ProAgri Zambia Issue 003

ProAgri technology for the farmer

Z a m b i a December 2015 / January 2016 Nr 03

Free

Choose the right pick-up

AgriTechnica: New equipment

ArchSpan:

Storing solutions

ot everything that comes from Europe or America is necessarily suitable for Africa, but they have been mechanising agriculture for a very long time, using the right machine for the right job to farm more productively and make more money. Therefore, when ProAgri If your drilling contrator is received an invitation covered in mud, it must be good from DLG (Germany’s news! We have just drilled and Agricultural Society) to found water at 48 metres on attend AgriTechnica, we our smallholding. My husband, grabbed the opportunity Colin, and my dad, Cas Geyer, joined Dana Smith from Torque to go and see what’s Africa Drilling, to celebrate. new and what might be coming to Southern Africa.

Visiting the municipal farm was also interesting and it may in a way be compared to the agrihubs being developed in Zambia where development depends on partnerships. The jungle they have to tame, however, is the sprawling city... which is quite a different kettle of fish!

I hope you enjoy the variety of articles in this December/January issue and please feel free to send any comments and suggestions to me.

May your Christmas season be blessed with good rain and valuable family time.

Farm smart!

Cover

Letter from the Editor

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GSI is well known for their grain handling systems, but with ArchSpan technology they can help you to store anything. They bring it all to the farm to be built right there. Read more on page 8.

ProAgri technology for the farmer

Z a m b i a

Office no. 3 Fens Investment Building Lusaka Show Grounds

+26 (0)96-216-9801 www.proagri.co.za

Annemarie Bremner > annemarie@proagri.co.za

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Editor Annemarie Bremner > +27 82-320-3642 annemarie@proagri.co.za General Manager Zambia Quintus Grobler > +26 (0)96-216-9801 quintus@vanetechnology.com

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Reporter Du Preez de Villiers > +27 82-598-7329 dupreez@proagri.co.za Marketing Xander Pieterse > +27 79-524-0934 xander@proagri.co.za Stefan van Wyk > +27 82-381-7563 stefan@agritrader.co.za Samantha Luyt > +26 (0)96-446-7723 samluyt@proagri.co.za

Content

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Design Esta van Niekerk

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AgriTechnica boggles the mind

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GSI: Build a barn with ArchSpan

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Choose the right pick-up: Petrol or diesel?

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Rovic Leers: Premium farming equipment

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Massey Ferguson: Made for Africa

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Soil: Geological parent materials (Part 2)

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German farming embraces energy sustainability

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Agriplas: The new solution for effective irrigation

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Practical bull management

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Remi Friebus > +27 62-203-2995 remi@proagri.co.za

mart!

Farm s

Enquiries Engela Botha > +27 12-803-0667 engela@proagri.co.za Accounts Ronel Keet > +27 861-777-225 accounts@smartpublishing.co.za Distribution Du Preez de Villiers > +27 12-803-0667 dupreez@proagri.co.za.co.za Business manager George Grobler

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Agri G

ermany is a world leader in innovative engineering and can definitely boast about centuries of mechanical development and the resulting brilliance. This country is a true example of how to elevate oneself out of poverty and famine by embracing technology. The agricultural innovations coming from this country are therefore top notch. Little wonder the largest agricultural machinery and equipment show in the world is held every two years in Hanover in the north of Germany.

Being a 130 years old non-profit organisation, the DLG (German Agricultural Society) is the organiser of AgriTechnica. The DLG offers a wide variety of services to farmers, including a testing facility for agricultural equipment to comply with worldwide safety standards.

ProAgri attended the show in November and the experience was mind-boggling, due to the high standards of mechanisation technology.

We are very excited about the new tractors and implements on its way to Africa, but we also realise that our agriculture industry are still very small compared to other developing regions

Horsch has made a few changes to their Focus 6 TD planter. It includes a one row tooth section with a tine spacing of 75 cm to 90 cm, especially for maize-planting in Southern Africa. and that there is still plenty of room for improvement.

This year, 2 907 exhibitors from 52 countries as far as the Far East to South America, could show of their expertise and innovations to the 450 000 highly expectant visitors from

all over the world – approximately 103 000 from 124 other countries.

Like the rest of the world, Europe is also experiencing a decline in their agricultural sector, which has a direct influence on the big players. The farmers are also feeling the dire implica-

Krone Krone won a gold medal at the show with their Premos 5000, a harvester and pelletiser machine in one. The harvester can press hay, bedding material and roughage into 16 mm pellets during the harvesting process.

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Technica boggles the mind

by Du Preez de Villiers

Horsch tions of being price takers instead of determining prices. But since the world population is growing, the hopes are high for a gradual upswing soon.

The many new innovations proudly displayed during the week-long event was a sure indication that the overall attitude is still positive, but the

markets in Europe are approaching a saturation point. Therefore there was a big focus to acquire the interest of agricultural machinery procurers from developing countries, and Russia, which is an emerging agricultural giant, was a big favourite on the show, despite the current trade restrictions against her.

Agriculture 4,0 While agriculturists in developing countries face typical problems such as political conflict, lack of sustainable markets and technology, the challenges and concerns of developed markets are totally different. During a discussion between the President of the DLG, Carl-Albrecht Bartmer; the German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Christian Schmidt and the Prime Minister of the state of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, it became quite evident that one of the biggest concerns in Germany is the introduction of Agriculture 4,0, or the Internet of Things in agricultural equipment. The massive quantities of personal production data that farmers generate with their smart implements to be put in the open for the use by the relevant parties can impose risks. The question remained: How safe is the personal information of a farmer and can it be abused by

potential malicious third parties?

The other serious discussion, which is not that foreign to us, is green and sustainable farming. The astronomical amount of money spent by mechanisation companies to reduce emissions and their overall carbon footprint, and the move towards organic farming is a clear sign of that. Since green political parties are very influential in Europe, it is often used and misused as a political tool to drive certain emotional agendas.

The highlight of the show was, of course, the five golden medals and 44 silver medals awarded by the DLG for the best agricultural inventions on AgriTechnica.

The first gold medal was awarded to a group of companies, including John Deere, BASF, and their public sector partners, ISIP, Zepp, JKl and KTBL, who developed a connected crop protection system and a chemical application manager for targeted, welltimed and precise herbicide application to different subareas on one field. The system looks at all the variables from current and historic field data to do the complex calculations which take the risky decision-making process out of the hands of the farmer.

