Is farming worth it? "We survive as best we can." Is it profitable to be a farmer in Russia? Measures to organize the production process

Fresh business ideas in agriculture is a topic that is increasingly raised by leading Russian economists at business conferences. Can agricultural production be profitable and how to achieve prosperity - draw a conclusion based on facts.

Business in agriculture

The economic situation shows that the industry requires significant material, energy and time costs.

Generally, agro-industrial complex highly profitable. The product increases in price several times, passing through intermediate stages: cleaning, processing, transportation, sorting, packaging, distribution to points of sale.

Entrepreneurs encounter a lot of obstacles. Where Difficulties Arise:

climate change;
deterioration of environmental conditions;
epidemics, pestilence of livestock, poultry;
invasion of insect pests on plant crops;
natural disasters;
high state quality standards;
inspections of sanitary and epidemiological services;
difficulties in obtaining related documentation - certificates, invoices.

In what areas can you observe the highest net income - what do analysts say?

Profit and profitability - which business is profitable in the field of agriculture

You can judge this by competitiveness, niches and demand. These metrics include:

cultivation of grain, fodder crops;

Under the concept of "the most profitable agricultural business" dairy enterprises can claim: if breeders give a penny for the purchase of raw materials from farmers, although they sell processed and packaged products at a price twice the cost.

5 business ideas in agriculture from scratch

Promising paths for a budding entrepreneur:

1. Crop production in hydroponics

Soilless technology is actively conquering the world. With drip irrigation, you can whole year plant decorative flowers (dill, parsley, lettuce, basil) for sale. It is easy to make a hydroponic apparatus at home, and the costs of fertilizers and substrates pay off after the first harvest is sold.

2. Feed production

Depending on what product you want to release, the size of costs and profits varies.

Complete - pure food without concentrates and additives. It is easier to make than others, it does not require high costs and special equipment - the natural components of plant crops are mixed, dried (hay), packaged and delivered to the customer.
Combined - suitable for birds and animals. The production technology is complex, costly, the shelf life is short, but the profit is greater with an established sales market.
Canned - for pets. A significant capital investment in equipment will be required:

dough mixing machine;
screw extruder;
industrial meat grinder;
line for boiling and packing, autoclave.

You need to find a permanent supplier of quality raw materials.

3. Smoke shop

The production of smoked fish and meat is always profitable, since the holidays are not complete without delicacies. An honest entrepreneur who uses high-quality fresh raw materials and good equipment will be welcomed by supermarkets and retail outlets.

4. Quail breeding

The benefits of eggs and meat of these birds have long been known, so the demand is high. A farm of 1000 heads pays off after a month of existence. Properly design and care for birds properly.

5. Land cultivation services

The problem of agricultural machinery and workers is always acute. Why not try to solve it?

With a tractor or combine, or you can do plowing land, uprooting trees or saturating the soil with fertilizers.

Success depends on desire, ability to work, business acumen, financial situation, a clear business plan and an understanding of the possible difficulties and prospects of a new business. Dare - the road will be mastered by the walking one!

Farming is a profitable type of business, which, however, is very risky and expensive. Consider the main branches of farming and the features of their implementation, as well as the reasons for such a rapid development of animal husbandry in Russia.

Farm business development

Farm business in Russia, in particular animal husbandry, has been gaining popularity and development over the years due to the following factors:

Availability government programs, which, when observed by farmers certain conditions, in order to support newly created farms and national producers, provide subsidies, tax incentives, grants, initial capital, allocate land for farming;
rising food prices, which increase farm profits;
food products produced by farms, namely meat, milk, eggs, cheese, honey, cottage cheese, are always in demand in the markets and have their own customer base, as they provide the basic needs of consumers;
restriction of access to the market for products of foreign suppliers and manufacturers - national producers, in turn, do not experience such restrictions;
a wide range of types economic activity, the emergence and development of new species (for example, farms for breeding ostriches);
products of a national manufacturer inspire confidence among consumers and are in demand;
the possibility of obtaining a permanent client base and product markets.

