Novice entrepreneurs who just choose an idea for their own agricultural business often pay attention primarily to sheep husbandry. And this is not surprising. Sheep breeding, indeed, is a profitable direction for starting a business. And there are several reasons for this. Firstly, sheep are relatively unpretentious in keeping, do not require laborious care. Secondly, they have good immunity, and death among sheep is much less common than in other animals. Thirdly, sheep breeding also does not arise, as a rule, any problems.
You can start breeding these animals even with a small livestock. Fourth, meat, wool and milk are valued among consumers, and the demand for these products is consistently high. Sheep are precocious animals whose puberty occurs at the age of 5-6 months. The average fecundity of most sheep breeds is 120-150%, the maximum (in the Romanov breed) 250-300%. The high early maturity and unpretentiousness of these animals allows you to quickly recover the investment. The average daily gain in body weight before beating is 250-300 grams and can reach up to 600 grams per day. By the age of four months, the live weight of young animals reaches 50% of the live weight of adult animals, and by the age of 80–90%.
According to statistics, the demand for food is growing every year. And this applies not only to industrial production, but also to farm production. About 9 tons of mutton are consumed annually in the world, and a considerable part of this total volume falls to Russia.
However, the ideal business does not exist. Everywhere there are minuses and pluses. In the case of sheep breeding, it was not without drawbacks. The main one is a relatively low profitability, which is estimated at 15-20%. Although, in general, for agriculture, this figure is very good. In addition, this is the best option for “entering the business, ” if before that you had no experience in animal husbandry, in general. Sheep breeding will bring a stable profit, which you can use to expand your economy and search for new directions for earning.
Sheep breeding prospects in Russia
Experts estimate the time to start their own sheep breeding business as generally favorable. Today, competition in this segment is minimal: sheep breeding in our country is still in crisis. The number of livestock, according to studies, until recently, has been rapidly declining every year. However, now the situation is gradually changing. Noteworthy statistics are provided in various articles. About 10 million sheep belong to private households in Russia, about five million animals to agricultural enterprises, and only a little more than one million to farms. Two years ago, the total number of sheep and goats in our country amounted to 24 million heads. Compared to previous years, a tendency towards slow but steady growth is observed. Moreover, the largest increase in the number of sheep is observed in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts.
However, such a “territorial” link is understandable. Although the sheep themselves are quite unpretentious, not all the territory of the Russian Federation is suitable for their breeding. First of all, the main conditions for the development of sheep breeding are the availability of free pastures and the predominance of tropical and subtropical zones. The following regions correspond to these criteria - the North Caucasus, the Southern Federal District, the Volga Region, the Central Black Earth Region and the southern part of the Urals. These territories are the largest sheep breeding areas in Russia. And each region has its own "specialization." Breeds of sheep that are bred in a particular region are directly dependent on its natural conditions. Thus, fine-fleece sheep breeding is widespread in the Central Black Earth region, and in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, the most coarse-haired sheep can be found. In the Southern Federal District, valuable breeds of semi-fine-crowned sheep predominate, and in the Orenburg region they are engaged in rough-haired smush and meat-greasy sheep breeding.
That is, in the steppes and semi-steppes fine-fleeced rocks predominate. More humid and milder climatic conditions are suitable for breeding fine-wool and meat-wool breeds. Cold and mountainous regions provide more favorable conditions for meat and dairy and meat and fat coarse breeds. Dry sheep breeding in Russia is concentrated in desert and semi-desert regions. In general, sheep husbandry is most developed in the North Caucasus, which is due to the presence of large areas for grazing sheep and at the same time a low percentage of the urban population.
Peasant farming or personal subsidiary farming: what to choose?
Beginning entrepreneurs - farmers and owners of private farms often ask themselves: "What is the most profitable form to choose for work -" personal subsidiary farming "or" peasant (farm) farming? ". The features of each of these forms of agricultural activity are regulated by the following legislative acts: “On the peasant (farm) economy” and “On the personal subsidiary farming”.
