It happened about 2 hours after I sent out issue 126 of my Weekly Public Speaking Ideas newsletter on Monday. The title was “True Story – Public Speaking on the Road(Why You Must Always Be Prepared!)“. I got a call from a gentleman based in Portharcourt, Nigeria, who excitedly told me he’d been (as he put it) “enjoying” my emails for over a year.

He then said “after reading your newsletter today, I decided I had to speak with you and find out how I can get some of your farm business products.“

Monday (that’s his first name) said he found my approach to farm business communication quite appropriate for Nigeria’s mostly smallholder farming population.

Then he asked “So how do we get started? I’m thinking of starting with Poultry.”

I promised to get back to him, as I had to get down to the bank to get some cash.

At the bank, I discovered a long queue, and slow connection problem. So I sent him an SMS asking for his email address, so I could send him links to some web pages from my Blackberry in the meantime.

He promptly responded, and I sent the email. By this time, it was well past 6p.m, so I decdied to call him the next morning.

At 11a.m the next day, we spoke for about 10 minutes during which time I asked him key questions to ascertain what his needs were. Using what I learnt, I promised to send him an email with recommendations on purchases he could make from me, and other resources he could get elsewhere.

The next day (Tuesday i.e. yesterday p.m) I sent him the promised email, with a 3 page PDF attached.

Below: Screenshot of The First Page of the PDF I Sent to Him (Followed By 2 Pages of Compiled Information)

After sending the email, I dispatched a bulk SMS message to his mobile alerting him that I’d sent it, and briefly stating the email’s highlights…

Hi Monday,

I’ve just emailed you the promised document with information and my recommendations based on answers you gave to the key questions I asked to ascertain your exact needs and interests.

2 highlights:

a. I advised that you find and purchase a copy of “Poultry Production in Warm Wet Climates (Paperback)” by Prof. J.A Oluyemi. I’ve owned a copy since 1989. It’s a classic.

b. I supplied the download link to a PDF “Broiler Management Guide” PDF published online, that you can download and study.

See your email for more…

With kindest regards,

Tayo K. Solagbade

===End of Bulk SMS message====

Below: A Web Version of Potentially Useful Resources I Compiled for Him on the PDF

1. Book: Poultry Production in Warm Wet Climates (Paperback)

I’ve owned a copy of this book since my days in the University of Ibadan, as a student of Agricultural Extension Services. I graduated in 1992. Over 20 years later, that SAME copy of the book remains with me.

A little worn on the outside, I’ve held the covers together with cello tape, but the insides remain well preserved. That should tell you just how much value I place on its contents.

Take it from me, NO OTHER publication I have come across since buying this one, comes close to offering the same quality of information and education.

I assure you it contains probably the most practically and theoretically ready-to-use information you need as a poultry farmer – and it covers all major classes of poultry – layers, broilers etc.

www.walahi.com below offers to deliver the book to the buyer’s doorstep.

http://walahi.com/product_info.php?products_id=1016&3dCsid=rklnpvsh

WARNING: I have no experience of buying from them, so I cannot confirm that they deliver on their promise. In other words, do NOT take my listing of the website here as an endorsement of its services. It is NOT! Do the necessary due diligence in relating to them and transacting with them.

ANOTHER WEBSITE OFFERS ACCESS TO THE BOOK:

http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/19811410413.html;jsessionid=434EB05B5F8A00B7C3FA84CFE3C87827

In Nigeria, you may find it useful contacting the library in the University of Ibadan bookshop to see if they have physical copies you can pick up. I’d also suggest checking with the University of Agriculture Abeokuta – at least the name suggests it would be a good place to find such useful publications – possibly in their library.

Just a thought. Good luck!

2. Website: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/

The name is self-explanatory. This website is a gold mine of information. Any Poultry Farm owner will find it a valuable resource. Be sure to register to join their mailing list so you can receive new content updates. But also bookmark the website itself, so you can pay repeat visits to explore the massive library of content it offers.

The only concern I have is that a lot of the information offered is not necessarily directly applicable to the situations prevailing in the tropical climate/region, in which African farm owners have to operate.

That concern was what led the authors of the book mentioned in 1. above, to author it. Managing livestock under different climatic conditions often requires application of different systems/practices. The realities faced by farm owners can often be very unique – with respect to feeding etc.

Keep the above in mind as you read the contents of this site and others like it.

