Goat breeding – conditions for breaking even, selection of breed, determination of specialization, business plan + video with advice from farmers

Given the current volumes of dairy product consumption in Russia, opening a mini-farm is the optimal solution for starting business activity. Farming for goat breeding and dairy production is promising both in terms of payback and for further expansion.

This material presents a detailed business plan for a goat farm. The article will tell you about the specifics of the case and the necessary investments.

1. The situation on the Russian milk market 2. What goods can be produced on a farm? 3. Benefits of goat milk 4. Basic costs of starting a business 5. Land rent 6. Buildings 7. Equipment 8. Breeding and feeding 9. Personnel 10. Payback calculation 11. Promotion 12. Conclusion

The situation on the Russian milk market

The Russian dairy market has not been in the best condition in recent years. Since 2012, consumption of milk and milk-containing products has been declining. However, according to experts, the situation will soon improve. In the future, we can count on recovery and growth in consumption.

The goat milk market is very poorly developed in Russia and the CIS countries. The overwhelming share of the product is produced by individual farms with a small number of livestock. The number of dairy goats in the country is estimated at 1.5-2 million.

Demand for goat milk is growing - it is a healthy product that consumers are increasingly looking for on store shelves. The ban on European imports, the lack of competitors and growing demand are factors that will definitely have a positive impact on the livestock business.

Milk, meat or fluff: make your choice

Before you begin economic calculations, you should decide which product will become the main product on your farm: milk or fluff (wool)? Resist the temptation to exclaim: “Both of this, and another, and more!” The fact is that dairy goat breeds are distinguished by high milk yields, but have poor quality wool that is not very valuable. Downy breeds, on the contrary, produce excellent wool, but little milk. It is expensive to maintain both of them at the first stage of business development - after all, each breed of goat will require a separate room and a special diet. Care costs will also double.

For a startup, it is more profitable to focus on milk: even small volumes can bring profit if you are able to find a sales market and acquire a regular clientele. Thus, in Moscow and the region, in cottage villages, the service of home delivery of dairy products from farms is becoming increasingly popular. Selling down is profitable only if the herd size is high (more than 100 goats), or if your plans include creating a full-cycle agricultural enterprise where milk, meat, and wool will be produced on an ongoing basis.

By the way, about meat. If slaughtering animals raised with your own hands does not cause you moral torment, there is good news: both dairy and downy goats are eaten. But in terms of taste, this meat is considered average (not for everyone) and is not valued as highly as beef or pork.

Table: best breeds - find your goat

For comparison: from a goat of the downy Pridonskaya breed you can milk up to 300 liters of milk and remove up to 500 g of fluff, and from a goat of the dairy Russian breed - up to 850 liters of milk and remove 100–200 g of fluff.

The Cameroon goat produces tasty milk with a pleasant creamy tint.

Advice from experienced people

If you choose among dairy breeds, then, definitely, Saanen. These are very good goats. When breeding, it is worth considering that milk and productive characteristics are passed from mother to daughter, the father is not so important. Saanen goats are white in color, with medium hair, large animals, this partly explains the high milk yield. And they, accordingly, eat more than other dairy goats and drink more. This should be taken into account. Sometimes I come across an absolutely wild belief about goats that a goat must be fed so that it does not die. What milk yields can we talk about in this case? Saanen goats, if properly cared for, do produce high milk yields.

Zinaida56

https://www.agroxxi.ru/forum/topic/1778-does-a-goat-farm-bring-income/

What goods can be produced on a farm?

Goats - small livestock - are capable of producing more than just milk. Other products in demand include animal meat and goat hair. At the same time, you can breed animals and sell them at fairs.

But most of the revenue will come from the sale of milk. For several reasons:

• Goat meat is not in high demand among buyers. You need to be able to cook it correctly so that it turns out soft, without an unpleasant smell or taste.
• Producing goat hair will take a long time. You will have to comb the goats and look after them.

For each specialization, you need to choose your own breed: dairy, meat, down or wool goats.

In this material we will consider the production and sale of milk.

Purchasing heads

At the initial stages, it is not advisable to take downy breeds. They need constant brushing, which will be a problem for a beginner. The best option is dairy breeds.

It is better to purchase from specialized farms. Ordinary sellers can sell sick young animals, which will die in the near future, and the entrepreneur will incur unnecessary financial expenses.