According to the law, personal subsidiary farming is, first of all, a non-entrepreneurial form of conducting agricultural activities to satisfy personal, family needs for own agricultural products produced on one's own land plot. But the peasant (farm) economy implies conducting entrepreneurial activity with all the ensuing consequences - both rights and opportunities, as well as obligations and expenses.
We consider each of the above forms individually, paying attention, first of all, to their distinguishing features. A peasant farm is subject to registration with the tax authorities and has the ability to work legally from the moment of making an entry on the establishment of the farm in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. A personal subsidiary farm is not subject to registration, activities can be carried out from the moment of registration of rights to the land plot (in this case, only LPH is kept in the household books of local administrations).
The peasant farm is obliged to submit reports to the tax authorities and extra-budgetary funds. Personal subsidiary farming does not have this duty.
The peasant farm pays contributions to extrabudgetary funds for workers and members of the farm. Private household enterprise has the right to voluntarily enter into a relationship of compulsory pension insurance.
The total area of land in private farms is limited (up to 2.5 hectares, depending on the subject of the Russian Federation). Land in the farm is not limited in area, which is more profitable if you initially plan to produce products in large volumes.
Beginner farmers have the opportunity to receive grants and material assistance for the creation and development of the economy. For private farms this assistance is not provided. Note that the help is very good for new farms. The peasant farm as a subject of economic relations receives more serious and significant support for subsidizing interest rates, partial compensation of costs incurred.
Thus, according to the law, neither private household plots themselves, nor the sale of agricultural products by citizens leading private household plots, is and is not regarded as entrepreneurial activity. This means that the relevant provisions of the law on entrepreneurship are not applicable to it, so you can consider it as a special form of conducting your own business. Peasant (farm) farming is a more serious form of agricultural business. There are farmers who own several thousand hectares of land and who successfully compete with large agricultural holdings.
Private household plots, as the name implies (“personal” and “auxiliary”), are not oriented towards participation in entrepreneurial relations. The main goal of the activity in this case is to provide yourself and loved ones with products from your site. In this case, the resulting surplus is allowed to be sold. If initially you do not have much experience in animal husbandry and / or the necessary starting capital for organizing your own farm, it is advisable to start your own business as a private household. But as soon as you reach more or less large volumes and start producing agricultural products on land plots with an area of more than 2.5 hectares (and obviously not for the purpose of satisfying personal and family needs, but for commercial purposes), in these cases you will have to register as a peasant (farm) economy.
According to the law, peasant farms are a community of people engaged in joint activities for the production and sale of agricultural products. Based on Art. 1 of the Law "On Peasant Farm", peasant farm may not create a legal entity. Their registration is carried out on the same conditions as individual entrepreneurs (individual entrepreneurs). The founders of the farm must sign an agreement on the establishment of a peasant farm and send their contract to the registration authority.
The package of documents required for the registration of peasant farms includes: an application for registration of a farm; copy and original passport of the head of the peasant farm; power of attorney at the MFC; receipt that a state duty was paid on the establishment of the economy; a document that confirms the place of residence of the person registering the farm (if there is no Russian citizenship, then a temporary residence permit and residence permit are required); copy and original birth certificate. In addition to these documents, before opening a farm, you must obtain permission from the SES.
Where to start?
First of all, you need to find a pasture where the herd will feed. Actually, with the search for pasture, the organization of farming begins. When planning, you need to consider that for the feeding of one sheep (including offspring), 1 ha of pasture per year is required. Having calculated the number of sheep in the herd, you need to acquire the necessary space.
Do not complicate your task and build a farm from scratch. The situation in the Russian livestock industry is still rather complicated. Southern rural areas are full of empty farms with dilapidated corrals and stalls. But it’s easier to restore existing corrals than rebuild them from scratch. It also makes no sense to make a heating system in the sheep pen: the sheep tolerate the cold well. In case of abnormal frosts, when the temperature drops to extremely low indicators, you can put a stove-potbelly stove in the pen. All the same, the costs will be much less than when equipping a heated room for keeping animals.