John Deere, Land Data Eurosoft, Vista, Rauch and Silky were the continue on p5

Grimme

This black beast is Grimme’s Rexor 630 Black Hawk limited edition beet harvester. This striking self-propelled implement is 15,4 meters long, 4 meters high and has 6 rows, 3 axles and a bunker capacity of 30 tons.

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Strautmann

continued from p3

The floor of the Strautmann Asperion 2401 loading wagon consists of reinforced belts which makes offloading a pleasure. combined receiver of the second gold medal for their comprehensive nutrient management system. Now it is possible to measure, document and map the nitrogen and phosphorus levels of subsections in a field before the data is send to the fertiliser spreader. The two minerals can thus be applied independently in organic or chemical format to the individual needs of every subsection.

The third medal went to the big German tractor manufacturer, Fendt, who invented VarioGrip Pro which can inflate and deflate a tractors’ tyres in no time for road traveling or working in the land where minimum pressure is required.

The fourth gold medal was awarded to John Deere for their ProCut system.

High precision sensors in the shear bar of their self-propelled forage harvesters are continuously measuring and adjusting the space between the blades and the shear bar to keep the blades sharp while the minimum energy is required in the process. Krone won the fifth gold medal at the show with their Premos 5000, a harvester and pelletiser machine in one. The harvester can press hay, bedding material and roughage into 16 mm pellets during the harvesting process.

Siloking

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Siloking could show off their new self-propelled SelfLine 4,0 System 500+. This long wearing feed mixer is built for contractors and large dairy farms with feeding camps far apart since it can manage on a rough dirt road or speed down a level tarred road. Anna Perederii, Mari Dandl and Margit Mayer have a good reason to be proud of this champion.

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The five gold medals were awarded during a classy event where the German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, the Prime Minister of the state of Lower Saxony and other notable players in the German agricultural industry were present.

Bogballe This Danish company is a world leader in the production of fertiliser spreaders. They are currently sending two models to Southern Africa: the L2, which is perfectly suited for smaller farmers with few hectares and smaller tractors, and the M2W for larger applications.

The L2 has a capacity of up to 2 tons with a spreading width of 12 to 24 metres. The M2W has models of 3, 4 and 6 tons capacity. The M2W has a spreading width of 12 to 42 metres.

The L2 falls in the professional range with an application rate independent of the forward speed.

The M2W is part of Bogballe’s super professional range and has the ability to automatically calibrate itself on the move. The farmer only has to choose the tons per hectare and obviously put the fertiliser into the spreader beforehand. With its load cell, the spreader weighs the granules 50 times per second during operation to determine the flow per minute and to adjust the openings accordingly for high-precision spreading.

Nils Jørn Laursen is the Managing Director and Heidi Seiger Thomsen is the Sales Manager for Western Europe and overseas.

John Deere John Deere drew a lot of attention from the farmers public at their well-represented stand. The famous green American company has a highly sophisticated factory in Mannheim, Germany, where the M6 tractor series is manufactured. John Deere was the proud winner of three of the five gold medals and 10 of the 44 silver medals during the 2 DLG awards ceremonies.

LEMKEN The Azurit 9 is the first maize planter out of the LEMKEN factory and will show its face in Southern Africa soon promising to revolutionise seed placement in double rows.

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GSI’s ArchSpan instant barn:

Store anything swiftly and safely A

barn on a farm is like diesel in your pick-up truck – you cannot go without it. Fortunately, it is no longer necessary to tediously transport steel and bricks and to build bits of wall whenever the other farm work permits.

With GSI’s ArchSpan technology, your instant solution is delivered to your farm as a factory on wheels and within a day or three, you may proudly invite your neighbours for a barn dance.

ProAgri had the privilege to watch

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the men from GSI as they erected a barn measuring 25 by 10 metres on a game farm near Muldersdrift, South Africa.

The barn has no rafters. In the centre the arch is 4 metres high without the side wall of 0,9 metres.

How does it work? Nine easy steps: 1

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Contact GSI and let them help you to plan your barn. You can do anything in the watertight structure: mill and mix feeds, operate a workshop, store produce in climate controlled conditions or, if you really want to, simply store your new pickup safely. In the meantime, prepare the floor area with the basis for the structure to rest upon. The barn can be up to 20 metres wide and as long as you want it to be.

Then, the GSI ArchSpan truck and factory trailer are called in with all the materials, equipment and tools needed, and the next step is to deploy the factory with the stands on which the panels are going to be rolled out.

The roll of flat steel is fed into the machine at one side to be bended into a U shape with lips on the edges to be used for joining them together later. Every section is automatically cut off at the correct length.

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From the other side, the U shaped length is then fed into another machine to bend it to the correct angle.

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Five of the prepared lengths are joined together with an inventive self-propelled sealer which folds the lip of one plate over the lip of the adjacent one to seal it firmly and water tightly.

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The hollow sides of the panels are on top, causing all water to run off down the sides.

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The crane, which is also part of the factory on wheels, lifts the panels onto the prepared basis and keeps them in position by means of a special beam until they are fastened.

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Then, the same sealer is used to join the sets together by literally hoisting the operator onto the roof and letting him down on the other side.

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As soon as the arch structure has been erected, the rest of the barn can be organised to suit specific needs with doors on both sides, isolation if neces sary, and any other special requirements.

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Now, your barn is ready to withstand any wind and weather. The ArchSpan structure has been subjected to comprehensive and severe tests in America, and it remains standing as a unit long after the most angular structures began to collapse and pull apart.

To order you instant arch barn, contact GSI at +27-11-794-4455, sales@gsiafrica.co.za, or visit www.gsiafrica.co.za.

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Choose a pick-up (1) Petrol or diesel?

by Buks Barnard

Generally, a petrol pick-up is zestier and cheaper than a comparable diesel pick up, but a diesel pick-up goes further on a litre of fuel, and its engine lasts longer. The question the farmer should ask himself, is whether he drives enough to justify the higher price of a diesel vehicle.

The most important implement on every farm is the farmer’s pick-up truck.

Whereas planters and combine harvesters enjoy a rest period during the off-season, the pick-up must work throughout the year. Usually the pick-up’s engine is the first to be started on the farm every morning and the last one to be switched off every night. Some of the attributes that the farmer may well take into consideration when choosing a pick-up, will be discussed in the next few issues.

