In our country, it is generally accepted that agriculture is a purely unprofitable and extremely risky occupation, with which no self-respecting businessman wants to mess with.
Alas, it is precisely because of such views that food production is now almost entirely at the mercy of Chinese and European farmers.
But if you make the right business plan for sheep breeding, you will be able to provide for yourself and your family. And this is not about a couple of thousand rubles. In city restaurants, fresh mutton is picked up instantly, so the breeders certainly do not complain about the lack of funds.
A bit of history
Readers at the sight of the phrase "sheep breeding" can decide that we are talking exclusively about the republics of our south. Oddly enough, but this is far from the case. For centuries, sheep breeding has been practiced in the central part of Russia.
The same Romanovskaya breed of sheep was bred far from the Caucasus Mountains. And therefore, keeping and raising sheep is not only the prerogative of the southern regions, as sheep breeding has every chance of becoming a profitable livestock industry again.
And in Soviet times, the country was full of collective farms precisely in the central regions that were involved in the breeding of these animals. Currently, work is already underway to restore the number of sheep, so it's time to support this good undertaking!
Getting started
As you already understand, in the conditions of our state only a correct and objective (which is very important) business plan for sheep breeding can guarantee the success of the event. We will try to tell you about the most basic features and concepts, in no way claiming to be unique.
It is possible that some provisions will have to be adjusted to the current situation in a particular region.
What to undertake?
Be sure to purchase a suitable plot of land for pasture. The experience of Soviet sheep farmers clearly shows that lamb cannot live without grazing. If you rely on stall maintenance, you will get a lot of problems with hooves and metabolism.
Accordingly, the question arises of area. Sheep farmers say that at least one hectare of pasture will be required per one Romanov breed sheep (which is famous for its multiple fertility).
Of course, we cannot assess the financial side of this issue, since the cost of land varies greatly in different regions of our country. Because of this, each sheep breeding business plan will be unique.
In addition, be sure to foresee construction on the pasture of a suitable canopy. In most cases, there is no such urgent need for a capital shepherd, as sheep are surprisingly cold-resistant animals.
If in your region there are really severe frosts (below 30 degrees), then in this case you will need to build a shepherd that could accommodate all animals for such periods. Otherwise, sheep breeding will be simply impossible, as frostbite does not contribute to the active manifestation of reproductive function.
As a heating device, you should use a conventional stove-stove. If you do it yourself, you can put the costs in a couple of thousand rubles (the cost of the metal). Again, it is difficult to talk about the price of building material for the corral, since it all depends on local realities.
Where to buy?
Here you can give one piece of advice.It is necessary to acquire breeding animals in breeding farms and only in them! Buying animals from private traders, you risk wasting your money in vain. So, there are cases when they sell knowingly defective animals. In particular, cryptorchidism is widespread among rams.
This veterinary (and medical) term refers to cases when the testes do not fall into the scrotum. Outwardly, the ram will look completely normal, will not shun the opposite sex. It’s just that it won’t get any easier for you, since such an animal is completely barren.
If your business plan for breeding sheep does not involve aimless waste of money, then it is better to use our advice. Buying animals in specialized farms, you get all the veterinary certificates and other documents on them, which in the future will save you from problems with many authorities.
As for their cost. Here, again, everything depends on the breed and region. So, if you buy a sheep of some popular fat tail breed, then you will have to pay at least 12 thousand rubles for an adult animal. The cost of a sheep can start from 4.5 thousand.
Accordingly, the price of your entire enterprise will completely depend on what livestock you plan to maintain on your site. In general, serious breeding of sheep and sheep involves the maintenance of not less than five hundred individuals, but in our area this is very rare.
Which breed to choose?
Unfortunately, we again will not be able to give a definite answer to this question. If there is such an opportunity, then it is better to acquire the breed that has already proved itself when breeding in your area. However, the Romanov breed repeatedly mentioned by us can rightfully be considered universal, so that in the absence of any contraindications, you can choose it on it.
Since the content and breeding of sheep of this breed is very simple, they can surely be recommended to all beginners.
What about the staff?
The biggest difficulty on your way is hiring a shepherd. Firstly, he must serve at least 300 goals alone. Secondly, finding such a master of his craft will not be easy, so you have to tune in advance to the long search for a suitable candidate.
As a rule, in large farms, people who are engaged in shearing sheep spend a separate expense item, but in the case of a small number of livestock, this work can also be assigned to a shepherd. Of course, in this case he will need assistants.
Speaking about the maintenance staff, many forget about the importance of treating animals, drawing up the right diets and working with breeding material. Do not repeat the mistakes of others: sheep breeding can become profitable only with a professional approach to business.
Ideally, it would be good for a herd to assign a separate veterinarian, livestock specialist and artificial insemination specialist, but in reality, only one specialist who will be involved in several areas at once is dispensed with.
Product sales and demand
It should be noted right away that the popular and once-sought-after sheep wool is no longer of such interest to buyers. This is due to the import of products from New Zealand and Europe. In a word, sheep breeding should primarily focus on the sale of meat.
It is best to predefine outlets that are interested in regular meat purchases. If you have all the documents confirming the high quality of the products, and all the carcasses have a veterinary stamp, then the demand is guaranteed to be high.
Ideally, you need to conclude an agreement with some cafe. Since in busy places they have a high demand for kebabs and other meat dishes, your products will certainly be in demand.
And now the most important thing. How profitable is sheep breeding at home.Let's try to calculate how much the cost of acquiring pedigree cattle will pour out.
The financial side of the issue
Suppose we create a farm with a livestock of 300 animals. Where did this figure come from? Everything is very simple - at least three hundred animals are required to obtain a high meat yield. If you take less, you get, rather, an individual farm, which can not bring a really serious income.
So, these 300 heads will cost us about 1 million 350 thousand rubles, subject to the purchase of animals at the lowest wholesale price (4.5 thousand per head). Just note that we will not consider the issue of buying land for grazing the whole flock, since in most cases it is too expensive for the beginning sheep farmer.
Thus, for three hundred sheep a pasture will have to be rented, and the average rental cost will be about 100-150 thousand rubles a year. At least 600 thousand rubles should be set aside for wages for their employees, taking into account bonus and other payments. For other expenses, you need to leave about 50 thousand.
What do we have in the end? It turns out that for the initial goals we will need to set aside at least 2 million 100 thousand rubles.
Profitability
Suppose in the first year we send about 50 animals for meat. We will gain approximately 500 thousand rubles from their sale (the average market value in the country). If you sell meat directly to restaurants in large cities, then on the eve of the holidays you can easily earn 1.5 million rubles or more.
In the case when you prefer to sell animals at live weight, your income will be approximately the same, subject to normal fatness and good health of the sheep.
Thus, breeding sheep for sale is sometimes no less profitable than selling their meat. For wool, you can gain something about 100-150 thousand rubles per year.
Ultimately, we have approximately 1 million 150 thousand rubles of profit. That is, 2.1 - 1.5 = 600 thousand rubles of losses for the first year. Here is the answer to the question of whether it is profitable to breed sheep.
If everything goes fine, there will be no deaths and other negative factors, then you can fully recoup your initiative in two or three years. In the case when you live near some major city, this period can be significantly reduced.
To summarize
In conclusion, we can say that sheep breeding as a business has broad prospects in our country. These animals feed on pasture, are unpretentious in leaving, quickly breed. If you immediately establish sales channels for finished products, then you will earn very good money.
