Category Archives: The Farm CEO

PII 074 : Use Branded Marketing Videos to Convince Prospects Your Product or Service Can Help Them

If you want people to buy from you more readily, find a (low to zero cost) way to SHOW them that doing so would be the right thing to do, and they are more likely to do just that.

The saying “Seeing is believing” reflects the above. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is another.

So, if you want to convince a buyer to choose you, a photo would help.  But the truth is that a video (properly made) would do much more for you than any photo possibly could!

When it comes to selling products or services therefore, it only makes sense to find ways to use videos.

Evidence abounds that proves this is true. On the web especially, the data available confirms it. One wonders therefore why more people do NOT use videos.

I use videos, and they have made me record way more success selling online than I would ever have gotten, without them!

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Tayo Solagbade's Performance Improvement IDEAS(PI Squared) Newsletter

Tayo Solagbade’s
Performance Improvement 
IDEAS
(PI Squared) Newsletter

Monday 10th July 2017

Logo - Tayo Solagbade's Self-Development Academy


NB: This PI Squared newsletter will be published weekly, on Mondays, in place of the Speaking/Web Marketing IDEAS newsletter, starting from today – 15th February 2016.
 I’m reinventing my Monday newsletter content and theme, to accommodate my vision of serving the growing audience of serious minded individuals and organizations reaching out to me, with information, education. news and research findings designed to help them do what they do better.

************

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

PII 074 : Use Branded Marketing Videos to Convince Prospects Your Product or Service Can Help Them

If you want people to buy from you more readily, find a (low to zero cost) way to SHOW them that doing so would be the right thing to do, and they are more likely to do just that.

The saying “Seeing is believing” reflects the above. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is another.

So, if you want to convince a buyer to choose you, a photo would help.  But the truth is that a video (properly made) would do much more for you than any photo possibly could!

When it comes to selling products or services therefore, it only makes sense to find ways to use videos.

Evidence abounds that proves this is true. On the web especially, the data available confirms it. One wonders therefore why more people do NOT use videos.

I use videos, and they have made me record way more success selling online than I would ever have gotten, without them!

In the rest of this piece, I use real life examples from my own experiences selling custom Excel-VB software to buyers in/out of Africa, to explain why videos are powerful tools for recruiting potential buyers and clients.

And I end by noting – among other things – that if you’re NOT using them, or you lack the know-how to use them effectively, you’re effectively shortchanging yourself.

Let’s begin with THIS statement of FACT: No matter what you sell, videos can help you better promote them to command the positive attention, interest and desire of your preferred target audience.

But you need to know HOW to use videos, if you want to get such results.

I say this as one who has spent many thousands of hours creating and promoting my video marketing content to my multidisciplinary target audience.

One truth I always point out to those I coach is the fact that if you want to LEARN how something really works in ANY area of endeavor, you simply cannot be in a hurry.

You must be prepared to not just be patient, but also to work hard and long to carefully investigate and identify what will work – for you.

It is instructive to note here that what works for others may NOT work for you, or the same way for you.

This is why it is always wise to repeatedly TEST any strategy you are considering, before fully adopting it for use.

With regard to the use of videos to sell, I’ve learned from over 10 years of doing it, via trial and error, for myself and my clients that myriad options exist for doing it.

Ultimately, it is your understanding of what you sell, and how to communicate the benefits to your target audience, with massive amounts of creativity that will drive the success.

One mistake many make, is to assume that their skills in use of technology (e.g. proficiency in use of video creation software, especially adding bells and whistles) will make up for NOT putting painstaking intellectual effort not creating COMPELLING content.

That is content which draws viewers in and increases the chance of viewers “feeling” like doing what the creator of the video wants, or that will at least make them take special notice of the solution offered.

Let me share 2 examples from the library of videos in my YouTube channel…

There are many ways to create and use branded marketing videos to sell.

In my case, I spent years reading about and testing various ideas. Over time it dawned on me that my custom Excel-VB software products could be better marketed using DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS i.e. videos that show – in an easy-to-follow manner- the features, functions and/or benefits of the product.

Today, I can tell you that 2 of my videos (shown below) have been responsible for over 80% of the sales I make online.

