Emerging business opportunities in dairy farming.

The dairy market in Nigeria is wide with an exponential growth with increasing population. Nigeria is one of the the biggest markets for milk consumption as evidenced by the numbers of foreign players in the sector in the country.

 The annual demand of milk consumption in Nigeria is estimated at 1.7 million metric tons while importation value is placed at 1.2 million metric tons,showing that local production accounts for only about 30% of the demand.

 The need to bridge this gap has prompted many farmers to sort out ways to boost local milk production,the need to increase locally produced milk is further championed by the government's directive that 10% of the milk should be sourced locally.

 The dairy industry is plagued by the following constraints and if these are addressed they production capacity will be so high that export will be possible.

There production of other by-products such as cheese,butter and yogurt will be increased such that these can also be exported to generate forex. The number one constraint is the breed available in the country,these indigenous breeds are not producing enough milk compared to exotic breeds.

Dairy farming is multi factorial relying on several factors to be a success. The success of dairy is connected to breeds,feeding and management practice. When cows are not fed adequate ration and management style is free range,such production style is flawed as the cows cannot thrive and hence cant produce enough milk.

 Nutrition is key,without a balanced ration,milk production will be low. The management aspect can be traced to breeding, if heat season is missed,or cows are infertile because of one disease or the other,then no pregnancy,no calving and no milk.

 When cows are mated and the calving is monitored,if calf management is not part of farm practice then calves will be left with dams which invariably will reduce milk yield from the farm as dams will be nursing the calves with milk meant for commercial purposes.

 The revamping of the industry will be facilitated by 1) introduction of exotic breeds to improve our breed-lines and expand milk production. The white Fulani is known to produce about 10 liters of milk a day as against the Holstein-Friesian with a capacity of about 30-50 liters a day.

 Breeding with exotic bulls promotes more production and even more calving rates on farm. Artificial insemination is the method used in various countries to improve their breeds,this is also practiced on some farms in Nigeria but the percentage is small such that impact is invisible.

2) Education on improved feeding techniques and management practices will also increase yield and productivity of herd,especially adoption of zero-grazing will turn the scale as it will improve and increase yield.

 The training on production and innovative branding of by-products will also generate more revenue and make more dairy products available and accessible to citizens as well as export options.The ever increasing population with more demand for dairy and dairy products makes this agribusiness a profitable venture.

Artificial leaf acts as mini-factory for drugs.

A research by Eindhoven University of Technology have come up with a super innovation where artificial leaves mimic natural counterparts to act as mini factory for drug .A 'mini-factory' whereby sunlight can be captured to make chemical products was inspired by the art of nature where leaves are able to collect enough sunlight to produce food. The study reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie,show chemical engineers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) describe their prototype reactor. Chemical engineers have always toyed with the idea of Using sunlight to make chemical products but problem then was that available sunlight generates too little energy to kick off reactions. Nature is able to do this, antenna molecules in leaves capture energy from sunlight and collect it in the reaction centers of the leaf where enough solar energy is present for the chemical reactions that give the plant its food . The use of new materials, known as luminescent solar concentrators (LSC's), that are able to capture sunlight in a similar way as leaves gave the desired result. The special light-sensitive molecules in these materials capture a large amount of the incoming light that they then convert into a specific color that is conducted to the edges via light conductivity. These LSC's are often used in practice in combination with solar cells to boost the yield. The researchers, led by Dr. Timothy Noël, combined the idea of an LSC with their knowledge of microchannels, incorporating very thin channels in a silicon rubber LSC through which a liquid can be pumped. In this way they were able to bring the incoming sunlight into contact with the molecules in the liquid with high enough intensity to generate chemical reactions.

Antimicrobial Resistance(AMR) : Herbal intervention in dairy farming to curb antibiotic use.

Antibiotic residues in food and milk also have health consequences for humans. In China, a widespread presence of veterinary antibiotic residues was detected in schoolchildren. Long-term exposure to these antibiotics, which may come from contaminated food or water, is connected to obesity. Some antibiotics, such as penicillin and sulfa drugs, also are known to cause allergies in humans, yet these drugs have been found in animal products due to legal or illegal use. 

