Maitake: Mighty Mushroom of the Fall 
Written by Rachel

Along with the change in colors and crisp, cool wind, fall in Wisconsin also brings a plethora of fresh vegetables and a new flush of wild and cultivated maitake (Hen of the Woods). This particular mushroom has a leafy, almost coral like or extraterrestrial appearance and a fresh peppery scent (no, its not straight from a Lewis Carroll tale). The outlandish appearance, however, gives no indication to this fungus’s delicious flavor. When we sell these at the farmers’ market, the reaction is always the same: “What in the world is that?” or, my personal favorite, “Can you eat it?” The maitake is not only delicious and extremely edible, it also possesses many medicinal qualities that truly make it a “super food.” In fact, its extract is said to boost immunity and slow or reverse tumor growth and aid in the control of diabetes.

Maitake growing on a sawdust block in our fruiting room.

Here at FFP, we typically grow maitake from ready-to-fruit blocks made of hardwood sawdust. Each block yields one large cluster, which weighs about a pound. This may not seem like many mushrooms, but after the cluster is removed and pulled apart, the individual “leaves” create a fulfilling bounty. Once the block is done fruiting, it can be buried in wood chips outdoors for a subsequent fruiting the following year.

Maitake growing in the wild near the farm.

Besides growing maitakes on blocks, we also fruit them outdoors in crates. This method is fairly simple, but requires a fair bit of patience compared to the ready-to-fruit block. First, a log is cut into an 8x8 inch chunk, placed in a polypropylene bag and sterilized. This unit is then inoculated with spawn and left to incubate for three months. At this point, the log is removed and buried in a newspaper-lined crate, covered with soil and topped with leaves. If the moisture level is kept at a consistent level (just moist to the touch, not sopping wet) the mushrooms should appear within 6 months to a year.

This year, our maitake production has increased exponentially because of the ideal fall growing conditions. Usually, we anxiously await perfect fruiting weather, but we’ve had a fantastic season and can finally enjoy these delicious mushrooms.

My personal favorite ways to cook maitake are to roast or sauté them. Earthy fall flavors, such as squash, peppers, cabbage and pumpkin, complement the mushroom’s wonderfully nutty taste. Mix it with wild rice, cranberries, and asparagus for a new twist on stuffed squash, or sauté it with garlic and onions to enjoy it on a light pasta dish. It also makes a tasty and healthy topping for pizza. This week, however, I went against the grain and included maitake in a spicy dish with surprisingly pleasing results. This new concoction can be found in the “recipes” section. Although extremely versatile, maitakes have a short shelf life, staying fresh in the refrigerator for only about a week, so be sure you’re ready for them when they finally appear! However, they can be sautéed and frozen in airtight bags for future use.

Roasted maitake and peppers on polenta. Yum Yum!

I hope that the autumn months bring as much enjoyment to our readers as they do to us here at FFP. After all, what could be better than sweatshirt weather, outstanding fall colors, and some homegrown ‘shrooms?

Choice of Farm Enterprises in Agribusiness

High Value crops in Kenya

Choice of farm enterprises from among several possible alternatives in agribusiness is critical. Production resources are scarce and they must be used for maximum profit which is the main theme of agribusiness.  Gross margin analysis is the best management tool to use for enterprise selection, as it indicates whether an entity will cover its cost of production, and only the relevant costs are considered. Therefore the Gross Margin of a farm enterprise is the difference between gross income and the variable costs directly associated with the enterprise. Gross income is calculated by multiplying total yields by the current market price while, Variable cost refers to expenses which can be allocated to a specific enterprise; and they change with alteration of scale. For instance an extra hectare of crop will increase the expenditure on seeds, fertilizer and machinery. Similarly, an increase in the number of sheep in a herd will increase the expenditure on drenching, shearing, and animal feeds. Gross margins do not consider fixed and overhead costs. Fixed costs are expenses which are not affected by a change in the scale of operation. Examples are expenses of vehicle registration which are incurred regardless of whether you plant an extra hectare of crop on the farm or not.