Thus, the farming business is a profitable and promising activity that is rapidly developing and, at certain costs, can bring significant income that will fully pay off the invested funds and the time spent.

Farming branches

Farming is divided into 2 main industries:

agriculture (growing various kinds grain crops: rice, wheat, barley, etc.);
animal husbandry.

Animal breeding as a business includes the following sub-sectors:

pig breeding;
breeding large cattle(cattle breeding);
sheep breeding;
poultry farming;
breeding bees;
horse breeding;
ostrich breeding;
reindeer herding;
breeding rabbits;
fur farming and others.

Pig breeding, poultry farming, sheep breeding and cattle breeding have received the greatest development.

Cattle breeding provides the population with milk and meat, beef and veal are of high quality and high cost.

Poultry farming provides the market with meat and eggs, and poultry meat (turkeys, chickens, ducks, indouts) is more in demand than beef and pork, due to the lower cost of meat and the absence of difficulties in breeding birds on farms. Chicken meat is the most demanded meat in the markets, chicken breeding is a promising and profitable activity.

Pig farming is a rapidly developing type of economic activity. Pork is the second most demanded meat in the markets, after chicken, this meat is cheaper than beef and has a high quality, nutritional value and calorie content.

Sheep breeding for its development requires a large number of pastures and provides markets not only with meat and milk, but also with wool.

Pig breeding as a business

Before engaging in pig breeding, it should be borne in mind that although this is a highly profitable type of activity, it, like any kind farming activities, requires a lot of effort, time and significant financial costs to achieve results.

Basic rules to follow if you decide to start pig farming

1. Decide on the location of the farm, taking into account: established standards for proximity to settlements, the minimum required farm area, remoteness from water sources.

2. Prepare Required documents to the administration's signature. Find out under what conditions you can get government subsidies, benefits, etc.

3. Study the market structure, namely the demand and supply of pig meat and lard in the markets in your area. As a rule, lean and lean pork, lard with a meat layer (loin) are in the greatest demand.

4. Prepare a business plan that, when calculating financial costs, will show the effectiveness of pig farming and possible profits. Financial costs include:

buying pigs;
building or renting premises;
purchase of inventory and equipment;
staff salaries;
stern;
payment for veterinary services, vaccinations, etc.

Also, in the plan, it is necessary to assess the possible risks of the enterprise and indicate the stages of project implementation with actions at each stage.

5. Build pigsties, sheds, purchase the necessary inventory and equipment, feed.

6. Hire qualified personnel (animal technicians, handymen, pig breeders, etc.).

7. Much attention should be paid to the selection of breeds of pigs. Breeds of pigs are specially bred for production:

meat;
meat and fat;
meat and bacon;
bacon
fat.

Breeds for the production of meat and bacon received the greatest demand, because the meat brings more income than fat. Females and males must be purchased from different suppliers to prevent genetic mutations in the offspring.

8. Be sure to periodically disinfect pigsties, inventory, destroy rodents, ensure regular vaccinations and examinations of offspring and adults by a veterinarian.

But do not expect instant results, because the pig farm pays for itself in about 2-3 years. Also successful is the combination of growing potatoes, corn, etc. with raising pigs, because feed costs in this case are reduced; It is also profitable to organize your own production of meat and sausage products and lard (for example, you can organize a meat and lard smokehouse).

Poultry farming as a business

Breeding poultry as a business, especially chickens and turkeys, requires less financial costs than, for example, pig breeding, since birds are less whimsical, but it brings a stable income, because poultry meat is very popular due to its low cost, dietary content, low calorie content.

Before starting poultry farming, draw up a business plan that will help you calculate the possible profit and the period after which it will be received, as well as financial costs (for the purchase of young animals, feed, vaccinations, renting a territory, building premises, equipment, etc.) , existing risks.