  1. Computing 30% Protein Content Feed Formula – Excel-VB Ration Formulator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YWbqmh0MpA

pii74-rfapp-video-shot

This video went LIVE in 2011 (the app was first built in 2006) and has since been followed up with a 4 part version (click here to view it) that prospective buyers now get referred to.

But as you can see from the number of views it has gained, it’s enjoyed a massively successful run at over 25k views.

Note that I rate my video’s performance by my standards in terms of the performance of other videos I have – most of which hover under 100 to about 500 views.

When I noticed the rate at which this video was getting viewed, I knew it was a sign that it would generate sales leads. So I updated the description page for it,  to guide interested persons on what to do, to get details from me about how to buy.

Not surprisingly, I’ve gotten hundreds of phone and web contact form based enquiries from prospective buyers, some of who are today clients/users of the app.

Since creating the FREE upgrade version of the app, for which I recorded a 4 part video demo, I’ve continued to log sales.

The best part about this arrangement is that the same 4 part video demonstration is what ALL buyers of the app use to get started with using it.

In other words, by creating the demonstration video, I ultimately ended up helping myself create a self-help learning tool for my buyers to use!

Here’s another thing;

My popular Practical Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook if often requested and purchased by most buyers of this app.

This is because, apart from making reference to it in the video demo, whenever they call me, I explain how reading the handbook provides the user a sound theoretical basis on which to use the app correctly to derive balanced rations for his/her animals.

In other words, your use of video marketing for a product can create upwelling opportunities for other products/services you offer. I have many such stories to tell in this regard!

  1. EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE – VIDEO DEMONSTRATION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2OEhGPmd5Epii74-pfm-video-shot

pii74-pfm-video-shot2

This video went LIVE in 2013 (the app was first built in 2009), and it features the original ONE year reporting version of the Poultry Farm Manager. Today, it’s been replaced by a 16 part video demonstration for a Monthly Poultry Farm Manager I’ve since developed for the market.

Like the Ration Formulator video, this Poultry Farm Manager video has also ramped up massive views (13.5k) compared to others in my channel  [Common sense logic based on the Pareto principle made it easy for me, to focus on both of them!]

When I first put this video online, back then, within the first few weeks, I began getting calls from within and outside Africa – from as far as South Africa, and even the USA.

Poultry Farm CEOs looking for low cost customizable solutions reached out to me via email and phone from very early on. And they continue to do so.

Interestingly, and on a finale note, I must point out the fact that this second video has earned ZERO comments from viewers, compared to the Ration Formulator’s video which boasts over 45 comments – in which majority of the commenters requested the app be sent to email addresses they provided.

 

pii74-rfapp-video-shot2

 

pii74-pfm-video-shot3

I point out this difference between both videos to indicate the fact that the presence or absence of comments on videos like these cannot be used to conclude about their effectiveness or otherwise.

This is because both of them have earned me LOTS of sales, since I put them online. Many times the enquirer would begin by saying “I just watched your video and would like to know how much you sell the software”.

It goes without saying, therefore, that you must pay close attention to the RESULTS you get, from using the videos you create, and not depend on superficial indicators to decide if they are working well or not.

Today, I offer a video marketing support service for businesses, which is purchased by clients in various markets. Click here to request details of how I can build a branded marketing video for your business.

During the rest of this week, I aim (barring “connectivity” issues) to publish follow up blogs, to this one, based on branded marketing videos I have created for clients to show examples of what is possible.

[HINT; Erratic Internet connectivity from my provider has interfered with my blog publishing schedule in recent weeks. So much so that I’ve resorted to working overnight, when the connections seems to work better (calling the support center has yielded little joy, so I’ve stopped that). Hopefully things will work better this week lol!]

Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator

Click to view larger screenshot

1. Click here to learn more about this app – watch demo videos etc

2. Click here to watch a 4 part video in which I demonstrate how to use this app to formulate rations using real life data sent to me by an Algerian PhD student.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

EXCEL-VB DRIVEN POULTRY LAYER FARM MANAGER SOFTWARE

Click here to download a detailed PDF user guide and watch 15 screen shot user guide tutorials of the Monthly Poultry Farm Manager that I now offer Farm CEOs.