	GROSS INCOME
Minus	VARIABLE COSTS
=	GROSS MARGIN
Minus	FIXED COSTS/ Overheads
=	NET MARGIN
Minus	CAPITAL COSTS  e.g. finance cost, depreciation
=	PROFIT (pre-tax)

In addition, there are other farm costs which cannot easily be charged to a particular commodity because they are spread across all activities on the farm and they are called Overheads. Examples are accountancy fees, vehicle ownership expenditure, electricity charges. Gross margins do not calculate profit but indicates potential profitable enterprises; they are used for comparing relative costs and returns for similar farm activities e.g. wheat vs. barley, predicting the performance of potential alternative farm enterprises, planning farm enterprise mix, and estimating impacts of changes in expected yields, prices and costs.

KALE'S Gross Margin analysis/acre/season

Item	Unit	Quantity	Price/unit- KSH	Value- KSH
Total yields/output	Bags	50	1,200	60,000
Gross income				60,000
Variable costs
Seeds	Kg	0.5	1,000	500
DAP fertilizer	Bag	1	2,500	2,500
CAN fertilizer	Bag	1	1,800	1,800
Nursery establishment & management	MDS	4	150	600
Fertilizer application	MDS	2	150	300
Manure purchase	Tons	1	1,500	1,500
Manure application	MDS	4	150	600
Transplanting	MDS	6	150	900
Insecticide	Litres	1	1,000	1,000
Spraying	MDS	4	150	600
weeding/Harvesting	MDS	10	150	1,500
Total variable cost				11,800
Gross Margin				48,200

Gross margins are most often calculated per production unit e.g. one hectare/acre, one dairy cow or per unit of output e.g. one bag of kales, one kilogram of milk or the whole farm assessment. Gross Margins are most useful when expressed in terms of the most limiting resource, consequently when capital is the most limiting resource, express as gross margin per KSH invested; and when land is the most limiting resource express it per hectare of land. The enterprise with the highest returns to the most limiting resource is preferred. Farm records and accounts are crucial in determining and tracking expenses and returns from various enterprises.

Dairy goat rearing in Kenya

Omodi Displays HisGoat for Sale call 0721332750 

Dairy goats rearing in Kenya is growing fast and contributing to better human nutrition. Dairy goats’ milk is tasty and has higher nutritional value than cows’ milk due to high content of calcium and phosphorus. Most adults and children who are allergic to cows’ milk can tolerate goats’ milk. Increased number of people has become aware of this superior nutritional value and the market for goats’ milk and yoghurt is growing. Goats have become very popular with small scale farmers in urban and densely populated areas. Land sizes are too small to support daily cattle, in which case the goats are stall fed on fodder and crop residues. The main dairy goat breeds reared in Kenya include German alpine which is brown with a black stripe on the spine and shoulders, Toggenburg which is brown with white line on the face, legs, tail and has a high twining rate; Saanem which is white with pink skin pigmentation and has high twining rate, Anglo Nubian which is whitish brown with long drooping ears and adapted to hot climates .

The potential daily milk production of these breeds averages at four litres.

Breeding should be done for the first time at the age of 8-10 months while breeding bucks should have two well developed testicles, and should start mating at 10-12 months of age.

A good house is necessary for successful goat rearing and it should be rain and damp proof, well ventilated, free from sharp objects and direct weed, pest and wild animals proof and slated on the floor for free fall of droppings. A mature goat requires an area of 0.5-0.75 sq m when fully zero grazed. A goat house has two main areas namely sleeping area and feeding area. The sleeping area should have a wall all round with a door, and must be roofed and well ventilated. The feeding area should be open with no roof, fenced all round with a gate. It should have feed trough, water trough, feed racks, slated floor, and a rain proof mineral block pack area.

Goats like feeding at knee high level instead of grazing on the ground like sheep and cows. Goats should be supplied with fresh drinking water at all times. Stall feeding has many advantages and is therefore recommended as it:-

• Does not need a large amount of land as grazing pastures
• Can use many farm products like banana leaves, thinned maize, bean husks etc
• Saves time and labour
• Reduces deaths of kids
• Makes planning and managing breeding easy
• Keeps goats from damaging farm crops
• Makes manure collection easy
• Helps in controlling diseases

Dairy goats are clean feeders and will not eat dirty, stale or mouldy feeds.

A pregnant doe must be fed with high quality feed especially during the last two months. Supplementation with at least 200gm/day of daily meal is recommended. The doe must be provided with flesh water immediately after birth to balance the water loss, and produce enough milk for the newborn. Newborn kids should be fed on colostrums within 24 hours and should be allowed free suckling. At the age of one week kids should be provided with small quantities of good clean feed like sweet potato vines, fodder tree leaves or natural tree leaves. Kids should continue suckling for the first three weeks, and thereafter feed on milk mixed with fresh fodder up to 3-4 months. Water and fodder should be provided to the kids throughout the day for effective gradual learning.For more information read Food of Goat

A farmer should keep simple records of birth dates, birth weight, sire and dam [father and mother], milk records, treatment records, and service dates for effective management of the enterprise.

Read also-http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2013/11/dairy-farming-in-kenya-has-become.htValue addition of goat milk

Natural Goat yoghurt

Yoghurt is milk made sour by the use of two fermentation bacteria namely

• Lactobacillus bulgaricus which is an acid forming bacteria and
• Streptococcus thermophillus which produces yoghurt flavor.

General rules of yoghurt making

• Test the milk to ensure freshness
• Sieve the milk to remove any dirt particles
• Indirect heating using double saucepan or a water bath should be done to avoid sticking and formation of off-flavors

Ingredients

• 15 litres goat milk
• 2 gms bacteria culture
• 700 gms sugar
• Packaging materials

Procedure

• Pasteurization-Mix the milk with sugar, heat the mixture stirring until the sugar dissolves, continue heating to a temperature of 80-85ºC using a double saucepan and hold for 30 minutes.

• Inoculation-Fast cool the milk to 40-45ºC and inoculate with bacteria culture and stir thoroughly for 2 minutes
• Incubation-Store the milk in a thermostat for about 3 hours, at a temperature of 40-42ºC in order to coagulate. The mixture should not be disturbed at this stage otherwise it will separate.
• Fermentation-Leave the milk at room temperature for 8-12 hours in order to ferment
• Pack and fast cool to 10ºC in a refrigerator. If no refrigerator is available the yoghurt should be consumed within 12 hours.

NB:use only alcohol thermometer in order to avoid mercury poisoning in case of thermometer breakage.See  http://yagrein.blogspot.com/2014/03/small-scale-ice-cream-making-in-kenya.html

Agribusiness for sustainable rural development in Africa

Agribusiness refers to the business of farming and related activities which include agricultural production, farming inputs trade, agricultural finance services, processing of agricultural produce, and supply of agricultural goods.  The objective of agribusiness like any other business is to maximize profits. In most African countries farming business for a long time has been a domain of large scale producers and processors, as the majority of small scale farmers practiced subsistence rain fed agriculture. However in recent years, small scale farming in Africa has embraced commercial production of high value crops, due to increasing economic challenges. Various stakeholders and agriculture development agents including some African governments’ are currently  promoting small scale irrigation, rural processing of agriculture produce, record keeping ,farming business planning, value addition and entrepreneurship as strategies for improving economic opportunities and livelihoods of rural farming communities. 

Linkage of agricultural production in Africa to value addition through agro-processing is advantageous in stabilizing commodity markets, farm business returns, and planning production for a regular supply of adequate and good quality farm produce. In view of agriculture business considerations such as availability of commodity market, agricultural technology, agricultural skills and government agricultural policy, the people in farming businesses in Africa need to select the enterprises that are suitable for their regions. Agricultural marketing is yet another vital activity in farming business which needs strengthening and it refers to everything that is done for increased profit and consumer satisfaction. People involved in farming business need capacity building in marketing activities such as market planning, sales promotion, websites marketing, branding, advertising and keeping abreast with new effective technologies for profit optimization and sustainability of the farming business.

Farming businesses in Africa are not without challenges and they lack access to credits.  The existing credit institutions are harsh towards agriculture particularly small-holders in due to their inflexible requirements and high interest rates. Therefore more help from development agencies is needed to avail alternative ways of accessing credit. Agriculture in Africa is perceived as an occupation for the old, uneducated poor people. Focusing on the youth is compulsory for sustainable agriculture development in any country. Farming business development needs the strength, enthusiasm and innovation of the young people. Competitive profitable agriculture will ensure creation of employment opportunities in farming business which will help the young people in rural Africa to escape poverty and social vices. Agro-processing companies in the rural areas of Africa face numerous problems due to poor state of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water, market information systems, and wholesale market facilities. Securing raw materials and selling the products is by no means easy. Furthermore agro-processing lacks recognition by policy makers and agriculture industry leaders as a competitive value adding sector with positive development impact.