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he pick-up must always be ready to transport the farmer to wherever his attention is needed. Every day, the pick-up must transport items such as tools, seeds, licks, parts, fuel, staff, equipment and animals all over the farm and between the town and the farm. Often, a young farmer’s pick-up must also transport a pretty girl to a movie show or a dance...

A pick-up that is worth the name must be able to run with its load on the freeway, in the city, on the pothole road, the sandy road, the muddy road, the farm track, and often where there is no road at all.

But to the farmer, the pick-up is even more than an implement and a vehicle – in many instances it serves as the farmer’s office, his mobile workshop, and his place of recluse where he can do his planning during trips.

The pick-up is so important to the farmer that he should choose it with almost the same circumspection as choosing a wife. Some of the attributes that the farmer may well take into consideration when choosing a pick-up, will be discussed in the next few issues. The first important question is:

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Petrol or diesel?

When our grandfathers were young, the choice was simple: Tractors had diesel engines and pick-ups had petrol engines. In the good old times, petrol (and diesel) was dirt cheap, there was no legislation to control harmful exhaust emissions, and fuel consumption was no consideration.

Today, thanks to the development of diesel engine technology, more and more pick-ups, even small pick-ups, and passenger vehicles are propelled by diesel engines. This opens more options for a prospective vehicle buyer.

First, let us take a look at the operation of the traditional petrol and diesel engine: Inlet stroke Petrol engine: The piston moves towards the bottom of the cylinder and sucks in a mixture of air and atomised petrol.

Diesel engine: The engine takes in air only.

Compression stroke Petrol engine: The piston moves upwards in the cylinder to compress the mixture of air and atomised petrol

to anything between an eighth and a twelfth of its original volume.

Diesel engine: The air is compressed to anything between a fourteenth to a twenty-fifth of the original volume.

This pressure causes the temperature of the air to rise.

Power stroke Petrol engine: A spark from the spark plug ignites the mixture of air and atomised petrol, causing it to explode and drive the piston downwards.

Diesel engine: An injector injects the diesel through such a small opening into the combustion chamber that it atomises, ignites as a result of the high pressure and forces the piston downwards.

Exhaust stroke: In both the petrol and the diesel engine, the piston moves upwards in the cylinder to force the combusted gas out through the exhaust valve.

This difference in technology brought about the following differences between traditional petrol and diesel engines: • The old diesel engine had no distributor, spark plugs, spark plug wires or ignition coil. If water does enter its combustion chambers, this engine will keep on running in the severest rain or even under water, providing that its air intake opening remains above the surface. On the other hand, a petrol engine may easily stall when you drive through a puddle or a ford, causing water to splash onto the electrical components.

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CLAAS AXION 920 and VÄDERSTAD RAPID 600C in action on Mr Jesper Lublinkhof’s farm, Mubuyu Estates in Mazabuka

Cobus de Kock +260961 362 007 Nico de Kock +260966 362 000

cdk@agriwes.com ndk@agriwes.com

• Unlike diesel, petrol destroys lubricants and corrodes the engine.

Therefore, diesel engines have a longer life than petrol engines.

• A diesel engine has more torque than a petrol engine. Therefore, a diesel engine can draw heavy loads with more ease than a petrol engine.

A diesel engine has more power at lower engine revolutions.

• A petrol engine accelerates quicker than a diesel engine and runs at higher revolutions.

• A diesel vehicle runs further on a litre of diesel than a petrol vehicle on a litre of petrol.

• Diesel engines may have glow plugs to preheat the combustion chambers for easier starting in cold weather.

That means that you will have to wait a while for the glow plugs to do their work before attempting to start the engine.

• A diesel engine is more expensive than a petrol engine, and due to the higher compression ratio, the oil needs to be changed more often.

With this information as background, the choice used to be relatively easy in the past: a diesel engine for your tractor and truck to perform the harsh donkey work, and a petrol engine for you motorcar and pick-up, for they are smaller and lighter and you wish to move faster and nimbler with them.

However, technology developed drastically since the good old days.

Nowadays, there are petrol driven vehicles with fuel injection and electronic ignition, eliminating all the weaknesses of carburettors and ignition points, and using petrol more economically. Unfortunately, this useful technology includes intricate electronics that can only be repaired by specialised experts.

On the other hand, modern diesel engines are not the heavy, lazy, cumbersome workhorses of the past, thanks to the advent of the turbo charger.

The turbo charger consists of a rom turbine propelled by exhaust gas from the engine (turbo chargers driven by o gears from the crank shaft are also available) and a compressor that mforces air into the combustion chambers. This means that much more air enters the combustion chambers than the amount that could previously be sucked into the engine by the piston during the inlet stroke. More air and more fuel to ul explode means a far more powerful and zesty engine.

But the clever engineers did nott olstop there. They designed intercoolg ers to cool the air, thereby causing g it to reduce in volume before being o forced into the engine by the turbo n charger. Thereby even more air can ers be fed into the combustion chambers, making the engine even more efficient and sprightly.

The latest improvement is common rail injection, which improved the efficiency of diesel engines even more.

The old diesel pump on the traditional diesel engine had to put every squirt of diesel that went through the injectors under pressure individually. This was a slow, cumbersome process, which was difficult to control. The common rail continuously puts a sufficient supply of diesel under pressure in the rail, and electronically measures out and sends off the exact quantity of diesel that has to go to every cylinder at precisely the right moment and for precisely the right time span.

The common rail means markedly improved engine performance, fuel consumption and more complete combustion, which also leads to cleaner exhaust gases.

With the advent of the turbo charger, intercooler and common rail injection, the diesel pick-up is no longer the grunting, heavy, slow, smoking bumpkin – the diesel pick-up now keeps pace with the other traffic on the highway. It can even secure you a hefty speed fine.

Common rail injection has greatly improved the performance, fuel efficiency and quality of exhaust emissions of diesel engines.

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A turbo charger is a turbine propelled by exhaust gas to, in its turn, drive a compressor that forces the air into the diesel engine’s combustion chambers to drastically increase engine efficiency.

Now it is up to the farmer to make his final choice according to the following realities: • A diesel engine is more expensive than a petrol engine, but it lasts longer and runs more kilometres per litre of fuel.

• It is cheaper to produce diesel than petrol, but for some sinister reason, the prices that the consumer has to pay for diesel and petrol, are both more or less equally absurdly high.