How to become a farmer from scratch in the poultry industry?

Consider the main factors that must be considered if you decide to start breeding birds.

1. The choice of breed depends on the focus of your farm. Breeds of chickens are:

for the production of meat (cornish, red whitetails);
for the production of eggs (leggorn, Russian whites, pavlovskie, minorca);
for the production of eggs and meat (Loman Brown, Moscow black, Kuchinsky).

It is most profitable to purchase breeds of chickens that are adapted for the production of both eggs and meat.

2. Having your own garden reduces the cost of bird feed; in the spring and summer, chickens can and should be grazing in the garden.

3. For homemade meat High Quality should Special attention turn to bird food. So, the diet of chickens should include, in addition to compound feed: dandelions, nettles, carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, beets and other vegetables and herbs.

4. Rooms for chickens should be equipped with everything necessary: feeders, drinkers, thermometers, devices for measuring room humidity. Each breed has its own characteristics. So, egg-bearing breeds need ventilation, specially equipped perches, free space, good lighting (the room should be lit from 6 am to 9 pm, a violation of lighting is stress for the bird and its egg production decreases or stops altogether) and thermal insulation.

5. The purchase and equipment of an incubator will help save on young stock; eggs laid by a laying hen are laid in an incubator, which must be equipped with a thermometer. If the incubator is the simplest and not automatic, the eggs are turned over manually (3 times a day). From 60 eggs laid in the incubator, you can get 45 or more chickens.

6. Purchased young animals should be vaccinated and given antibiotics to prevent possible diseases.

7. Regular disinfection of the premises should be carried out, if a disease is suspected, sick birds to be slaughtered should be isolated, a veterinarian should be invited to make a final diagnosis, and vaccination should be carried out.

Breeding birds is a profitable, and most importantly, simple and affordable activity that does not require the construction of special premises, the lease of a large area of land.

Birds can also be bred in old sheds, which only need to be equipped with everything necessary, it will be enough personal plot or vegetable garden. Breeding chickens is the most popular type of poultry farming, chickens are unpretentious in feeding and care, have high egg production and, with proper care, provide valuable and sought-after meat.

Breeding cattle

So what does it take to become a cattle farmer? Before you go directly into the breeding itself, draw up a detailed business plan, which should include:

planned production volumes;
the production part (expenses for the purchase of feed);
marketing part (advertising, product prices);
organizational part (information about suppliers, buyers, staff);
risk assessment;
financial part (sources financial support, projected income).

breeding young individuals for sale;
supply of meat;
milk supply;
supply of meat and milk;
processing of animal skins;
production of dairy products (cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese);
production meat products(sausage products).

The next step will be to go around all instances, prepare documentation and obtain permits (for construction on sites, etc.).

One of the most important aspects of organizing livestock breeding as a business is purchase of livestock. Things to consider:

selection and purchase is best done with the participation of an experienced veterinarian, livestock breeder;
the main meat breeds of cows: Hereford, Charolais, Limousin, Salers, Kalmyk, Kazakh white-headed and others. Dairy breeds: black-and-white, red steppe, Yaroslavl, Kholmogory;
a healthy dairy cow that will produce large amounts of milk, has a barrel-shaped belly, long head, small horns, strong muscles, special attention should be paid to the cow's udder. The udder of the cow should be large, the skin should be elastic, the shape of the udder should be cup-shaped. Cows with round udders will produce little milk. When buying, be sure to milk the cow, while hardening should not be felt in the udder, it should be soft and pliable. A healthy cow has a clear look, no cough, a hard and light gait, a narrow hindquarters and a sagging back are considered faults;
read the documents for the animal, the vaccination card.

Cows need to be provided with pastures, feed should be purchased, hay should be prepared for the winter, regular disinfection of barns and vaccinations should be mandatory, and premises for slaughterhouses should also be equipped.

