Most of us consume dairy products, be it milk, yogurt, sour cream, etc. One way or another, this is a great idea for starting your own business. But it is worth noting immediately that milk production requires a lot of investment and time. In addition, it is extremely important to properly organize a business, then the business will bring not only good money, but also pleasure.
What do you need to start?
The first step is to choose a factory. It is most advantageous to rent a suitable room, and if the business is successful, after a while it will be possible to slightly expand the production area. Now many people say that it is advantageous to order modular plants, the delivery set of which immediately includes equipment.
Of course, there are several undeniable advantages, for example, the workshop can be located in almost any place convenient for you. In addition, you do not need to deal with the technological line. But the cost of such a purchase is unreasonably high. Another mandatory requirement is to pass sanitary inspections, because milk is a food product that must be manufactured in accordance with all state standards and rules. After that, you need to register a business.
It’s good if it is a limited liability company (“LLC”). This is due to a simplified tax system. In principle, there is a room, business is registered, our next goal is the production and sale of milk. Let's start from the very beginning and consider in detail each stage of the business. So you can get the most information about what needs to be done and how.
Livestock purchase and profitability
We can say with confidence that, with proper organization, this business is profitable. This is due to several factors. One of them is the desire of people for proper and healthy nutrition. However, the high price of the product leads to the fact that it is simply not everyone can afford.
According to statistics, the amount of milk consumed per person increases annually by about 3-7%, for us this is a very good figure. And now about the most important thing - the acquisition of livestock. This is a very important point, although many are trying to do without it, buying in bulk the finished product from farmers. The same way out, but more on that later.
First you need to start with at least 300 goals, optimally 500. Although much depends on the performance of your equipment, the higher it is, the larger the herd and vice versa. If it is necessary to carry out an increase in milk production, then this is done very simply. More cows - more product. But with the increase in the number of cattle, it is necessary to increase the barn, this should not be forgotten. Let’s look at a business based on milk received from its own, rather than farm, herds. The fact is that such a direction is more promising. You are sure of the quality of the product, and you will not experience difficulties with the supply of raw materials.
We determine the range of products and staff
Your business plan must necessarily contain a separate item called "assortment". According to statistics, there are practically no large factories that produce only milk. This is due to the fact that such a solution is not the best. Now you will understand why. The fact is that after processing the same milk, you can sell whey, cottage cheese and other by-products. Cheese products are in great demand, and they, by the way, are produced in dairy plants. It is not necessary to exclude sour cream from the list, as well as butter.All this will surely find its buyer. But additional equipment and workers will be required.
Speaking of staff. It can be said with 100% certainty that a milk producing enterprise will not function without qualified specialists. Even if you make every effort, you still need to hire workers. Since we have continuous production, we need a schedule for 3 shifts, moreover, a technologist and a laboratory assistant can work on a 5/2 schedule, but a master and several workers must be in place every shift.
From this we can conclude that we need about 3 masters and 9-11 ordinary workers, as well as one laboratory assistant and technologist. At first, to reduce costs, you can independently perform the function of a worker, as well as engage in the supply of raw materials and other issues. Let's go ahead and take a closer look at the milk production process, because there are several subtleties.
The technological scheme of milk production
The process itself represents several stages that must be performed sequentially. Of course, in our case we will talk about raw milk, which we recently received. At the first stage, the product is delivered using special equipment to a centrifugal separator. This removes the cream that is used to increase the fat content of the product.
To remove foreign substances after separation, the milk goes to heat, and then to the pasteurizer, where all microbes are removed by heat treatment. Then cream is added. In some cases, it is advisable to use a separator to normalize fat, working in automatic mode. As practice shows, most manufacturers produce products 1-6% fat.
Since the organization of milk production is a rather complicated procedure, you should be prepared for the fact that you have to spend a lot of money. For example, to dissolve fat in a product that will float up in the form of large drops, you need to purchase a narrow nozzle for grinding. This is an optional procedure for pasteurized milk, but required when sterilizing the product. At the final stage, packaging is carried out. You can use glass, plastic or cardboard containers. The latter is more preferable due to its environmental friendliness.
Milk production costs
Of course, this issue cannot be left out. Today, not every aspiring entrepreneur is ready to invest millions in business. For this simple reason, the majority open a small business with initial investments of not more than 500,000 rubles. But in this case, you have to spend at least 6-8 million rubles, and this, you see, is a lot of money.
The most expensive is the production workshop. It includes three main modules with equipment and one secondary. This includes the sanitary-warehousing, laboratory, as well as household, among the secondary - the warehouse module. All this costs at least 3-4 million rubles, and the productivity will be about 1,000 liters per day. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the cost of cattle, about 2 million rubles with the organization of the barn.