Therefore, the owner of a diesel pick-up does not enjoy the benefit of a lower fuel price; his only benefits are lower fuel consumption and a longer engine life.

• With all the electronics of the modern diesel engines, there remains little to choose between petrol and diesel as far as simplicity and costs of maintenance and repairs are concerned.

• A turbo charger is an expensive item and when it breaks down it can cost the owner of a diesel pick-up quite a lot of money.

The calculation that has to be made, is whether the farmer drives enough to justify the more expensive diesel vehicle simply because of its more favourable fuel consumption over a petrol pick-up. How many kilometres of diesel saving will it take to justify the higher vehicle price?

The decision may further be influenced by facts such as the superior speed of the petrol pick-up (but not very superior any more), the beautiful sound of the diesel engine (although nowadays you can barely hear them) and your need to tow heavy loads regularly. On these matters, every farmer has to decide for himself.

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Rovic Leers:

Premium farming equipment

by Dawid Lombard. Rovic Exports.

Rovic Leers has expanded its range of equipment to include specialised soil preparation implements catering to the higher-end horsepower range of tractors on the market. The implements perform very well in Africa.

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n 2000, two of South Africa’s bestknown suppliers of farm machinery merged to form the new company, Rovic & Leers (Pty) Ltd. Together, these companies share a long history of satisfying the needs of African farmers. Their history goes back to the establishment of HM Leers and company in 1927!

Rovic Leers have branches in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg, and also look after farmers’ needs in many sub-Saharan countries, through various dealerships. Our key strength is providing our customers with quality products like the wellknown Rovic range of implements, Rovic wheat and maize planters, as well as an imported line of premium machinery from internationally renowned brands such as Kuhn, Krone, Seko, Cima and many more.

Coupled with our commitment to outstanding customer service and customer satisfaction, this makes us the farmer’s no 1 choice when selecting his future purchases.

One of our main suppliers is Kuhn,

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the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural implements.

Recently, they acquired the Krause Company in North America, a manufacturer of specialised soil preparation implements. We are very excited about the success of this new range and its excellent performance in our farming conditions here in Africa. The range caters for the higher-end horsepower range of tractors on the market and the units we are importing, are the following: Dominator The Dominator is a combo tillage unit that cuts the field trash, deep tills down to 400 mm, and harrows, then rolls the soil to form a firm seedbed in one pass. Each operation can be preset for working at the required depths and pressures. The range caters for tractors from 250 to 600 hp (186 to 450 kW).

In-Line ripper The In-line ripper range is a no-till ripper that has a cutting coulter in front

of a deep tillage shank down to 400 mm. The surface trash is left in place whilst the plough bank is shattered.

Excelerator The Excelerator is a vertical tillage system that is used to prepare an ideal planting bed by working at the set depth that the planter will be seeding at. This unit uses 560 mm flute scalloped edge discs on an adjustable gang to cut and incorporate the trash into the top surface of the soil at speeds of 14 to 16 km/h. The range covers from 4,3 to 9,1 m and two larger units of 12,2 m and 15 m working width are available as special imports.

Rovic Leers has a strong presence in Zambia through dealership companies like AFGRI. To find out more about the new range and Rovic Leers’ other well-known equipment, please contact your closest dealer.

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MacDon FD75 FlexDraper: The ultimate in draper performance • Recover your whole yield with ground-following, close-cutting, smooth-feeding, durable, dependable farmer-friendly header technology • True ground following with three-section flexible header and split reel • Conforms to the ground with minimal ground pressure • Locks easily and quickly into rigid conformation • Handles wet material and pods on the point of shattering • 4 reel cam positions to match all harvest conditions • Hydraulic, on-the-go reel fore-aft and header tilt adjustment • C-shaped cutter bar for smoother crop flow and a short transition to draper • Proven durability of the MacDon Wobble Box hydraulic knife drive with adjustable speed to match crop conditions • Reel mounted on cutter bar ensures a fixed small gap between reel fingers and cutter bar • Smooth, consistent heads-first feeding of crops Available in 9,1m; 10,6m; 12,2m; and 13,7m

Call Jurie Swart at +27-83-375-8840, +27-21-375-8000 or jurie@vitamech.co.za www.vitamech.co.za

http://www.macdon.com/products/fd75-flexdraper-headers-for-combine

Massey Ferguson:

Made for Africa Massey Ferguson is introducing a new range of 37 - 63 kW tractors for Africa.

To complement these new MF 300 Series tractors, a new line of Massey Ferguson-branded implements is also being unveiled for the region.

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3-cylinder AD 3.152 and 4-cylinder AD 4.41 diesel engines. The well-proven mechanical transmission offers four gears in two ranges to provide eight forward and two reverse speeds.

Powerful hydraulics based on the renowned Ferguson ‘Scotch Yoke’ pump deliver full draft, position and response control. Quadrant control ensures fingertip hydraulic operation of implements above or below ground.

Lift capacities range from 1 415 - 2 145 kg.

A dual-stage clutch ensures efficient drive and PTO engagement, while the oil-immersed multi-disc brakes allow safe and secure stopping. For reduced driver fatigue, the MF 350, MF 360, MF 375 and MF 385 models are fitted with power steering.

The MF 300 Series tractors boast a spacious operator’s environment equipped with a spring-suspension deluxe seat. All controls are well placed and easy to reach. Depending on the model, the tractors are available in footstep or semiplatform configuration.

“The new MF 300 Series fits perfectly into our existing product offer in Africa,” says Thierry Lhotte.

“The MF 300 Series will now provide an entry-level product in addition to our superb, higher specification MF 400 series and brandnew MF 4700 Global Series.”

This new exciting range will complete the already broad range of equipment available in Zambia. Our current dealer, Barloworld Agriculture Zambia, recently concluded a joint venture with BayWa from Germany.

This new venture will be known as BHBW Zambia (Ltd) and will have the responsibility to distribute and retail all these Massey Ferguson-solutions to the Zambian Market.

his offer will bolster its product offering in the lower power tractor sector in these territories and offer a broader choice to farmers looking for rugged and reliable multi-purpose machines.

“Simple, yet powerful, the MF 300 Series tractors are tried and tested, with a strong reputation for straightforward operation and robust dependability - they are ideally equipped to meet the tough challenges of African and Middle East agriculture,” MF 345 with single-axle trailer says Thierry Lhotte, Massey Ferguson Vice-President Marketing, Europe/Africa/ Middle East. “More than 1,5 million units based on this renowned design are already at work in the world.”