Sections on the website, that owners of Broiler Farms may find of immediate interest:

a. Broilers – The Poultry Site

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/categories/13/broilers

b. Harvest Broilers Without Catching

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/30156/harvest-broilers-without-catching (copy and paste link into your browser…do NOT click: link is broken!)

c. Breeding Broilers for a Sustainable Future – The Poultry Site

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/31141/breeding-broilers-for-a-sustainable-future (copy and paste link into your browser…do NOT click: link is broken!)

d. Broilers Articles from ThePoultrySite

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/cat13/broilers

3. Products/Services on Feed Formulation

During my conversation with you today, you expressed interest in learning about:

(a) Practical feed formulation for poultry

*Products/Services You Can Order Now…

i. Feed Formulation Handbook (PDF) – N8,000.00

ii. Excel-VB Driven Ration Formulator spreadsheet software (N12,500.00)

iii. Practical Feed Formulation Training (N35,000).

Some Farm CEOs travel to meet me in Lagos for 4 hour training on Practical Feed Formulation.

Such persons get a physical copy of my Feed Formulation Handbook FREE (i.e. they do NOT pay N8,000.00 for the handbook. It comes FREE).

They also get – on a CDROM – the PDF copy of the handbook, and also a PDF version of my Annotated Pictorial Introduction to Feed Ingredients report.

A Purchase Entitles You to 40% Lifetime Discount on Future Purchases

See the email I sent you yesterday for more on this

Joining my Farm Business Ideas club (by paying making an N8,000 or more purchase), gets you a lifetime 40% discount on ALL my products and services.

(b) broiler production and marketing: You also told me you wanted information on broiler production. See the PDF(Hubbard – Broiler Management Guide.pdf) attached to this email.

You’ll find some of the information in it useful.

Note however that it’s based on broiler production in the temperate climate.

That’s why the book “Poultry Production in Warm Wet Climate” by Prof. Oluyemi is one I strongly recommend you focus on acquiring and studying.

(c) Preparing Farm Records/Accounts

You can purchase the less expensive mini version of my Poultry Farm Manager Software. I’ve almost finished testing it – following requests from Farm CEOs from Cameroon, South Africa, USA, Canada, Nigeria etc. Price is N25,000.00.

See video of original Poultry Farm Manager at:

http://spontaneousdevelopment.com/pfmgr.html

(d) Ideas for recycling poultry waste to reduce effort, time and money expended in disposing it:

We’ll discuss later on when you’ve joined the club.

That’s it Monday.

I hope the information supplied comes of some use to you.

If you wish to take this further by making the recommended purchases, get in touch with me.

Tayo

Final Words: Serving Farm Business Owners is Something I absolutely LOVE doing!

I believe todays farmers needs best practice support to run their operations more productively and profitabley. One key ingredient for makign that happen will be smart Extension Services provided via intelligent use of PC and Internet technology.

This is why I use the web the way I do.

But it would be a mistake to assume I’m not familiar with what happens offline, because I use the web so much!

Farm CEOs who interact with me often discover I’m very much in touch with what’s happening in the industry offline…especially on real life farms. Apart from keeping in regular contact with farm CEOs, I also do my own share of research on ideas for improving farm practices and operatrions.

In the process I discover areas where gaps exist, and sometimes I’m able to develop solutions to fill those gaps. Examples are the items available today on my website e.g my Feed Formulation Handbook, the Ration Formulator software(that accompanies the handbook), my Pictorial Introduction to Feed Ingredients (that every handbook buyer gets free), my new Poultry Farm Manager software etc.

When a Farm Business Owner or enthusiasts contacts me, I feel over joyed.

For me, it’s often an opportunity to help one more person make smarter progress towards achieving his/her dreeam of running a profitable farm business entreprise. And that implies adding to the food generation capacity of the community, and ultimately, the nation.

The idea that I’m a part of such a good thing makes me feel fulfilled.

So, if you’re a farm business enthusiast, and need help or information, do NOT hesitate to contact me.

It would be my pleasure to help – just like I did for Monday above…

And it will NOT matter if you never buy anything from me ;-))

PS: I’m getting serious levels of attention from Farm Business Owners within and outside Africa, using my writing.

It’s been amazing. And yet, I must say that I did not decide to adopt writing as a marketing strategy all on my own.

It was an article written by Burt Dubin that opened my eyes to the wisdom of doing so!

That article is titled “Why and How to Get Published“. And it is one of the main reasons I’ve gotten where I am today in terms of the name recognition and credibility I enjoy as an expert in my field of interest. Every serious minded business owner should read that article and apply the ideas Burt advocates in it. The results you get, will make you very glad you did!