Sheep breeds
Breeds of sheep vary depending on the "purpose" of animals. There are meat breeds, meat and wool, meat-and-fat and meat and dairy. In the framework of this article we will consider the meat and meat-wool breeds, which are most common in our country.
Prekos breed was bred in the second half of the XIX century. in France by crossing French fine-fleeced sheep of the ramboule type with the English meat breed Leister. Ripening French sheep were brought to Germany and on their basis the breed Merino Fleisch (meat merino) was bred. Thus, several types of prekos formed, on the exterior and fineness of the wool close to merino, but differing in the absence of skin folds. Prekos sheep are well-built and have a strong constitution. Due to the wide back, lower back and thighs, sheep of this breed have a barrel-shaped shape. The head of the sheep is covered with hair to the line of the eyes. On the legs, six reaches the wrist and hock. Usually, rams and uterus of the species Prekos are hornless, but horned sheep are found, which is not considered a vice. The live weight of adult fattened sheep reaches 110-130 kg, queens - 58-67 kg. About 7-9 kg of wool is obtained from sheep, 3.8-4 kg from queens, the average fiber length is 7-9 cm with a fineness of 58-60 quality. The yield of pure wool usually reaches 45-48%. The weight of lambs at birth is on average 4-5 kg, at 4 months of age - 30-34 kg. If the sheep are provided with good feeding conditions, then for a year from one uterus you can get up to 55 kg of mutton.
Another typical meat breed, texel, is known for its unique meat qualities. Representatives of this breed at all ages are characterized by a higher content of muscle tissue in carcasses, have a maximum slaughter mass and a slaughter yield. The meat is juicy, well textured, without an unpleasant specific odor, has its own unique taste, takes less time to cook, does not leave a greasy taste in the mouth. Lambs have excellent meat tastes, they give tender marbled meat, have increased growth energy, lean carcasses, outstanding meat forms, the bone mass of the axial section of the skeleton of lambs is low. Slaughter carcass yield is 55-60%.
Romanovskaya breed was bred more than 200 years ago in the Yaroslavl region. Sheeps of this breed are known for their high multiple fertility, which is one of the key factors in achieving good meat productivity. One uterus can bring up to five lambs and more, which is very attractive for individual farms. The live weight of Romanov’s rams, even with moderate feeding, can reach 35 kg by the age of 7–8 months. Adult rams weigh an average of 80-90 kg, uterus - 45-50 kg. If you shear Romanovsk sheep three times a year, 2.5-3 kg of wool can be obtained from sheep, 1.5-2 kg from queens. High fertility and good precocity allow you to get a large yield of young lamb. So, the live weight of triple offspring in 7-8 months after lambing is about 100-110 kg, and when 5-6 lambs are received from one uterus, their total weight can reach 200-250 kg. Romanov’s uterus is valued most of all for the ability to come to the hunt, that is, to fertilize and produce offspring at any time of the year 2-3 times a year. With good feeding from Romanovsk sheep for 100 days of lactation, you can get 100-110 kg of milk with a fat content of 7-8%.
Hissar sheep are the largest sheep in the world. The weight of the average ram is 130-140 kg and can reach 180-190 kg, the live weight of the queens is 70-80 kg and can grow up to 100-120 kg. Lambs are born already at a weight of 5-7 kg. Young growth is characterized by high precocity. When weaning, the weight of the rams reaches 45–50 kg, and the tines - 40–45 kg. The fecundity of the Hissar sheep is satisfactory. The weight of fat tail fat in adult sheep is usually 15-20 kg, and sometimes 35-45 kg. The coat of sheep of this breed is coarse, with a lot of thick spine, dead and dry hair. Shear sheep twice a year - in spring and autumn. The wool yield from rams is 1.3-1.6 kg, from queens - 1-1.4 kg. The cutting force is 0.4-0.5 kg.