Click here to watch a screenshot demonstration of the Excel-VB Driven Poultry Farm Manager I built for a client farm business in Ekiti state, South West Nigeria.

Click here to contact me about purchasing this product.

SDN Blog™

New posts from last week*

Monday:

[Wednesday]:

[Thursday]:

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[Friday]: 

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[Saturday]:

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[Sunday]:

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Tayo K. Solagbade*

Self-Development/Performance Improvement Specialist

*Best Practice Farm Business Support Specialist & Founder of the MS Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club and Competition

Mobile: +234-803-302-1263 (in Nigeria) or +229-66-122-136 (in Benin Republic)

http://www.tayosolagbade.com

Tayo K. Solagbade is a Location Independent Performance Improvement

Specialist and Multipreneur (i.e. a highly versatile/multi-skilled entrepreneur), with a bias for delivering Best Practice solutions to Farm Businesses and others.

Since 2002, he has earned multiple streams of income providing individuals and organizations with personal development training and coaching, custom MS Excel-VB solutionsweb marketing systems/web hosting, freelance writing services, and best practice extension support services (for farm business owners).

Tayo is the author of the Self-Development (SD) Bible™ and the popular Livestock Feed Formulation Handbook. He is also the developer of its accompanying Excel-VB driven Ration Formulator™ and the Poultry Farm Manager™ software.

He has delivered talks/papers to audiences in various groups and organizations, including the Centre for Management Development, University of Lagos, Christ Baptist Church, Volunteer Corps, Tantalisers Fast Foods and others.

In May 2012 he was the Guest Speaker at the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development’s Annual Semester Entrepreneurial Lecture at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.

On 1st April 2013, Tayo (who reads, write and speaks the French language) relocated to Cotonou, Benin Republic to begin slowly traveling across the West African region.

His key purpose is to deliver talks, seminars and workshops on his key areas of focus and interest to interested audiences (Email tayo at tksola dot com for details).

In a previous life, before leaving to become self-employed, Tayo served for seven years (October 1994 to December 2001) as a high performing manager in Guinness Nigeria. He rose from Shift Brewer to Training & Technical Development Manager, and later acted in senior roles as Production Manager and Technical Manager.

In addition to constantly challenging the status quo and influencing positive work changes, he built a reputation for using self-taught spreadsheet programming skills (starting with Lotus 1-2-3, and later moving to Excel Visual Basic) – in his spare time – to develop Automated Spreadsheet Applications to computerize manual report generation processes in the departments he worked. Over four(4) of his applications were adopted for brewery level reporting.

Tayo holds a B.Sc degree in Agricultural Extension Services from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, having graduated top of his class – with Second Class Upper Division honors – in 1992. He is an Associate Member of the UK Institute & Guild of Brewing, a 1997 National Finalist of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s(NIM) Young Managers’ competition, a Certified Psychometric Test Administrator for Psytech UK, innovator of Spontaneous Coaching for Self-Development™ (SCfS-D™), and Founder of the Self-Development Academy (SDAc).

When he’s not amazing clients with his superhuman skills (wink), Tayo works as the creative force behind his Daily Self-Development Nuggets blog – on which he also publishes The Farm CEO Weekly Newspaper (sent via email to paid subscribers) and his Weekly Performance Improvement IDEAS newsletter.

You can connect with him on Twitter @tksola.com and Facebook.

Visit Tayo Solagbade Dot Com, to download over over 10 performance improvement resources to boost your personal and work related productivity.

====
[IMPORTANT NOTE:====

On 4th May 2014, Tayo’s 9 year old domain (Spontaneousdevelopment dot com), which hosted his website, was taken over by Aplus.net.

Within a few days however, Tayo used his advanced self-taught web development skills to build a SUPERIOR “reincarnation” of it the website http://www.tayosolagbade.com.

But updates are still ongoing to URLs bearing the old domain name in most of the over 1,000 web pages, and blog posts he’s published.

If you experience any difficulties finding a page or document, email Tayo at tksola dot com.

Click “Tayo, What Happened to SpontaneousDevelopmentDotCom ?” to read a detailed narrative about how the above event occurred :-))

Here’s an article Tayo wrote, to inspire others to defy adversity, and bounce back to even greater reckoning at what they do EVERY time:

Succeed by Emerging from Adversity Like a Phoenix

(TayoSolagbade.com launches extra Hosting plan with FREE Web Marketing!)