 The most urgent problem related to antibiotic overuse is the development of drug resistance—when bacteria evolve to become stronger “superbugs” that are able to survive subsequent antibiotic applications. 

 This resistance makes it increasingly difficult to cure bacterial infections in livestock as well as in humans, since many human medicines rely on the same types of drugs being used for livestock. Losing the effectiveness of antimicrobials renders many medical therapies increasingly risky, including organ transplantation and cancer chemotherapy, due to the danger of untreatable infection. 

 A common problem on dairy farms—especially large-scale industrial farms—is mastitis, an udder infection that is responsible for 16.5 percent of dairy cattle deaths in the United States. In addition to shortening the cows’ lifespans, mastitis results in the production of lower-quality milk, with lower cheese yield and a shorter shelf life. 

 To address this and other health problems throughout the dairy industry, many farmers apply antibiotics and other anti-inflammatory drugs. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, around 90 percent of dairy cows with mastitis in the United States are treated with these drugs. In many other countries, especially in the developing world, antibiotics are sold over the counter, and their use on dairy cows is not measured or recorded. 

 Herbal treatments offer a new mindset for health. Rather than simply replacing the one-shot mechanism of antibiotics, the Ayurvedic application of medicinal herbs (like that of Chinese traditional medicines) acts via a more multi-faceted mechanism, centered on restoring balance and regaining the body’s own resilience to disease. 

Farmers are turning to medicinal plants in recognition of this underexploited and undervalued holistic approach. To address health risks, the government of the Netherlands announced in 2010 an ambitious goal to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal farming by 70 percent, compared with a 2009 baseline. 

To maintain the quality of the milk while also reducing antibiotic use, dairy farmers looked around the world for solutions. With the help of a Dutch non-governmental organization, Natural Livestock Farming, farmers found inspiration in India. more

Doctor performs surgery using Whats App.

Doctors are known to work on diverse cases giving hope ,restoring health and saving lives all in the confines of their hospitals or clinics with adequate assistance and drugs. This is an ideal situation where general practitioners have access to specialists when cases are complex and complicated,but what do you do when you are a veterinarian trapped in war zone Syria with lots of cases to attend to? you seek help on Whats App. This is the position of Mohammed Darwish, a 26-year-old dentistry student, a dentist and a veterinarian, whose medical facility is the only one accessible in Madaya at this crictical stage. Madaya, a town of 40,000 in the mountains 25km (15 miles) north-west of Damascus, has been under siege since June 2015, surrounded by the Syrian army and allied fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah group, who are supported by Iran. Movement in and out of the town is tightly controlled. Mohammed Darwish narrates an experience;Mohamed Almoeel was outside his house when he was hit in the abdomen, also by a sniper. Residents say snipers have been active there, shooting at those who venture outside, killing many on the spot. Even mourners at funerals are said to have been targeted. The crew at the clinic tried, again, to get the patient out but, according to Mr Darwish, government-allied fighters would not allow them to leave.The only option left was to operate on him there. "We had no specialist, no anaesthetics. We had to do it, but we didn't know how. So we asked doctors on Whatsapp," he said. Whatsapp groups and Skype networks have been set up by specialists and NGOs inside and outside Syria, in an effort to help medical workers in makeshift clinics like the one in Madaya. The surgeon helping Mohammed Darwish via Whatsapp was in Idlib, a rebel-held city in northern Syria, one of the few remaining strongholds of the opposition. It took Mr Darwish and his colleagues eight hours to operate Almoeel. "The doctors guided us how to do it. During the operation we took pictures of his abdomen, left the room and asked the doctors what to do," he said. "The bullet caused a lot of damage inside his body. We did all we could. But he needed a specialist. We couldn't stop the bleeding. So we closed the abdomen and watched him." When morning came, Almoeel died.The sick kept coming in but, in many cases, there was little that Mr Darwish and his team could do more

Bird flu alert as duck in Llanelli found to be infected.