Beef and veal are expensive and high-quality meats that are in demand among consumers. To increase income from livestock breeding, it is necessary to organize the processing of meat, milk and produce cheese, cottage cheese, kefir, sausages, sour cream, ryazhenka, etc. for sale.

How to become a successful farmer?

In order to become a successful farmer, one should take into account the fact that farming does not imply instant profit, it requires significant financial costs. Animal husbandry is one of the most risky types of business, since there is always the risk of epidemics, natural disasters that can lead to a pestilence of animals, loss of farms and bankruptcy of farmers.

Keep in mind that producing quality products is only the first step. The second stage is its implementation. You can find sales markets, or you can open your own stores, which will bring income, but will also require additional costs for renting premises, personnel, equipment, etc.

Farming in Russia receives state support and brings high income to businessmen, but also requires large investments and time, as well as compiling detailed business plan. The main branches of animal husbandry in Russia and around the world are pig breeding, poultry farming and cattle breeding, as their products are always in high demand, both on national and foreign markets.

Today, the agricultural business is supported by the state in every possible way - many entrepreneurs have turned their attention to this niche. There are enough advantages of running your own farm - a huge sales market, quick payback costs and consistently high profits. Of course, many difficulties will also await the beginner - but they are quite surmountable if you correctly organize your activities.

Our business valuation:

Starting investments - from 50,000 rubles.

Market saturation is average.

The complexity of starting a business is 7/10.

How to become a farmer from scratch in Russia?

Here, as in any other area of business, you will need to draw up a business plan. This is especially important if you start using borrowed funds to organize your activities.

Entrepreneurs who decide to start a business in the agricultural sector have many opportunities for business development - it can be like a small family livestock farm, and a large agricultural complex. But in order to minimize any risks, start small - it is worth expanding the business only if you have “free” finances and accumulated experience.

Peasant farming is a commercial structure aimed at attracting income from the production and further sale of agricultural products. Not many in our country large enterprises– “capacity” for the full filling of the market, definitely not enough. Everyone has every chance to take a strong position in a niche.

Opening your farm from scratch will be beneficial for the following reasons:

Now there are special state programs designed to financially help start-up entrepreneurs. Getting a subsidy is quite difficult - you have to collect a lot of papers, provide a business plan for the farm. But it becomes for many entrepreneurs a great start to a promising business.
The population is interested in purchasing high-quality natural products - trust in domestic products is growing.
Your farm will bring consistently high profits, as food prices rise every year.
Due to the imposed sanctions on the import of products from European countries, Russian market is experiencing a shortage of farm products - the demand is huge.

When thinking about how to organize a farm from scratch, do not forget about the pitfalls that may await you on the path to success - despite all the advantages of the direction, there are risks. Agricultural business is a direction where profitability largely depends on external factors. You can lose half your crop due to drought or pest infestation. The livestock sector has its own problems - for example, epidemics of diseases, due to which half of the animals raised can die. Farming involves a significant share of manual labor - especially for family businesses when hired labor is not used. Therefore, it is worth preparing for hard work.

Have you already decided for yourself “I want to start farming”? Approach the matter thoroughly - carefully study the direction in which you will work in the future. If possible, be sure to visit the operating farms to see everything in practice.

What line of business to choose?

How to start a farming business? The first step is to choose the direction of further activity. It is on this that all further stages of organizing your own economy will depend. There are several profitable "formats" of agricultural business:

Crop production - cereals, vegetables, fruits and berries, herbs.
Cattle breeding - pigs, sheep, cows, rabbits.
Poultry farming - chickens, turkeys, pheasants, geese.
Fish farming - sturgeon, trout, carp.
Beekeeping.
Cultivation of mushrooms - oyster mushrooms, champignons.

Thinking in which direction and how to start a farm, it is worth conducting a market analysis. Choose niches that are in demand in your area with minimal competition - it will be easier to succeed in business. Equally important is the amount of available finance - some areas will require significant investment, while others can be mastered with a minimum of costs.