And he wrote the one below, to explain why losing a domain name, no matter how old, NO LONGER determines your online success or otherwise:

A Proven Strategy to Find Profitable Buyers Regardless of Your Domain Name
==================

View Tayo Solagbade's video tutorials and demonstrations on Facebook Productivity Tips, Web Marketing, and for his Custom MS Excel-VB driven software applicationsJoin the SD Nuggets community on Facebook.comConnect with Tayo on Twitter.comConnect with Tayo on Google PlusConnect with Tayo on LinkedIn.com

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[RECOMMENDED] Must read article on how our lives will change dramatically in 20 years by CEO of Mercedes

Comment by Tayo K. Solagbade: I prepared this print-ready 2 page PDF version (click here to download it now) of the message previewed below (reportedly given by the CEO of Mercedes), for my kids, who I’ve been coaching along the same lines, based on my observations/experience based intuition. It is my considered opinion, that every parent needs to read it with his/her kids!

how-our-lives-will-change-dramatically-in-20-years

And truly WISE parents will enroll with their kids at Khan Academy (mentioned in the message)– it’s the future of LEARNING here today! See https://www.khanacademy.org/

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Must read article on how our lives will change dramatically in 20 years by CEO of Mercedes

​In a recent interview the MD of Daimler Benz (Mercedes Benz) said their competitors are no longer other car companies but Tesla (obvious), Google, Apple, Amazon

Software will disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years. Uber is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world

Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don’t own any properties.

Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go player in the world,  10 years earlier than expected.

Click here to download the 2 page PDF I prepared in a ready to print format, for my kids.

Source: https://naukarinews4u.in/2017/05/14/must-read-article-on-how-our-lives-will-change-dramatically-in-20-years-by-ceo-of-mercedes/

The FARM CEO (Issue 87): New Ideas for Feed Formulation in Africa [How to make your own pig feed on the farm, The A-Z of making your own quality chicken feed at home to cut costs

As at this moment of typing THIS message, when you Google the above phrase (ie. “new ideas for feed formulation in africa”) the results page that is returned features a set of images at the top, with links to the respective pages on which they are located.

One of those images is a screenshot of the Automatic Ration Formulation interface in my popular Excel-VB driven Ration Formulation software.- and the image links directly to the Youtube demonstration video I created to show what the app can do, to prospective buyers.

I mentioned the above fact to point our how regular publishing of real world relevant information and education can dramatically boost your search engine visibility – at zero cost.
But let me NOT digress.
My purpose here is to highlight other websites that showed up on that search results page – especially those that offer potentially useful information and education about the serious subject of Feed Formulation.
Here they are…

1. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC FISH FEED REQUIREMENTS AND MANUFACTURE
A report prepared for the Hatchery Production and Research Centre Project

The Hatchery Production and Research Centre at Bangui-Landjia Project was established in 1980 under the FAO/Government Cooperative Programme (GCP/CAF/007/NET) with funds provided by the Government of the Netherlands.

The project is engaged primarily in work on the African catfish (Clarias lazera), although activities outside the hatchery building itself include pond experiments and small-scale commercial production of Clarias and tilapia in polyculture.

http://www.fao.org/3/contents/3ed6445c-eec6-52cf-a2c8-732d59d3efa9/Q9555E00.htm

2. ORGANIC FARMER: How to make your own pig feed on the farm

A bag of pig feed costs more than KSh 3,000 in the market. Feeds take up to 80 per cent of pig production costs. Farmers can make their own feeds and sell surplus feed to other farmers. What they need is to know the rations of mixing the different ingredients.

3. The A-Z of making your own quality chicken feed at home to cut costs

Except for a few feed manufacturers who keep to the standards in poultry feed formulations, many feed companies in the country make very poor quality feeds, a situation which has led huge losses.