In principle, before you start, you will have to spend a small amount on an analysis of milk production, as well as scanning the market. You also need to find a point of sale and release an experimental batch (experimental), and if the customer likes everything, then you can arrange supplies. Sometimes you can open your own point of sale, but this is a separate topic for conversation. Let's look at some more important details.
A little about profit and payback of a business
Payback periods depend on many factors. One of them is established contacts with the buyer. The faster you start selling your finished product at an affordable price for you, the better. Let's look at a concrete example. Take a plant with a capacity of about 1,000 liters of milk per day.In this case, in a month we will be able to develop about 30,000 liters.
The average cost of the finished product in a pack (liter) is 35-40 rubles, and the cost is slightly less - 19 rubles. In this situation, through simple calculations, you can get a figure slightly more than 2 million rubles. This will be a monthly output subject to the sale of 30 thousand liters of milk. Since our business involves the sale of other dairy products, in reality the figure will be slightly different. But since in our particular case the gross cost of milk is about 1.1 million, and the costs are about 50%, you will get 500-600 thousand rubles a month in net.
In this scenario, your business will fully pay off in about 2.5 years, maybe even earlier. But these are terms that relate exclusively to milk sales. If we take into account that such products as sour cream, cheese, cottage cheese have a higher margin, then we can expect that in 1.5-2 years you will reach net profit. From the foregoing, a simple conclusion can be drawn that the production of milk and dairy products is a good way to earn money, but it is necessary to pay due attention to quality and invest a fairly large amount of money.
Features of doing business in Russia
It cannot be said that the efficiency of milk production in the Russian Federation is slightly lower than in other, more developed countries. This is due to many factors, one of them is negligence. If in the same Germany quality is an obligatory attribute of everything that is produced there, in Russia some entrepreneurs may neglect this.
It is for this simple reason that those plants where they make a quality product are valued, regardless of the mood and profit of the director. You will certainly face competition, and if it is healthy in Europe, then in our markets opponents are eliminated by a variety of methods. To prevent this from happening, correctly select a niche for starting a business. You can tackle this issue both independently and hire a professional.
Nevertheless, one should not consider milk production in Russia to be something supernatural or impossible. Today, this is a very real goal, especially considering that with due diligence, some state assistance can be achieved. It consists in the allocation of budgetary subsidies, as well as in exemption from land tax. But this only applies to the development of the agricultural business. By the way, if you register as a farm, you can sell raw milk without any problems. But the product will undergo strict quality control before leaving the customer.
About equipment or milk production technology
To make it easier to deal with this issue, let's divide the equipment into zones. To the first zone we attribute the equipment that is needed for the acceptance of raw materials. At the very beginning of the line, several filters or a separator are installed. These devices remove mechanical impurities, after which the product is sent for primary cooling to 4-6 degrees Celsius and is stored in a special container. The larger the milk production, the more capacious the tank. It maintains a low temperature, which is needed to slow down the development of microorganisms (without changing the natural properties of the product).
Next is the separation equipment. Why is it necessary, we have already spoken. By the way, you have the opportunity to install separators to separate the fat fraction or dehydration. The most complex units, as well as expensive ones, are plate pasteurizers. Their effectiveness is determined by the duration, as well as the temperature, which is maintained for a certain time.
If you make cottage cheese, processed cheese, yogurt and other products, then you need to install a volume type terminator.This device is intended for melting, emulsification and heat treatment of fermented milk products of long-term storage. In principle, this is all the basic equipment that is necessary for the production and processing of milk to be performed correctly.
What you must not forget
You have probably noticed that the milk production line is quite complex. This suggests that there is a high probability of various kinds of failures in the form of leaks. This must be monitored especially carefully. Remember that even an hour of downtime in your production will result in big losses. Of course, not everything depends on you and no one has canceled a power outage, without which the main equipment will not work.
Gasoline generators in this case are unlikely to help, as they will not be able to give as much power as needed. It is worth remembering that livestock requires care, so it is advisable to divide all the cows into several groups. The first ones include the most dairy, the second - medium, the third - young growth, and the fourth - those who can be sent for slaughter. It is extremely important to ensure proper nutrition, for this you will need a large warehouse where hay will be stored in the winter.
Conclusion
As you can see, the economic efficiency of milk production is quite large. But you need to take into account a huge number of factors. For example, no one has yet canceled small expenses, industrial injuries should not be ruled out. All this will lead to the fact that in practice you will earn a little less than planned. But if there is no decrease of more than 5-8%, then this is quite acceptable. It is not necessary to invest 8 million, because you can start with a mini-factory. In this case, start with a single direction, let it be the production of pasteurized milk. With this approach, you will be able to invest less than 3.5 million rubles. Of course, the profit will not be so tangible, but over time, it is possible to significantly expand production.