Affordable and economical to run, these entry-level ‘do anything’ tractors will have a strong appeal as the main power source for smallholder farmers or local community groups wishing to mechanise or upgrade their agricultural operations. The models can MF 385 with 3-furrow conventional plough serve as valuable additional workhorses on larger farms or estates.

Six Massey Ferguson matched implements, covering cultivation, planting and transport, will be available for the MF 300 Series. These include a 1,6 m disc harrow, 0,5 m fixed-disc plough, a 2-tine subsoiler, 2-row planter, 3-tonne trailer and transport box. The implement range will be expanded according to market demand.

“As true multi-taskers, the MF 375 with 2-row planter MF 300 Series are equally adept at cultivation, plantConsisting of six models in total, three MF ing, transport or yard duties, working 300 Series models are set for release in early across a wide range of farm sectors 2016 – the 37 kW MF 345 two-wheel-drive including tillage, livestock and horti(2WD), 56 kW MF 375 (2WD) and 63 kW culture,” explains Thierry. “Low cost MF 385 (2WD and 4WD). The longer wheelbase of ownership, easy servicing and 37 kW MF 350 (2WD), 45 kW MF 355 (2WD) maintenance plus expert support from and 45 kW MF 360 (2WD) will follow later in the Massey Ferguson local distributor the year. ensure a fully sustainable and incluFuel-efficient power comes from Perkins sive farm mechanisation package.”

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For more information on these and other Massey Ferguson-solutions in Zambia, please contact Hennie Heyneke on +260-211-224919 or +260-96-109-5887 or send an e-mail to HHeyneke@bhbw.co.zm or Werner Kritzinger on +260-096 997-0276 or e-mail wkritzinger@bhbw.co.zm.

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s Part 2: The most important geological parent materials Martiens du Plessis, Soil Scientist, NWK Limited & Prof Cornie van Huyssteen, Lecturer: Soil Science, University of the Free State

Soil is the most fundamental resource for the farmer, without which food and natural fibre cannot be produced. The mineral fraction of soils originates mainly from geological material. This article aims at highlighting the influence of a few of the most important and common geological parent materials on the composition of soil.

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rock or type thereof is sometimes made up of a single mineral, but normally consists of a complex of various minerals. When the rock weathers, these minerals form the primary source of the mineral fraction of the soil. These different minerals, in turn, give rise to various soil properties. Should the parent material of soils in a specific area thus be known, various assumptions about the properties of the soil in that area can be made.

Rocks are classified into three main groups according to their origin, viz. igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

Igneous rocks

Igneous rocks originate from melted magma which has cooled and solidified. The chemical composition of the specific magma and the cooling rate thereof hava a determining effect on the properties of the rock.

Granite Granite is common in Southern Africa and often covers large areas. Large areas of Zambia are covered with basement granite and metamorphic granite. Because it cooled deep under the earth’s crust, the granite had ample time to crystallise and therefore the granite’s crystals are relatively large. The typical composition of granite is indicated in Table 1. The quartz fraction is hard, chemically non-reactive and therefore weathers slowly. Quartz thus forms the largest fraction of a soil that has weathered from granite. The sand fraction is mainly coarse, the angles are sharp and therefore cause more wearing on soil tillage implements. The other minerals (feldspar and mica) weather relatively easily to provide building blocks for the formation of silicate clays.

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Because granite weathers to a sandy material, it is leached and acidic in regions with a high rainfall. The K-feldspar provides lots of potassium to granitic soils, but usually provides little Ca and Mg. The landscape in a granitic area usually comprises rounded “domes” with narrow marshes between the domes. The soil types on the dome tops are usually red and sandy with yellow sands further down the slope. The clay fraction then accumulates in the marshes to form clayey soils. The sandy nature of granitic soils make it prone to compaction and the formation of compacted layers must be monitored regularly and lifted by deep ripping.

Dolerite Dolerite was formed when magma penetrated the earth crust through cracks and fissures and solidified relatively slowly, albeit faster than granite. The intrusions were either vertical, forming dykes or horizontal, forming plates. Dolerite is quite hard and often weathers slower than the rocks into which it has intruded. This has resulted in the formation of series of ridges or the so-called “mesas”.

Dolerite is especially associated with the Karoo sediments of the Luangwa and Zambezi escarpments.

Dolerite crystals are finer, comprising dark minerals (Table 2) and have a total absence of quartz. The minerals are all building blocks for clay minerals

and, for that reason, dolerite soils are clayey. The sand fraction comprises semi-weathered minerals and should quartz occur in the soil, it has been imported by wind and/or water.

The minerals are rich in Ca and Mg, but are low in K. Na from the plagioclase has a major influence on the physical condition of the soil, especially if it accumulates lower down in the landscape and causes the soil there to be brackish. Ca from the plagioclase could lead to the formation of limestone reefs. Fe from the augite and magnetite results in soils in well drained areas of the landscape being coloured intense red, while the marshes are typically rich in swelling clays.

Basalt Basalt is lava that flowed out on top of the earth’s crust and thus cooled down rapidly. Mineralogically, it is closely related to dolerite. Basalt is especially plentiful in South Africa as the uppermost rocks of the Drakensberg where it overlies the sandstone, as well as on the Springbok Flats north of Pretoria.

Those soils originating from basalt, are similar to those of dolerite, namely clayey red and black soils. Natrolite and quartz often crystallised in the gas bubble pores. The geology of the Livingstone area is predominantly basalt.

Sedimentary rocks

These are rocks that were formed from weathered material originating from other rocks, which were transported, deposited, and consolidated to form a new hard rock. Sedimentary rocks are consolidated under pressure from later deposits that form an

Table 1: Typical mineralogical composition of granite (Burger, 1979) Mineral

Percentage composition

Quartz

31

K-feldspar/Orthoclase/Microcline

52

Hornblende

3

Biotite

12

Other

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Table 2: Typical mineralogical composition of dolerite (Burger, 1979) Mineral

Percentage composition

Plagioclase

46

Augite

37

Olivine

8

Iron oxides and magnetite

6

Other

3

overburden to create a hard rock and are subdivided according to particle size. This is a very common group in Zambia.