Poor quality feeds lead to a slow growth in chickens, low egg production, diseases or even death. Making poultry feeds on the farm is one of the best ways to maintain quality and cut the cost of production.

http://www.nation.co.ke/business/seedsofgold/Poultry-Chicken-Feed-Farming-Agriculture/2301238-2832858-4gvraez/index.html

You Need to Protect Record Keeping Integrity On Your Farm – Ensure Accurate & Honest Entries! [Coming Soon: Excel-VB Catfish Farm Business Manager™ – Basic version |See Preliminary Screenshots]

\This article highlights the important need for EVERY farm CEO to diligently ensure accurate and honest data recording is done by ALL operatives at ALL times, if long term success in terms of production and profitability is to be achieved!

I begin, with the excerpt below, taken from a project status update email I just sent today, to a new Catfish Farm CEO client, who (along with 2 others) took up a recent promo offer I made to build them an Excel-VB driven Catfish Farm Business Manager software.

 

Hi B…….,

Find attached the following:
1. An MS Excel file containing a blank Functional Requirement Specifications (FRS) document.
You can type and save into it ANY features/functions you want YOUR Catfish Farm Business Manager to have (that are NOT already included in the one I’m working on as per the attached screenshots and PDF details)
2. Five screenshot images showing preliminary interfaces in the software I’m building for you (and 2 other Farm CEOs who took up the same offer I sent you). 
I offer these images to give you a peek into the real life shape and form the app you are going to get will take.
3, A PDF document that outlines the 4 Best Practicre Catfish Farm Business Management records I am using as a basis for building the app. 
I recommend you read it, to understand the thinking behind the work being done, and also to evaluate the 2 BONUS PROMO OFFERS I’ve made to you, which are designed to get you a MORE complete solution to address the challenges you told me about your farm.
 
Here’s an excerpt from the PDF

The FOUR (4) Catfish Farm Production Records described below are the basis for the Catfish Farm Business Manager – Basic version I’m Building [See Attached Screenshots]

1. Pond Management Record Sheet [PMRS] – for tracking operational details of pond production

2. Pond Feed Record Sheet [PFRS] – used for tracking feed use and the response of the fish to feeding.

3. Other Pond Management Inputs Records [OPMIR] – used for tracking all other inputs used for fish production e.g. repairs and maintenance, labour man-hours, transportation etc)

4. Pond Management Accounts Records [PMAR] – used to track income/sales and expenses.

BONUS 1: BOPMS™ PROMO OFFER

You can get customized print-ready MS Excel versions of the above four (4) record sheets that your staff can easily print on paper and fill, which you will then use to update YOUR CFBM™ apps.

Simply pay N50k to have me setup a basic BOPMS™ for your Farm business via development of

(1) Job Descriptions

(2) Work Instructions

(3) Record formats

(4) KPIs and

(5) Problem Solving Guides for you/your farm personnel to use.

QUESTION: How Will Getting 1 to 5 Help You/Your Farm Business?

ANSWER: The CFBM™ software you’re getting is only ONE component (i.e. an EIS) in a BOPMS™. The CFBM™ app, and your entire farm, will work better when others (like 1 to 5) are present. See the BOPMS™ Mind Map.

Below are details of features each record sheet should have: ###Excerpts from PDF end###

See the attached PDF for the rest  – including a new article that I just published on my blog titled “You Need to Protect Record Keeping Integrity On Your Farm – Ensure Accurate & Honest Entries! [Coming Soon: Excel-VB Catfish Farm Business Manager™ – Basic version |See Preliminary Screenshots]”
==========

cfbm-pmrs-shot4-mainmenu

 cfbm-pmrs-shot5-mainmenu

cfbm-pmrs-shot3-license

cfbm-pmrs-shot2

cfbm-pmrs-shot

bopms-mindmap

This kind of app mentioned above, is what I refer to as an Entreprise Information System (EIS) in the Mind Map for my Best Operating Process Management System (BOPMS) for Profitable Farm Business Management.

It is one of the key tools for enhancing farm business production and profitability.

However, without accurate and honest data recording, such tools can end up being rendered ineffective or useless!

Which brings me to the topic for THIS articles….

How accurate/reliable are YOUR farm records? Few farmers can answer THAT question  confidently!

Yet, when it comes to data analysis and trending for timely farm planning/decision making, NOTHING matters more than working with accurate and reliable data.

The popular “Garbage In Garbage Out (GIGO)” saying applies fully in this regard.