Benefits of goat milk

Goat milk is considered the healthiest. This is a hypoallergenic product that is well absorbed by the body (5 times faster than cow's). It contains many vitamins and nutrients, including B12, which is necessary for hematopoiesis and regulation of metabolic processes. It also contains various vitamins A, B, C, D, E, H, PP. Goat's milk helps get rid of vitamin deficiency. It generally has a beneficial effect on the human body, nervous and vascular systems, and bone tissue.

Goat's milk is best for a baby as a substitute for human milk.

By regularly consuming this product, you can recover from a number of diseases, including colitis, eczema, migraines, and osteoporosis. These and other benefits of goat milk can and should be used when promoting the product.

Home Farm Maintenance

One person will not be able to breed and maintain a goat farm. Even to raise goats for milk, not to mention other related products, you will need helpers. In addition to care, cleaning of premises, feeding of animals, and supply of products for sale are required.

As farm workers you need:

• milking operators – 2 people;
• general workers – 2 people;
• accountant – 1 person;
• veterinarian – 1 person;
• supplier (seller) of products – 2 people.

In order to save money, the services of an accountant and veterinarian can be used periodically. An agreement should be concluded with them.

Please note: per 1000 heads, more service personnel will be needed, because this fact is due to an increase in production volume.

Basic costs of starting a business

Let's assume that we want to open a small goat farm for 50 heads. For its opening and further operation, sufficient initial capital will be required. The main expense items are shown in the table below.

Table 1. Basic costs of opening a goat farm

Prices are taken based on studying the offer on the global network.

The amount of food costs may vary depending on how much product the farmer wants to receive. The productivity of goats depends directly on what they eat.

We are building a goat barn

Consider the example of a dairy farm with ten milking goats. The first question is the construction of the barn. Based on the area standards for one head with offspring, for these purposes you will need a goat house measuring 8 by 5 m. The most technologically advanced way to build similar premises is a frame structure with external cladding made of OSB boards.

The cost of materials per square meter of area of ​​such a goat shed with insulated walls, with an attic for hay and under a roofing felt roof is about 1,500 rubles. Two people alone can complete the construction of such a room in 10 days. Then its cost:

8 m × 5 m × 1,500 rub./m² = 60,000 rub.

A characteristic feature of goats is that when they “escape” into the wild, they destroy all useful vegetation in the area. If you allow your animals to get into your neighbor's garden, this is an inevitable war. In addition, it is necessary to protect them from dogs, which are abundant in holiday villages and villages. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase an electric fence and periodically fence off areas for grazing.

Additionally, it is necessary to arrange a pasture next to the goat shed for feeding the animals in winter and a shed for storing hay. Approximately the costs for the entire complex can be estimated at 80,000 rubles.

Land lease

It is necessary to erect a complex of structures to house animals and support production processes. As a basis for a future farm, you can use abandoned farms, of which there are many left since the collapse of the USSR and the crisis of the 1990s. However, in our plan, the building will be built from scratch.

To begin with, you should rent 0.5-0.7 hectares of land outside the city. It is important to choose a site suitable for construction, close to transport routes.

Part of the land will be occupied by the farm itself: a goat shed, warehouses, utility rooms, production rooms with equipment. Most of the land will be needed for walking the herd (pasture). Goats need walks in the fresh air for health and better milk yield.

Flaws

Doing business can be overshadowed by the following points:

• not all retail chains are ready to work with private farmers, which makes it difficult to ensure maximum load;
• requires special knowledge in farming and raising goats;
• low profitability; to increase it, it is necessary to maintain a large number of livestock;
• difficulties with purchasing certain breeds of goats;
• the preservation of the frequency of the breed should be ensured;
• Most areas with pastures are difficult to connect to.

The buildings

1. A goat barn is an insulated, well-ventilated room for keeping goats. For 1 adult animal you need 2 sq. m area. That is, 100-125 sq. m will be occupied directly by the paddocks. There should also be space for newborn kids (young animals) and males (kept separately).
2. A milking parlor in which livestock will be milked using special equipment. You can save money by installing a milking machine directly in the goat barn.
3. Rooms for processing: filtration, cooling and pasteurization of milk, its packaging. The appropriate equipment is installed here.
4. A room for refrigeration equipment where products will be stored until they are sold or transported for sale.
5. Warehouse for storing feed, hay, containers.
6. Rooms for rest and storage of staff belongings. This also includes rooms where employees will change into work clothes, showers and toilets.