Bird flu alert as duck in Llanelli found to be infected.The first finding of an infectious strain of avian flu in a UK wild bird has been confirmed in Carmarthenshire. The H5N8 strain found in a wild duck at an estuary near the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT) Llanelli Wetland Centre is the same which hit a turkey farm in Lincolnshire last week. The centre said it had closed "as a precautionary measure".Rural Affairs Secretary Lesley Griffiths said the risk to humans was "very low" and poultry was safe to eat.The Welsh Government said it was the first time the H5N8 strain had been found in a wild bird in the UK. Restrictions were imposed across Britain to keep birds indoors after the disease came to light across Europe, the Middle East and north Africa.On Tuesday, the measures were tightened to ban any indoor gatherings of birds at events such as livestock fairs, auctions and bird shows.more

THE DASH DIET AND HEART HEALTH

DASH stands for stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or high blood pressure. The DASH Diet can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which is good for your heart.The dash diet will help you lose weight as its a combination of fruits and vegetables and low dairy fat with no sweets. 

 The DASH diet encourages you to reduce the sodium in your diet and eat a variety of foods rich in nutrients that help lower blood pressure, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. DASH diet, you may be able to reduce your blood pressure by a few points in just two weeks and over time, the systolic blood pressure could drop by eight to 14 points, which can make a significant difference in the health risks. 

 The DASH diet is also in line with dietary recommendations to prevent osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.The DASH diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy foods — and moderate amounts of whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts. In addition to the standard DASH diet, there is also a lower sodium version of the diet. You can choose the version of the diet that meets your health needs. more

Common causes of feather loss in chickens.

Feathers on chicken play insulatory role and protection from physical trauma. The insulatory role of feathers is tied to growth and development of birds and also the profit margin of the farmer. Feather loss makes birds susceptible to injuries because of exposed flesh which will result in infections or bruising of the tissues. Feather loss will result in higher energy utilization requirements to maintain body temperature,thus birds with excessive feather loss will require more feed to produce the energy necessary to compensate for the heat lost from the exposed areas.This condition will adversely affect feed conversion and result in greater feed costs as birds will eat more. The common causes of feather loss are as follows; 1) feather pecking and pulling by other members of the flock, which is sometimes a result of poor nutrition where inadequate intake of nutrients can trigger this behavior. Feather loss occurring despite adequate nutrition is a result of aggressive behavior by some members of the flock,as feather pecking and pulling is a learned behavior and is usually the result of one, or a few members of the flock, exhibiting this behavior which gradually spreads in the flock. The curious nature of birds is also another reason why they peck and pull feathers,this is the reason why birds with injury or any discoloration or prolapse are separated otherwise the pecking can even result in death of birds. Boredom has also been attributed to pecking disorder as study has shown that birds not actively engaged can resort to pecking and feather pulling,this is why farmers are advised to tie veggies in shed or allow to hang down in various areas of house to keep them busy. 2) diseases. When birds are stressed,feather loss is a common sign and the stressor should be identified and addressed. Stressors such as heat, cold, disease, and lack of adequate amounts of feed and water can result in feather loss and poor feather quality with birds. Unhealthy birds as a result of diverse diseases is also a cause of feather loss and its an indicator to check management practices. 3)Molting ,though it is a natural process whereby laying birds will stop egg production and lose feathers from their neck, breast and back areas for a few weeks to a few months. Molting occurs most often in natural environments where the birds are exposed to natural day lengths,but in commercial flocks this is eliminated by providing long day lengths using artificial lights for approximately 14 hours every day. 4) Inadequate feed and water,when birds are not adequately fed,or lack required nutrients in ration they result to pecking and feather pulling A well balanced poultry feed formulated for appropriate age and type of bird will assure that the flock is receiving the necessary nutrients to maintain feather growth and maintenance. Good feather growth and maintenance requires adequate amounts of proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and these vary with the type of birds reared and age as difference exists in ratio of these ingredients. A good feed ration must be balanced with adequate levels of various required nutrients.