Diligent – and TRUTHFUL – Farm Records Keeping using available best practice farm records keeping documents is crucial to the long term profitability of a Catfish (and any other) farm Business. Measured Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the most reliable means to accurately monitor, manage and evaluate production output and profitability of the Farm Business.

If those KPIs get computed based on WRONG or FALSE data/records, it would mean potential disaster for the farm business!

The above makes it imperative that all persons involved in record keeping on the farm do so with great diligence and truthfulness. You need to record exactly what you did, or what happened over time. Do not make entries designed to create an impression that you have measuring devices you actually lack.

Example 1: If, for instance, you do NOT have a weighing scale do NOT record weight values as if you used one. Instead, use estimates and state that THAT is what you have done. That way, your records will be seen for what they are i.e. estimates.

Example 2: Or, if you forgot to do the second eggs collections for the previous day, do NOT split the collection from the next morning into two portions to cover for the day you missed. Simply note in the comments that the higher collection in the morning was due to non-collection from the day before. That way, chances of warped trends in the farm’s data will be minimized.

Farm operatives involved in record keeping need to be made to understand that posting false or inaccurate data for production and sales will often do great harm to the business.

In particular, the farmer’s ability to narrow down to and correct mistakes, errors or deficiencies in the operation suffers.

It has been rightly noted by certain aquaculture experts that compared to other farm animal based businesses, fish farming imposes certain peculiar limitations on the farmer’s ability to easily and conveniently measure and evaluate his/her livestock’s performance.

In this regard, the inability of a fish farmer’s to easily see and touch fish has been highlighted.

In other words, since fish live in water by necessity, they cannot be readily seen or touched, in their large numbers by the farmer, except at feeding time (when s/he can use their response to feeding to gauge their performance) and during sampling or harvesting.

If the fish farmer is to ensure s/he achieves the desired long term production and profitability success, s/he cannot depend on the above limited opportunities to determine how well the animals are doing.

This is why diligent documentation and analysis of Recommended Fish Farm Production Records is important.

They are the only reliable way the fish Farm CEO can accurately and reliably monitor trends in “production, fish numbers and changes in fish condition” during the course of each production cycle.

The point being made here is therefore that you MUST ensure all your farm records are documented as accurately and truthfully as possible

It is for the above reasons that I recommend standard record sheets prescribed for best practice farm business management, be designed and produced in print copies for use by your farm operatives.

Correctly filled with truthful data, they will enable quick and easy posting of your farm data into auto-report-generation data entry interfaces in your custom Excel-VB Catfish Farm Business software

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The FARM CEO (Issue 85): VIDEOS – How to Start a Farm with No Money, How to build a fish pond (Backyard fish farming), How to Make Money on a Small Farm

This week’s issue of the Farm CEO newspaper features 3 videos titled (1) How to Start a Farm with No Money (2) How to build a fish pond and (3) How to Make Money on a Small Farm

(1) How to Make Money on a Small Farm

(2) How to build a fish pond

(3) How to Start a Farm with No Money

The FARM CEO (Issue 84): Practical Poultry Farm Business Performance Calculations | Producing Good Catfish is Important, But Finding Good Buyers is Imperative!

In this week’s issue of the Farm CEO newspaper, I feature 2 of my most widely syndicated articles, published over 5 years ago. 
They contain deep pearls of insights gained from YEARS of working closely with serious minded Farm CEOs to find solutions to REAL LIFE problems that were holding them back.
These articles have earned me phone calls (some resulting in sales) from Farm CEOs locally and internationally as I traveled. 
An interesting tip you (especially subscribers who are my Web Marketing clients) may wish to take note of, is how I used my mobile phone number at the end of one of the write-ups to generate sales leads.
What I did was to invite the reader to request additional details about how to make successful use of the practical strategies for finding profitable bulk buyers, that I’d discussed in it. 
I got quite a number of calls – some of which led to sales of my Feed Formulation Handbook and Excel-VB Ration Formulator software – as a result of that simple Call to Action (You can do the same in your writing!)
I hope you enoy reading these articles.
Have a great week.
Cheers!
Tayo

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Practical Poultry Farm Business Performance Calculations
==========================
Introduction

In this article, I share VERY practical, real world relevant tips about performance measures you can compute daily, weekly, monthly and at the end of year to accurately determine at every stage whether your poultry farm business is operating optimally.

