a couple of plots where fodder is being cultivated as an intercrop with mango. Deweeding by rotavator is impossible due to close spacing, as a result this machine works well. As an effort to reuse agri waste optimally, the weeds that have been cut will be used to mulch the mango plants.

If any of our followers use better, more efficient weed management methods, feel free to share the information.

Food security for Goats & Sheep with CO4, Agathi

Here is wishing all our blog followers a very happy and prosperous 2013 filled with good health, wealth and peace. May the new year bring joy and success to everyone. 

Here at Savera Farms, 2012 was spent in expanding our cultivation and development and 2013 would be spent in consolidating what he have developed so far. Having said that, we also plan on diversifying into animal husbandry in the new year. Some of you have already seen the developments around the goat project at the farm.

As you probably know, before getting into any animal husbandry project, it is imperative to ensure that there is enough fodder available internally in order to reduce operational costs. General guidance that I have been able to collect so far :

• Daily intake of 3-4 Kg of Green fodder & 1/2 kg of dry fodder is recommended
• 1 acre of fodder is sufficient for 30 animals
• 50% acreage should be CO4, COFS29 and 50% acreage should be leguminous like Agathi, Velli Masal (Hedge Lucerne). 
• Leguminous take 70-90 days for harvest while CO4 take 45-50 days.

A variety of fodder ensures the animals get a balanced and nutritious diet. One has to cultivate any of Monocotyledons which comprises of Maize, Jawar, Hybrid Napier, Gunea Grass , Oats and Para grass. These fodders are rich in energy and are used for supplying energy to animals and this should contain 66% of the diet.Additionally, you have to also grow any of the 1 Dicotyledons like Stylo , Lucerne, Berseem and Subabul. These fodders are rich in protein and helps in Body building of animals and Milk Production.

We started our fodder cultivation in August in a phased manner since we were hoping to start the operations in November. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we shall be procuring a mix of goats and sheep in a few days from now. CO4 Slips can be procured from your local KVK center at a very reasonable rate of Rs 0.20 per slip. 

Slips were procured as whole pieces (approx 5-6 ft long). Smaller pieces of 10-15 inches were cut before planting. 

Existing drip infrastructure of watermelon (from last year) was used to irrigate the fodder. Although rain gun is the preferred source of irrigation for fodder crops. For now, we have intercropped it with mango.

At approx 1 month. Timely rain led to rapid development.

Ready to be cut and fed..

Agathi seedlings : In addition to CO4, we have planted Agathi as well. Seeds were procured and saplings were developed in portrays.

Approx 1 month old on the field 

Young seedlings have tender leaves and is well munched by rabbits. A net in place to obstruct rabbits from eating away the seedlings. The experiment was fairly successful as there was a good survival rate.

Growth in Agathi was not as uniform as CO4 and invited a whole lot of weeds during monsoon. (Maybe due to its nitrogen fixing qualities)

Apart from CO4 and Agathi, Subabul has been planted along the goat shed and in other open areas.  Hopefully, this was a good insight on the fodder cultivation. Stay tuned for more info on the goat and sheep that we procure in a few days. As mentioned in the previous post, feel free to mail me at saverafarms@gmail.com regarding more info on the goat marketing consortium.