Sample business plan

Goat farming as a business for a beginning farmer develops in stages. Before opening a case, you need to understand the procedure. To start something like this you need:

• Develop a business plan.
• Think over the sales channel.
• Submit an application to the tax office to register a business.
• Statistical authorities are required to provide OKVED codes.
• Get a certificate.
• Submit documents to the administration for renting a land plot.
• Obtaining a sanitary epidemiological certificate from Rospotrebnadzor.
• Obtain permission from the fire and environmental authorities.
• Receive a subsidy from the state for business development.
• Equip a barn.
• Provide free range for livestock.
• Purchase specimens and food.

The main stages of conducting such activities are listed above. Of course, you can bypass the rental stage if you have your own premises for keeping livestock.

Equipment

Goat breeding as a business will require the purchase of special equipment for storing, processing, preparing, and packaging the product. Purchasing equipment is one of the main expenses when organizing a business.

The technical room must be equipped with all necessary equipment, including pumps, filters, tables, and an air conditioning system. Modular dairy plants are sold on the Russian market - economic complexes prepared for operation. Often, purchasing a ready-made dairy plant is the best option for an entrepreneur. Moreover, if the manufacturer-seller independently carries out installation and commissioning.

Sale of young animals

Goat farming for the sale of purebred kids also does not require the purchase of milking equipment, obtaining certificates for the quality and production of products.

A goat brings 2 kids at a time, but she can do this every year. If the main focus is not dairy, then individuals can live up to 20 years. At the same time, the reproductive age is about 10 years.

It is almost impossible to buy purebred goats in the Russian Federation. The livestock will have to be formed by delivery from European countries. Purchase, transportation and payment of VAT will cost about 700 euros.

The cost of further raising a goat reaches 15 thousand rubles, and from its sale it will be possible to get about 40 thousand rubles.

Breeding productive breeds is considered a profitable business, since there is a shortage and high cost of livestock in the Russian Federation. But acquiring the status of a breeder requires a lot of bureaucratic procedures. For a high income there should be a herd of about 30 thousand goats.

Breeding and feeding

Goats should be kept in rooms with good lighting during the day, at a temperature not lower than 8°C. The inside should be clean, without drafts. Animals need to be walked regularly. It is recommended to fence the pasture with a fence (goats are very curious and can run away).

1. Animals should eat only high-quality feed. Their health and the quality of the final product - that is, milk - depend on this. They use succulent, roughage and concentrated feeds and compound feeds. For the winter, it is recommended to stock up on fresh green feed and hay. Water should be given clean, warm, twice a day.
2. It is optimal to bring goats for mating in the fall. Then by next year the young animals will grow up and be able to go out to graze. This will allow the kids to get stronger and grow faster. 1 breeder goat can inseminate 20-25 goats, but he should not be their relative - in this case, weak individuals will be born.

Interior arrangement

The type of internal equipment of a goat farm depends on the breed of animals, region of location, climate, financial capabilities and the scale of the project. Different equipment is recommended for different goat breeds:

• Stalls for housing separate groups of animals.
• Laying mats.
• Manual or automatic drinkers.
• Feeders for hay, root crops or mixed feed.

The equipment is arranged in such a way that each group of barn inhabitants can receive food in full and drink the required amount of clean water. Find out more about setting up a goat farm.

Staff

Maintenance of a mini-farm of 50 animals does not require a lot of staff. A staff of 5 people will be able to monitor the animals, cleanliness, and operate the equipment. Their tasks include feeding and all animal care work, maintenance of equipment, maintaining cleanliness in the goat barn and other farm premises, preparing products for delivery and, if a driver is available, logistics.

No specialized education is required to operate the machines. It is enough to take a course in equipment management.

Creating a goat farm in the countryside provides another advantage: you can hire workers from local residents, and wages in the provinces are lower than in the city. Due to this, costs can be reduced.

Containment room

You need to start a business by arranging the premises. It is necessary to create comfortable living conditions for animals.

The goat's rue should be warm and dry. The room can be built of wood or brick. The inside walls are covered with whitewash. In winter, the temperature should not drop below 7 degrees. To maintain comfortable conditions, the walls can be insulated. Good ventilation is a must. Wood shavings or sawdust are placed on the floors.

You can build a goat's rue on both purchased and rented land. You can even build it near your own home, if the size of the area allows it. There should be separate pens for adults and juveniles inside.

Payback calculation

Let's evaluate the profitability of goat breeding as a business.

1. The initial costs, according to calculations, will be 3.45 million rubles.
2. One goat can produce an average of 5-8 liters of milk per day. Let's take this value to be 7 liters - which means that from 50 goats per day we get 350 liters, per month - 10.5 tons of product.
3. The selling price for a liter of goat milk is 100 rubles. It turns out that milk can be sold for 1 million rubles (approximately) per month.
4. The cost of 1 liter of product is approximately 35-40 rubles. There are 60 rubles left. net profit. This is about 600 rubles. per month.