These performance indices are NOT aggregate measures. In other words, they are NOT measured in monetary terms. Instead they have NO units, being ratios, usage rates and percentages that help to (a) establish a normal trend of your farms’ behaviour (b) quickly identify/detect departures from that trend, so that you can take timely/corrective action.

Note that these measures are tried and tested, and are actually built into a custom spreadsheet software application I built for a client who runs a Twelve thousand (12,000) layer poultry farm business.

You Can Quickly & Easily Compute Performance Indicators To Check Your Farm’s Health

Continue reading…

http://EzineArticles.com/2635011

==========================
Producing Good Catfish is Important, But Finding Good Buyers is Imperative!
==========================

As I have said on my Cost-Saving Ideas Farm Business Support mini site, and also in many of my previous write ups, I have gained unique insight into the business of catfish farming as it is done here in Nigeria. I have moved around quite a lot within Lagos especially, visiting various farms in places like Iyana Ipaja, Egbeda, Ojo, Gbagada, and outside Lagos, more recently,in Akute – Ogun State.

During my interactions with the farm owners, I typically ask the same questions about operational practices being used, farm output achieved, expenses incurred etc. My objective is always to establish how efficient and profitable the individual operations are.

Time and time again, I have found that most of these farm owners are simply focussed on doing what they do in the same mechanical manner they have always been doing them. 

Little or no effort is made to spend some time THINKING about how to operate more efficiently – especially in order to reduce the time, effort, money and labour needed to produce – and sell – the same output within a production cycle.

But times are hard. Business is tough. Costs have risen. To continue to profit, it has become even more imperative today, for EVERY business to explore ways of LOWERING operating costs, even as they maintain or possibly INCREASE output.

That is why IDEAS – NEW IDEAS – about how to better run the business MUST be routinely solicited, and explored practically, with a view to improving the way we work, so that the business can perform better.

Continue reading…

http://EzineArticles.com/3209812

The FARM CEO (Issue 83): How Digital Technology Is Changing Farming in Africa [Harvard Biz Review], For Africa’s farmers it’s government, not big business, that is key [The Guardian], Africa’s Farmers Need Investment to Feed Africa [Real Agriculture]

In this issue of the Farm CEO newspaper, I feature 3 interesting articles about latest development in Africa’s farm business industry from high profile website publishers namely: The Harvard Business Review, The Guardian and Real Agriculture Dot Com.

Topics covered include changes Digital Technology is making in Africa’s Farming, Africa’s farmers’ dependence  on government, and the need for Africa’s Farmers to get investment if they are to Feed Africa.

1. How Digital Technology Is Changing Farming in Africa [Harvard Biz Review]

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world population will reach 9.1 billion by 2050, and to feed that number of people, global food production will need to grow by 70%. For Africa, which is projected to be home to about 2 billion people by then, farm productivity must accelerate at a faster rate than the global average to avoid continued mass hunger.

The food challenges in Africa are multipronged:

Continue reading…

2. For Africa’s farmers it’s government, not big business, that is key [The Guardian]

frica’s agriculture sector is on the up. After decades of stagnation, the continent’s farms have registered sustained growth in productivity every year since 2005. That’s good news for the 520 million Africans dependent on farming for their livelihoods, and the millions more who rely on them for their food.

But African farmers still produce far less food per hectare than the world average. Yields for cereal farmers in South Africa, home to one of the continent’s most productive agriculture sectors, are less than half those of their UK counterparts. In central African states such as Niger and Eritrea, they are less than a 10th.

One of the key differences between the UK and Africa is the role of the private sector.

Continue reading…

3. Africa’s Farmers Need Investment to Feed Africa [Real Agriculture]

Globally, the big question in food production – the one that reverberates in any discussion about the future – is who will feed the increasingly hungry world, and how.

Most of the focus is on Africa, and the growing population there.

So the question goes: Who will feed Africa?

Well, after spending two weeks with some 150 agricultural journalists from nearly 60 countries at a well-organized, informative conference visiting South Africa farms and agri-businesses, meeting progressive farmers and seeing the enormous potential that is starting to be realized, one thing is clear to me: to a major extent, Africa will feed Africa.