It will be easier for a beginner to open a farm for breeding chickens or geese, pigs or rabbits, growing berries and fruits, mushrooms. The products that you will receive in the process of activity are in demand in the market. In addition, these directions are easy to learn and inexpensive.

How is the registration of a business in the field of agriculture?

Many private farmers operate without registration - significant savings on regular tax payments. If you plan to raise several heads of cattle in your own summer cottage, at first you can do without setting up a business. But in this case, you can only sell products to private buyers - even local markets will not let you in without the appropriate documents.

Registration of a farm will be mandatory if you plan to sell finished products to wholesale buyers in the future. Register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC. You are registered with tax office, register with Rosportebnadzor and SES. If we talk about the marketing of products of animal origin (meat, eggs), finished products must regularly undergo veterinary checks before marketing.

Financial costs for organizing a business

Is farming profitable? Definitely, yes - given that the organization of a business in some areas requires a minimum of costs. For example, to start breeding chickens in your own summer cottage, you need no more than 50,000 rubles. Therefore, without having at your disposal impressive amounts of money to open a large farm, start small.

It will be quite difficult to indicate the exact figure of investments - it all depends on the chosen field of activity. But in any case, it is important to calculate all upcoming expenses in a business plan.

Make a list of what it takes to be a farmer. Investments will be required for the following needs:

Plot rental. You will save a lot if you own land.

Purchase of equipment and supplies. To work in any of the possible areas, you will need consumables - this often becomes a significant expense item. Shovels and rakes, automatic sprinklers, greenhouses, feeders, buckets are just a small part of everything you need. In some cases, so that the finished product does not deteriorate while waiting for its buyer, you will need to buy refrigerators and freezers.
Training industrial premises. Stalls, chicken coops, pigsties - the construction of "premises" will require money to be invested. Even when growing vegetables, fruits and grains, you will need to build a barn to store finished products. If you do not need to comply with any special conditions when keeping animals or birds, you can build a barn yourself.
Purchase of breeding stock, seeds. A farm from scratch, if you are organizing a business in the field of animal husbandry or poultry farming, will necessarily require significant expenses for the purchase of several heads of livestock or birds. For planting crops, seed material is purchased in the required quantity. It’s not worth saving here - there is a high risk of buying sick animals or low-quality seeds.
Purchase of feed, fertilizers. You will have to spend money on replenishing stocks of feed and fertilizer regularly. To save on variable costs, you can feed livestock with "homemade" food.

When thinking about where to start farming, be sure to consider ways to research Money to start activities. Great if you have your own savings. If the accumulated savings are not enough to start a business, you will have to take a loan from a bank or try to get a government subsidy.

Distribution channels for finished products

It is not difficult to become a novice farmer, given the possible risks and think through all the nuances. It is difficult for a beginner to find wholesale buyers of finished products. It is unlikely that it will be possible to immediately establish cooperation with large supermarket chains - focus on small outlets and private buyers.

How much a farmer earns depends on the volume of sales of finished products. The better your distribution channels are, the more profit you will get.

We conclude - when thinking about where to start a farming business, monitor the market and start looking for wholesale customers interested in a particular type of product.

When to expect the first profit?

How much do farmers in Russia earn? The exact indicator of profitability will depend on the “scale” of the business, sales volumes and the prices set for the product. Small farms from sales of finished products by the end of the season can have up to 500,000 rubles of net profit. Some areas of activity (for example, raising chickens) generate income throughout the year. Home-based business, of course, will give less profit, since sales will be much less.

Despite the different size of investments, both animal husbandry and crop production pay off in approximately the same time frame. Over the next 9-12 months, you will invest in growing animals or crops. Only after slaughtering heads or harvesting do you receive revenue. In most cases, the first profit can be expected only after a year.

By knowing where to start farming, you can build a highly profitable farming business.