Shale and mudstone Shale is very wide-spread in Southern Africa, where it forms one of the lower layers of the Karoo sequence, but is also commonly found elsewhere in Zambia, like west of Mpika as well as the Kasempa and Mumbwa areas.

Shale and mudstone form when silt and clay are transported by water and deposited elsewhere in layers. Shale is characteristically layered and has a fine texture. Mudstone is similar in texture, but is not layered. Shale and mudstone both weather to form clay minerals, fine quartz grains (silt) and other minerals, such as feldspar and mica. Some shale rocks are rich in sodium and give rise to Na soils that are exceptionally sensitive to water erosion.

Sandstone Sandstone occurs in Zambia in association with other sedimentary rocks. It mainly comprises quartz sand deposited by wind or water and thereafter cemented together by a binding material (such as silica, calcium carbonate, iron oxides or clay) to a massive rock.

The sand grains of sandstone are still clearly visible and sandstone breaks between the grains of sand. Sandstone is characteristically layered. Mineralogically, sandstone mainly comprises quartz, but can also contain large quantities of feldspar.

When sandstone weathers, it forms to more or less the same soil as the

A conglomerate comprises a variety of rocks of various fraction sizes.

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original parent material from which it was composed. The vast majority of sandstone forms to sandy soil. These soils are commonly highly leached and tend to be very acidic, especially in high rainfall areas.

Conglomerate Conglomerate is made up of both coarse and fine material and/or rock fragments. The finest are clay and iron oxides, while the largest may comprise pieces of rock larger than a metre.

The parent material of conglomerate was transported by water or glaciers and deposited as unsorted and unconsolidated material. This unconsolidated material was later cemented into massive rocks by fine material such as clay, iron oxides and lime. Thus, mineralogically it comprises a mixture of rocks and minerals, which could lead to a variety of soils. The combination of minerals in the parent material, the topography and the climate are therefore the main driving forces that will determine the specific soil type.

Conglomerates can be found in the Chisanga area.

Metamorphic rocks When any rock (igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic) is changed physically, usually by high pressure and temperature, so that it differs morphologically from the original rock, the “new� rock is known as a metamorphic rock. Chemically, it is still basically the same as the original rock, but can now be for example, harder and less crystalline.

A small dolerite dyke in a drained position in the landscape weathering to red clayey soil.

Quartzite Quartzite is a metamorphic sandstone and can be found very commonly throughout the world. The best known quartzite in Zambia is found towards the north of the country in the areas of Mporokosa and Kawambwa.

Quartzite is also characteristically layered (banded), as inherited from the parent material. The sand grains are also still clearly visible, but when quartzite breaks, it breaks through the sand grains (since the binding material is now harder than the sand matrix).

Quartzite mainly comprises quartz, but may contain other impurities inherited from the sandstone. It is very hard and offers strong resistance to weathering. It does weather physically such as, for example, when stones roll over and chip each other, thus forming sand once again. Soils evolving from quartzite are sandy and tend to be leached and acidic, especially in high rainfall areas.

Other common metamorphic rocks are schist, gneiss and marble. Schist is a strongly foliated crystalline rock, formed by metamorphism of various parent rocks (normally granite) and the mineral composition vary according to the parent rock. Examples are quartz-muscovite schists (light coloured), calc-silicate schists (light coloured) and amphibolite schist (dark coloured). Gneiss is related to schists, but with bands of granular and bands of flaky or elongated crystals. The properties of the soils derived from gneiss and schist will vary according to the minerals inherited from the locally weathered rocks. Gneiss and schist occur in the Copperbelt.

REFERENCES Burger, R du T. (1979). Unpublished class notes for GKD115. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein.

ProAgri Zambia acknowledges Grain SA for the use of this series which originally appeared in Afrikaans in SA Graan/Grain.

For further information, please contact: Martiens du Plessis: martiens@nwk.co.za Cornie van Huyssteen: vanhuysteencw@ufs.ac.za

An example of quartzitic sandstone, where the softer sandstone layers weathered away more rapidly, leaving the harder quartzitic layers that remained to form hollow caves.

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German farming embraces energy sustainability

by Du Preez de Villiers The Fleckvieh/Simmentaller bullocks are bought at six months for around 850 euros, castrated and fed for 12 to 15 months and sold at between 600 and 650 kg for around 1 500 euros each. we shall be able to skip many of the headaches of the whole climate change revolution. ProAgri recently visited Gut Karlshof, a 116 year old farm north-east of München, and was very impressed to see that this green drive was even integrated in their agricultural practices.

With agricultural land prices ranging between 80 000 and 150 000 euros per ha around München, it is extremely difficult to obtain land in the traditional West Germany. Land is also scarce and every hectare needs to be managed very carefully.

One way the München municipality is managing this scarce commodity while adhering to the demands of an ecological balance, was by acquiring ten farms around the city. By balancing the land between green areas for ensuring clean air, farming for a sustainable food source and gradually making land available for construction, the city can provide for a population growth of 2 000 inhabitants a year. The 10 farms cover an area of

“One of the big questions we had was to find out how effective a municipality was in managing a farm.”

T

here are a few very important pointers that developing Africa can take from a developed country such as Germany, since Europe is currently spending a lot of money to reduce their carbon footprint in order to preserve their natural resources for the generations to come. The move to green and sustainable energy by replacing their nuclear and coal power plants with solar, wind and biogas energy is a prime example of this futuristic vision. Germany established a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% at 2040.

If a country like Zambia can embrace this trend as soon as possible,

The process in the fermentation tanks are very carefully managed for the best energy retrieval from this sustainable energy source.

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2 549 ha of which 1 672 ha are used for crop and animal production. 808 ha are used for landscape farming as a recreational activity by the citizens of München. The rest is a green belt which is rehabilitated for construction purposes and a natural forest.

9 of the 10 farms produce only organic products since Germany has very sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay a premium for the assurance of consuming only naturally produced food.

Gut Karlshof is the only municipal farm with a biogas plant which was established in 1999. They had to fork out 2 million euros for the privilege to generate their own energy. The plant is fed by solid and liquid manure as well as a substrate of maize and grass silage. Between 50% and 55% percent of the gas produced is methane which they use in the unrefined form to produce 750 kW/h. The heat generated is used to heat up the farm as well as a maize dryer.

The farm also produce wheat, ryegrass, barley, beans, potatoes, cabbage and maize in a crop rotation system. They also feed oxen in an undercover feedlot for one year and they are the main suppliers of oxen to the pp Oktoberfest where approximately 110 oxen are consumed.