Continue reading…

 

 

[Mind Map] Anatomy of Dynamic Ration Computation Table in Tayo Solagbade’s Excel-VB Ration Formulator

This article offers a mind-map based anatomy (see image below) of the Dynamic Ration Computation Table that is at the heart of the functionality in my popular Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator Software.

My purpose here is to offer potentially useful practical insights into the thinking behind the construction of that table, for best practice purposes.

This would benefit anyone interested in better understanding how this app works, as well as those interested in learning how to build time, effort and cost-saving worksheet data entry and report generation tables.

rfapp-analysis-xlh

Members of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club will get FREE copies of the step-by-step screenshot tutorial video, in which I explain how this dynamic table was built from scratch.

You can watch a step-by-step screenshot demonstration tutorial of this app in use at www.tinyurl.com/RealRationDemo

Below are explanations of the functions of the formulas in each of the key columns in the ration computation table.

In the screenshot demonstration video tutorial that will be sent to member of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation club, I explain how EACH formula is constructed, with regard to syntax etc. Click here to request a copy.

1. Price/Unit (Kg)

=IF(D3=””,””,IF(D3=0,0,INDEX(feedIngredientsDbase,MATCH(D3,nfFeedIngredients,0),10)))

When you choose an “Ingredient Name” from the drop menu in a cell in column “D”, the above formula retrieves the matching Price/Unit for the item, from the “Settings” worksheet (which holds the Nutrients Composition for ALL the ingredients available for use along with their prices on a row by row basis)

2. Pr% in ration

=IF(D3=””,0,IF(D3=0,0,(INDEX(feedIngredientsDbase,MATCH(D3,nfFeedIngredients,0),2)*$E3)/100))

When you you choose an “Ingredient Name” from the drop menu in a cell in column “D”, the above formula retrieves the matching PERCENT %PROTEIN VALUE for the Item, from the “Settings” worksheet

3. Amount (Kg) Std – 50Kg

=IF($H$26=””,(E3/100)*50,(E3/100)*$H$26)

This formula uses the “% in Ration” value in each ingredient row/cell to derive the physical “Amount(Kg)” of THAT ingredient that will make up part of the “Target Feed Size (kg)” i.e. total kg feed you want to mill. Same formula adjusted Works for “Calcium in Ration” and “Fibre% in Ration” columns

4. kcal ME/ in ration

=IF(D3=””,””,IF(D3=0,0,(E3/100)*INDEX(feedIngredientsDbase,MATCH(D3,nfFeedIngredients,0),5)))

This formula uses the “% in Ration” value you type in each ingredient row/cell to derive the equivalent ENERGY contribution (kcal ME/g) from THAT ingredient to the total amount of feed to be milled.

This Ration Computation Table uses the above highlighted formulas to create a dynamic effect that enables the user focus on posting his/her preferred “% in Ration” values for ANY combination of feed ingredients s/he wishes to use in deriving a specific ration formula.

The table returns instant ration formulas, complete with prices with every change, until s/he arrives at one that meets his/her needs.

This approach makes it easy for the user of this Ration Computation table to quickly TEST different combinations of ingredients, based on their respective prices, as well as their nutrient content (e.g. protein , energy, calcium and fibre).

Without this method the user would have to REPEATEDLY type in the respective values for each of those variables anytime the “Ingredient Name changed on a specific row.

Major time/effort savings would be lost. And chances of avoidable user data entry errors greatly increased!

Members of my Excel Heaven Visual Basic Automation Club will get FREE copies of the step-by-step screenshot tutorial video, in which I explain how this dynamic table was built from scratch.

Click here to request a copy of the video tutorial.

Visit www.excelheaven.biz to learn more about the club.

[HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!] People are posting an 8-ball emoji on Facebook – here’s what it means

Facebook users are posting an emoji of an eight-ball – and it’s all part of a viral campaign to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

The black eight-ball emoji is popping up due to a viral message which is spreading via Facebook Messenger – urging men to post the image on Facebook.

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The message says, ‘Hi mate,

Continue reading…

http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/08/people-are-posting-an-8-ball-emoji-on-facebook-heres-what-it-means-6496846/