Farming in the area Russian state while it's just gaining momentum. As well as agriculture this direction can be considered not only profitable, but also promising, given the fact that the state is trying in every possible way to provide all possible support to those who have decided on this type of activity. This is done through various programs and grants, thanks to which farming as a business idea for beginners is becoming more and more attractive.

What are the benefits

Food is the product of agricultural production. It is this group of goods that is most in demand among the population. Since most foreign goods are currently banned from import, it can be assumed that the relevance of agricultural activities will increase significantly, because the empty niches will need to be filled with domestic goods.

Competition with European products has always been very high, and therefore in this moment there was a situation of shortage of certain types of food, which opens up great opportunities for start-up entrepreneurs. After analyzing the current situation, they can choose the direction of development that arouses the greatest interest of society, and at the same time promises big profits.

Varieties of farms

Farming can be represented by a variety of areas. The choice will be based on the final product, which should be in demand and relevant.

In general, all directions can be divided into three large groups:

animal husbandry;
crop production;
gardening.

animal husbandry

The final products in this area are meat, lard, milk, eggs, and skin. So, what kind of animals is profitable to breed for business:

In addition, you can stop your attention on breeding rabbits, nutria, sheep. All this will already depend on the personal preferences of the entrepreneur.

Plant growing and horticulture

There are several areas in this area:

This shows that a home farm as a business can be a combination of several directions that will help reduce the cost of purchasing feed, if, for example, raising pigs and growing vegetables.

Company registration

If you are going to aim at large volumes of production, you will not be able to do without registering an enterprise. Today, there are two forms of doing such a business:

Personal subsidiary farming is limited by the types and volumes of products produced, but is not subject to sanitary checks.
Peasant or farming is a larger business, which is not subject to restrictions on the volume of sales, but from time to time you have to deal with inspections by regulatory authorities.

In this case, any form of registration can be chosen - IP or LLC.

After registering a business, you need to register with the tax authority. Please note: if your plans include selling the final product to various processing enterprises - sausage shops, dairy plants, and so on, then it is better to act as a legal entity.

If you don’t know how to open a farm from scratch, then do not neglect the list of the following papers that you will need to resolve all documentary issues:

permission from the fire department;
permission from the sanitary and epidemiological service;
permission from the local property manager.

Only after receiving all these certificates, you can proceed to the next steps.

Choose a place

The biggest investment will require renting or buying land for your business. As in any other field, the success of the entire enterprise will depend on the right location.

In order not to be mistaken, the following points should be taken into account:

distance from big cities. If your farm occupies an area close to densely populated areas, to which transport interchanges will be connected, you will be able to save on the delivery of your products to the final buyer;
land fertility and ecological situation in the region;
absence industrial enterprises nearby;
land size. Indeed, success in resolving the issue of how to open a farm from scratch will depend on the required amount of land, where you will have to place not only buildings in which animals will be located, but also lawns for their grazing, ponds, pastures;
landscape. To equip a bee farm, you will need nearby forests and flower fields.

Expenses

In whatever direction you decide to move, you will not be able to avoid quite large expenses already at the initial stage. As experience shows, the most resistant to various crisis and unforeseen situations are farms with a large number of livestock and diverse activities.

But you should still start with a small enterprise, which you will expand more and more every year.

The main items of expenditure at first will be:

In the future, you will always need to consider replenishing your livestock in case of mortality or the need to plant new seedlings if some of them died as a result of frost.

State programs

Small farming business today is the main concern of the state in matters of economic development.

To support start-up entrepreneurs, a whole program, the active phase of which began in 2015 and lasted until 2017 inclusive.

According to the developed concept, any small business that has been operating for no more than two years can become the owner of a state grant in the amount of 1.5 million rubles. To be eligible for funding, you must meet the following criteria:

As can be seen from the list, it will not be possible to establish agricultural production solely with state money.

Whatever farming business ideas you choose, you need to foresee markets for your products. To do this, it is important to study which food processing enterprises are located in your area, as well as consider opening your own processing plant for the production of, say, semi-finished meat or dairy products.