One of the three 250 kW biogas converters in the control room that generates enough electricity for the farm’s own consumption as well as a mentionable area around the farm.

Gut Karlshof produce all their feed for the oxen themselves. This silage are produced from their own maize.

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Agriplas

The new solution for effective irrigation

A

griplas is a South African based company producing cylindrical and flat dripper pipe and is now offering the latest in dripper pipe technology known as Metzerplas dripper pipe.

Changing rain patterns, limited resources and water legislation put pressure on the agricultural sector to use water effectively. Its new dripper pipe demonstrates that Agriplas understands effective irrigation.

Profitable production demands effective irrigation systems. Every drop of water must work for the farmer, and water wastage must be minimised.

Drip irrigation meets these demands, because it is one of the most effective irrigation methods. In drip irrigation, water is dispensed through the soil surface into the root zone at a slow rate.

Agriplas aims for continuous development and improvement of its products. It now has the best technology and pipe manufacturing equipment to ensure service excellence.

Dripper pipe can now be manufactured at a rapid rate without compromising the quality for which Agriplas has become known. This is due to the switch to Metzerplas dripper pipe.

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Agriplas is the only company to produce cylindrical and flat dripper pipe locally.

The following dripper pipe types are now available: VERED – Flat integral pressurecompensating dripper with a 0,6 mm and 0,9 mm wall thickness.

LIN – Flat integral non-pressurecompensating dripper with a 0,6 mm and 0,9 mm wall thickness.

ADI – Cylindrical integral pressurecompensating dripper with a 0,7 mm and 1,0 mm wall thickness.

IDIT – Cylindrical integral non-pressure-compensating dripper with a 0,7 mm and 1,0 mm wall thickness.

The following are also available: MINILIN – Miniature flat integral noncompensating dripper with a thin wall.

VARDIT – Miniature flat integral pressure-compensating dripper with a 0,6 mm and 0,9 mm wall thickness.

For more information, contact your nearest irrigation dealer; or visit our website at www.agriplas.co.za.

Effective drip irrigation is the key for saving water while producing top yields.

Extensive tests are performed at Agriplas to ensure quality.

The new solution to drip irrigation, LIN dripper pipe.

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Breeding Impuls Zambia specialises in reproductive services and products for dairy and beef cattle. We specialise in AI, synchronisation, pregnancy diagnosis by sonograph, semen and AI equipment sales.

Based on our international experiences we created a Breeding Manual to help farmers to choose the right breed to achieve their goals. Semen is imported from different countries over the world, to provide the best genetics at a reasonable price.

Our services: • Artificial insemination • Pregnancy diagnosis (palpitation, sonograph) • Synchronisation Our products: • Liquid nitrogen • Bull semen: - Dairy semen: Fleckvieh, Holstein-Friesian, Jersey - Beef semen: Fleckvieh, Simmentaler, Aberdeen Angus (red, black), Brahman, Boran, Brangus, Bonsmara, Tuli • Synchronisation hormones (Syntex) • AI equipment: Liquid nitrogen flasks, AI kits, AI guns universal, minicutters, tweezers, sheaths, thaw units, thaw monitors, gloves, lubricants, disinfectants

Liquid nitrogen for sale

Our contact details: www.breedingimpulszambia.com breedingimpulszambia@gmail.com Cell: +26 096 849 3432

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Drip Dri Dr D rriip iirrigation rri rrr rriiga gatio gat io ma ion m may yb be ec costly os ost os sttly ly to to set se ett u up up, p, butt there re e is is mo m more ore c control on ont o nttroll ov n o over verr wat water ter usa usage. age.

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December 2015

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Practical Bull Management

by Arthur M De Villiers, Arcadia Bonsmaras

The bull is the most important animal in your beef cattle enterprise.

He comprises only 3 to 4% of your herd, but genetically he contributes 50% to every calf he produces. A single bull can produce 40 or more calves per year for you.

Here are some practical tips on bull management that will assist you to get the best results from your breeding bulls.

At purchase: Ask the seller for the bull's pedigree certificate with EBV’s (estimated breeding values), fertility certificate and DNA certificate. If it is not immediately available, arrange that it is sent to you as soon as possible.

The new bull on your farm: 1. If the "new" bull is transported with other bulls unknown to him, it is not ideal to put the bulls together in the same compartment on a truck – especially if they are free standing – for they can fight a lot on the truck and the subordinate male cannot get away from the fighter. Thus, load unfamiliar bulls (where possible, even bulls that know each other), preferably in separate compartments.

2. Check the bull at offloading to see whether he has sustained any injuries while being transported to the farm. If necessary, treat him immediately.

3. Ensure that the bull (especially if it is a single bull) is offloaded in a secure camp (with good fences) together with another animal or two to keep him company. Clean water and good grazing (or good quality hay or roughage) will calm him down so that he can get used to the new environment sooner. Make sure ProAgri Zambia 03

he finds the water. Leave the bull to rest for at least two days, but keep a eye on him daily to make sure that you immediately pick up any problem that may arise.

4. If it is impossible to keep the new bull apart from other bulls, make sure the camp is big enough for the younger and subordinate bull(s) to get away from the dominant bulls.

5. You can insure the bull comprehensively and/or you can tap the semen of the bull if he is of special genetics.

If you bring in bulls from a disease free area to an area where diseases such as heart water, red water, gall sickness et cetera are endemic, rather insure the bull extensively for a year.

6. Introduce the bull immediately to your normal dipping, dosing and vaccination programme – regardless of what the previous owner did.

7. If the bull received concentrated feed before the auction and/or if the bull is very fat, gradually phase out the concentrates. Give him, for example, 8 kg/day concentrates the first week, 4 kg/day the second week and 1 kg/day the third week with his future lick ad lib and the fourth week only his normal lick. A rapid switch from full feed concentrates to no concentrates may impair his short-term fertility.

8. If possible, keep the new bull away from other bulls until you put him with his cows. The bull should be used for a season without much competition before he is placed in the greater bull group.

9. Remember that a bull changes teeth between 2 and 2 ½ years of age. He could therefore lose weight if he has to adapt to his new environment, be on average grazing and still has to service cows.

10. Ideally the bull should arrive on the farm two months or more before the breeding season starts in order to have sufficient time to adapt to his new environment and feeding conditions.