Even if you sell milk for 80 rubles, thereby attracting buyers with a favorable price, about 400 thousand rubles will remain. Taking this into account, the farm will pay for itself in about 9 months.

Selling all products is unlikely under current market conditions. But if half of the milk produced is sold, the business will reach self-sufficiency in 1.5-2 years.

The ABCs of a goat breeder: where to start

Most townspeople imagine a goat farm in the image of an online game: a clean pen in the middle of a flowering garden, a sweet goat, and from time to time a jug of milk appears above it. The reality is much rougher and dirtier. Beginning farmers realize this as soon as they begin to study goat breeding equipment. The information base consists of books, articles and forum discussions on three main topics: livestock farming, dairy production, and marketing in agriculture. Plus, there are legal documents, from agricultural legislation to sanitary and epidemiological requirements and methods of paying the Unified Agricultural Tax.

A goat of the Russian or Gorky breed gives about 4–5 liters of milk per day, and in return requires only an armful of grass (5–6 kg) and two handfuls of bran (1–1.5 kg).

S.P.Urusov

"The Book of the Goat"

The Russian goat has become a real salvation for many Russian families.

Books and online resources

You will have to read a lot and on a regular basis. Some books should become tabletop books. Networking with experienced goat farmers is also very helpful. You will immediately get involved in the practice: you will learn first-hand about the nuances of keeping goats, about the characteristics of breeds not reflected in the specialized literature, about the production cycle in livestock farming, about the intricacies of promoting and marketing dairy products, about the cost-to-profit ratio in the goat business. Be prepared that some potential “colleagues” will be skeptical about your intention to own a farm, and not all the breeding cases that the “bison” are willing to share will sound encouraging and positive.

It is possible that already at the stage of collecting information you will abandon the idea of ​​​​investing money in goats and prefer another investment project. If difficulties do not frighten you, you can write a business plan and choose the breed of goat that is most suitable for a startup.

What should you read to get the most up-to-date information? Here are recommended literature and useful sites:

• S.P. Urusov, “The Book of the Goat”, edited by Y.V. Grebneva.
• N.M. Zvonarev, “Profitable goat breeding. Breeds, feeding and care."
• VC. Pestis, “Feeding Farm Animals.”
• L.S. Isachenko, “Goats on the farmstead.”
• Virtual club of goat breeders “Magical Country of Goats”, www.kozovodam.info.
• Farmer.ru, the main farming portal - everything about business in agriculture.

Visiting specialized farm sites should become a habit for a novice gardener.

Promotion

When organizing sales, marketing will have to pay special attention due to the lack of mass love among the population for goat milk and ignorance of its benefits. The consumer is not used to this product, because it is practically not on sale.

The first step is to choose the right price. Goat's milk is more expensive than cow's milk, but this difference should be minimized.

The following promotional activities can be carried out:

• access to retail chains and organization of tastings in stores for everyone;
• together with stores, organize promotions for certain groups of the population (mothers with children, pensioners)
• distribution of leaflets, POS materials describing the benefits of goat milk.

The emphasis should be on the benefits of consuming goat milk. It is useful to place advertisements in newspapers, the media and conduct sales yourself - selling homemade milk through a barrel on wheels in residential areas of populated areas.

Demand will grow along with sales volumes. Over time, regular customers will appear.

Peculiarities

1. Most often, farmers raise goats for meat or for the production of dairy/fermented milk products. Goat meat is not very popular on the market, because there are more nutritious or cheaper analogues, so experienced farmers rarely sell meat products, preferring to specialize in goat milk.
2. Actually, goat milk is undoubtedly less popular than cow milk solely due to the market being full of the second product due to its lower cost compared to the first. In fact, goat milk is considered a healthier and suitable option to replace mother's breastfeeding.
3. The farmer has the opportunity to engage not only in the sale of milk, but also in his own production of products such as cheese and cottage cheese.
4. Among other things, the goats themselves, or more precisely, the young goats, are also sold. Actually, it is from such sales that a beginning farmer will receive his first livestock. The organization of such sales should be thought out in advance; besides, it will not bring much profit if it becomes the main way of earning money.
5. Some farmers also make good money from selling goat down. The product is needed by various textile factories, and the material is quite popular in the production of winter clothing.

Even a private mini-production will bring good money if you thoroughly study the needs of the potential clients around you. Study what specific products people need now: goat hair threads, goat cheese, goat milk for mothers, etc.