We have described only a few breeds that are widespread. But in fact, of course, there are many more. Choosing a breed is not an easy task, especially for a beginner breeder. If you do not have enough knowledge and experience, then before buying animals, it is advisable to consult with experienced specialists, as well as to study special literature (fortunately, there is no shortage of it now). Specialists advise beginners to purchase a small number of sheep to start with, and then, having gained some experience, gradually expand the stock. During this time, you can study the demand and understand the specifics of a particular breed. Sheep give many types of valuable products - wool (it also happens different - thin, half-thin and rough), meat, fat, sheepskin and milk. True, dairy sheep breeding in Russia, in general, is practically undeveloped, so it will be very difficult to find specialized dairy breeds. Previously, sheep breeds were selected based on the criteria of adaptability to local climatic and feed conditions. However, now in connection with the general decline of the sheep industry in the country, one has to be content with what is. Breeding animals can only be purchased in the Brest (multi-fertile semi-fine-crowned type) and in the Vitebsk (Romanovsk sheep) regions. The choice is not so great. Although, if desired, you can find good representatives of other breeds, including prekos. However, for this you will have to contact the breeding farms. In most regions, local sheep are bred with an admixture of blood of various types and breeds that were previously bred in our country. These, in general, are not bad animals, but experts recommend buying sheep from experienced owners and working to improve the herd using highly productive breeding sheep.
There is another problem with the search for breeding animals. The fact is that in the USSR for a long time in the first place in sheep husbandry was getting wool. At the same time, sheep meat interest in sheep farmers to a lesser extent. Now the situation has changed exactly the opposite. Modern sheep breeding is aimed at the production of lamb, in the first place. Today, revenue from the sale of valuable meat reaches 90%, and from the sale of wool hardly reaches 10%. This is due to the fact that science does not stand still, modern technologies come to replace natural materials. But if you can find an analogue of natural wool in the textile industry, then in meat production the situation is exactly the opposite.
Thus, in your business plan, the purchase of pedigree cattle will occupy, if not the leading, then one of the main places. Moreover, they buy animals on certified certified farms. There are very few of those in our country. For example, in the Stavropol Territory, a targeted program for the creation of meat sheep breeding is being introduced, within the framework of which texel and polle dorset sheep of early ripening meat breeds were brought into the local economy from abroad. Already now you can get some good representatives of these breeds there.
In the future, in order to avoid intergeneric crossbreeding, experts advise updating producers by purchasing animals from different farms.
The most popular among domestic producers is the Romanov meat breed of sheep. Other breeds are gradually becoming more widespread - Texel, Prekos, Russian Longhair, Suffolk and many others.
Sheep farming as a business
Sheep are quite unpretentious animals. They do not require special nutrition, easily tolerate various diseases. On average, a sheep lives up to 25 years. Although reproductive abilities persist only for 7-8 years. There are also representatives who retain their reproductive functions for a longer time. They are also used in breeding to transfer this quality to the next generation.
If you find pastures and premises for keeping sheep, as well as the livestock of the future herd, then you need to take care of other components of your farm. For every 300 animals you need one shepherd (shepherd). In addition to him, other employees will be required: a veterinarian, a haircut specialist (it is not necessary to keep him on the farm, you can call him as necessary) and a milkmaid. Thus, the total number of employees in a small farm is four.
Wool, milk and fat are not the most popular products. Unlike meat, which is in good demand. Thus, meat products are sold through city meat markets, cafes, restaurants, barbecue, specialized meat shops, food markets, etc. Baranina is still considered exotic meat in our country. Demand for it is lower than for poultry, beef or pork. But still it is present, which is due, first of all, to the spread of national cuisine, where lamb dishes predominate.
So, to organize a farm on a livestock of 300 sheep, the following costs will be required. The rent of land will take from 150 thousand rubles. For the construction and / or repair of premises - from another 100 thousand rubles. Salaries for farm workers will be from 700 thousand rubles per year, and overhead - from 80 thousand rubles per year. Thus, the organization of a farm will require from 1 million rubles. Revenues consist of the sale of live sheep (from 500 thousand rubles a year, based on a hundred heads for 5 thousand rubles per head), the sale of meat (another half a million rubles per year), the sale of wool (from 100 thousand rubles). The payback period of such a business is from two years.
Sysoeva Lilia
(c) www.clogicsecure.com - a portal to small business business plans and guides
08/18/2019