Before the breeding season: 1. Important: Test all your breeding bulls for fertility three to six weeks before the mating season begins and do sheath washes for trichomoniasis and vibriosis. In a trial in America where 10 940 bulls were tested for sexual readiness, about 20% of the bulls were not suitable for use.

Normally you will “lose” at least 10% of the bulls before each breeding season. Identify them before the mating season – the cost of doing this is much lower than the value of a calve that you will lose if you do not. Test your "new" bull as well – even if he was sold with a fertility certificate – since the effect of the stress of the sale and the transportation and adjustment to his new home can influence his fertility over the short term.

2. Even in systems where multi-sire matings are used, it is essential to evaluate the semen of bulls, because dominant bulls with poor semen can keep younger bulls with good semen away from the cows.

3. Check your bulls before the breeding season for general health to make sure that they are structurally normal and that their walking ability is in no way uncomfortable or abnormal.

4. Inject the bulls two months before the mating season with vitamin A and minerals (Multimin + Se + Cu). Embamin and Embavit (dosed through the mouth), Byboost or Bovimin are brand names that can also be used. This treatment can be repeated after about two months.

5. The bulls’ condition should always be 2,5 to 3,5 out of 5. Overfeeding leads to heavy, clumsy and unfit bulls whose semen is usually below standard. Fat deposition in the neck of the scrotum is detrimental and leads to poor thermoregulation and consequently poor semen.

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6. Malnutrition can also be a problem, but usually libido will deteriorate before semen quality is negatively affected. If bulls are somewhat slim, start giving them supplementary feeding two months before the mating season starts. This can range from a production lick to 5 to 10 kg of concentrates per bull per day.

7. Vaccinate the bulls two months before the beginning of the mating season against three day stiff-sickness and vibriosis.

During the breeding season: 1. Observation of your bulls, especially young bulls, during the mating season, but especially the first week or two, is very important. See if these bulls have mating prowess and whether they have libido. Young bulls are initially inexperienced but within a few days they should have acquired mating ability. Usually, there are about 10% bulls with low or no libido – identify these bulls and eliminate them.

2. In multi-sire mating herds, put older and younger males together, not bulls which are all the same age, to restrict fighting to a minimum. Put at least 3 to 4 bulls with every 100 cows. For us it works to use one adult bull with two young bulls per 75 cows. In single-sire mating herds, 30 to 40 cows should be allocated per mature bull for three months.

3. Good observation should take place during the breeding season in order to know immediately if bulls are sick or injured. If a bull had a fever due to red water, gall sickness, lumpy skin disease, three-day stiff-sickness, et cetera, his semen will probably be dead and it may take two months (and even longer) before he is fertile again, as spermatogenesis (the production of new semen) takes about 65 days. Replace such a bull immediately. Footrot during the breeding season should be treated immediately because it is a very painful condition and the bull will not mate before the footrot has been healed.

Treat such a bull with a long-acting ProAgri Zambia 03

antibiotic. Check that your bulls stay healthy during the mating season.

4. Check carefully for injuries (especially hip, leg, hoof and penis injuries and swollen testicles) due to fighting or other reasons.

Such injuries can possibly make a bull unsuitable for mating for the remainder of the breeding season. Replace a diseased or injured bull immediately and put him in a small hospital camp near the house. In multi-sire mating herds, replace the bull, if possible, with a bull of about the same age.

5. Keep record of the cows covered (bull number, cow number and servicing date). Approximately 60% of the cows should conceive in their first cycle. If more than 40% cows come on heat again after their first cycle (21 days), there may be a problem and it needs to be identified and corrected as soon as possible.

If the problem occurs in a specific single-sire mating herd, replace the bull immediately. If the problem occurs in a specific multi-sire mating herd, it may be possible that a dominant bull is infertile or has another problem. Try to identify this bull and replace him immediately.

6. Mating groups should not be in camps next to each other. Bulls fight through the fence and a bull with good libido will break through an ordinary wire fence to get to a cow on heat. With two year old and younger bulls you may still take a chance if the wire fence is very good.

After the breeding season: 1. Starve the bulls in separate strong pens for three to four days (without food or water). Then take the bulls one by one to the bull camp where good pasture and clean water is freely available. In these circumstances bulls should forget about the cows and should also be more likely to eat than fight. The bull camp must also be safe without too many stones, trenches and holes. There must be enough space for bulls to avoid each other.

2. The ideal is to place bulls in pairs (one older and one younger) in a camp and not all together in one camp. Especially valuable bulls should be kept separate. In practice, however, it happens that bulls must be put together and then the owner cannot do much more than close his eyes and hope for as few injuries as possible.

3. The bull camp can be made safe by

putting up double fences (3 meters apart) on the sides where cattle are in adjacent camps. Electric fences can also help, although more aftercare is required.

4. Allow adequate feeding space at the troughs or when limited supplement feeding is given, as bulls fight more and more "personal" space is needed. Between 0,5 and 1 m feeding space per bull should be sufficient. Everted truck or tractor tires are good troughs – they are indestructible and cannot hurt the bulls when they fight.

5. When working with a bull group, make sure that they are not driven into a bunch (close together), as they usually fight under such circumstances. Bulls that accepted each other for months, can suddenly start fighting when they are moved around – the so-called "displacement behaviour".

6. Do not run the bulls with the dairy cows or with another cow between mating seasons. By mating the same cow, the bulls can get infected with venereal diseases.

General comments: 1. For every ten bulls you use, it is advisable to have a reserve bull ready to replace bulls that may get sick or injured or that must be replaced during the breeding season for other reasons.

2. Bulls from most medium framed breeds can be used from as early as age 14 months if they weigh at least 420 kg, their scrotum circumference is at least 340 mm and their semen tested positive. These young bulls should be able to cover 10 to 20 cows in three months.

3. Normally bulls can be used until ten years of age. Older bulls can also be used, but then special observation is needed to see if the bulls still work well.

4. Adult bulls of medium frame weigh about 800 to 1 000 kg, that is at least 1,5 to 2 LSU (large-stock units). Keep this in mind for determining the size of your bull camp.

5. Enjoy your bulls – in 90% of the cases you should have no problems.

For more information contact Arthur de Villiers of Arcadia Bonsmaras at amdev@zippnorth.co.za December 2015

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We wish you a blessed Christmas and festive season.

From all of us at ProAgri

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December 2015

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