How to start breeding bulls for meat as a business? