A village, a village or any available land offers many opportunities for a person to develop a business. Someone prefers to grow vegetables and then sell them on the market, someone raises rabbits or goats, someone can build a chicken farm and make good money selling eggs and meat. But another option for a home-based business is to set up a small cattle farm. However, before you build a farm, you should figure out whether it is profitable to keep cows at all, what care is needed, how to successfully raise calves.
Basic principles of a mini farm
Before embarking on the construction work, it is necessary to analyze in detail all the nuances and possible pitfalls of this home business. Before you build a farm, you should take into account that the key role here is played by:
- features of cattle on a farm in the warm and cold season, depending on climatic conditions;
- dairy and meat breeds of cattle, the rules for their maintenance and production of products in a modern way;
- what is the best way to sell the products and sell the dung from cows.
Areas of work
Before you build a mini-farm, you should pay attention to the fact that it can focus on getting milk or meat. But inexperienced farmers in this matter do not always understand in which version of livestock production they need to move, and also with what conditions to provide livestock, depending on the breeding method. To do this, it is worth considering in more detail separately meat and dairy farms.
Meat farm
Before you build a farm for cows, it is worth considering that the meat direction is more expensive than dairy. The main thing here is to choose the right calves or heifer in order to feed them in the future. This will not require the construction of additional premises, and equipment for the maintenance of the farm is minimized. It will only require funds to acquire good feed for cattle in order to successfully raise a calf or heifer at home, and in the future to breed animals.
If the main goal of animal husbandry is to make profit as soon as possible, then this option is most suitable. However, if the farmer plans to organize long-term entrepreneurship, it is best to build cattle farms for the production and sale of dairy products.
Currently, the most widely used home-based family models of farm projects that facilitate the maintenance of bulls. This includes the following technologies and methods:
- when the age of the calves reaches 1 year, they must be raised in stalls;
- the grazing period of cattle at breeding is used to the maximum;
- calves can be fed milk at home until the age of seven months;
- the use of automatic dispensers and dispensers for feed, which are very convenient to care for;
- the use of a home loose housing care option for livestock - with this method, cows are simply in the stalls.
Milk farm
Before you build a farm aimed at obtaining dairy products, you should pay attention to the fact that the main element here is the hall where cows are milked. To get the maximum result, its construction must be regulated according to strict dairy standards, as well as the installation of appropriate equipment. As a result, the farm, which will contain cows according to the rules, will become a rather profitable business, like any well-organized livestock farming with good products.
As a rule, business uses loose housing in separate stalls or in whole groups. Cows are fed only in the yard for walking. Drinking will need to be provided with special automatic drinkers directly inside the premises. Cattle raised for milk need water at a temperature of about 12 degrees. Every chick is drunk and milked every day.
What is a mini farm
Speaking about animal husbandry, it should be noted that this area is limited by a rather strict framework with respect to all of its spheres. Before building a farm, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the room in which the animals will be kept must meet several fairly important requirements:
- Universality, thanks to which it is possible to raise livestock in absolutely any climatic conditions and in any available way, so that the heifers feel as comfortable as possible.
- The ability to conduct water and electrical communications in all rooms to make it comfortable to care for each animal and milk the heifer.
- Availability of the necessary equipment required to service cattle (cows and bulls), including loose housing.
- In order to successfully grow a cow, calf or bull, the total area should be at least 1000 square meters, so that the livestock feel comfortable.
- Speaking about how to properly build a farm, you should pay attention to the fact that all the ceilings in the premises should be at least 6 m. Crampedness can adversely affect milk production and raising calves of young age.
To build a farm from scratch, it is also necessary to take into account that such a business requires a certain type of premises, depending on the orientation. There is always a modernly equipped workshop on dairy farms where milk is bottled. On meat farms there is a carcass cutting area and a laboratory.
There is a so-called cold method of growing calves, implying that the animals must constantly breathe cool fresh air, and the humidity and temperature of the air in the room should be similar to the natural outdoor conditions. Currently, there are many different projects thanks to which you can build a farm for 100 animals. All of them are designed to create such conditions under which cows will grow and feel great.
Farm Site Selection
Before you build a farm for animals, you must correctly select the land on which calves will be raised at home. The following criteria are taken into account:
- the area of the plot should be at least 1000 square meters;
- the territory should include a pasture or a place where it will be possible to build various kinds of hangars;
- there should also be a place for walking;
- there should be haymaking for the winter.
Much will also depend on the method of raising calves at home, that is, loose housing will be practiced or not, and what kind of farm will be - meat or dairy. It is worth paying attention to the fact that it will be more advantageous to maintain mini-farms that do not have their own food supply. In this case, all profits from the family trade in milk or meat will be used to feed livestock. Livestock is a pretty serious business where productivity is important.
Building equipment
To build a successful business, you must adhere to some plans and rules. The size of the stall for one cow or heifer should be 1 by 2 m. In each box, the calf must create a small slope where the waste will be collected. In addition, the door must be in the compartment so that it is easy to remove manure.
For a dairy farm, you will have to further consider the layout of the milking system, as well as a good supply of water. Modern automatic milking machines cost less than hiring milkmaids. In addition, attention must be paid to the area in which the cows will be bred. Cattle breeding should have a return on turnover.
Animal acquisition
Selection of calves will be based primarily on the future orientation of the farm. For a dairy farm, it is necessary to purchase cows with a large udder without hair, a rounded trunk and an islet withers. It is recommended to buy young animals, since each of them can take a maximum of milk.
When choosing meat breeds, it is best to opt for completely healthy and unpretentious animals that are very heavy. At the time of purchase, when calculating the number of individuals, one must also take into account the estimated turnover of the herd of cattle.
Livestock feeding
The farm must have equipment for feeding. Feeding troughs can be single or group. The choice is best to stop on wooden products, as they are distinguished by simplicity of design and excellent quality. The same applies to drinking bowls. To check the mass of livestock before selling or other procedures, there should be scales on the mini-farm. This is especially true if animals are raised for meat.
Farm staff
If the farm is located in a village or in a village, it is best to hire locals. The vacancies that will be required to care for dairy and meat cows: handymen, milkmaid, farm caretaker, livestock specialist, sales manager, accountant, as well as a person who will monitor the health of each animal.
Cost and Profit
The approximate amount that will be required to organize the necessary conditions for the cultivation of dairy or meat cows should be from 650 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles. This includes the construction of the building, the purchase of livestock, the design of individual entrepreneurship, the development of a business plan. The first year will also require the purchase of feed, pay for the labor of hired workers, taxes, and there will also be costs for various unforeseen expenses that are associated with breeding animals. Profit will depend entirely on how well the organization of the whole business is conducted.
Conclusion
Household has great prospects. However, to achieve some success, it will take a lot of effort and time. Since in our country, farms have good support from the state, if you conduct business correctly, you can get good income. In addition, there has always been and will be a great demand for agricultural products in both domestic and foreign markets. The main thing is to clearly draw up a plan, to weigh all the positive and negative sides, to study well the rules that are associated with the conduct of such a business, whether it is the production of milk or meat.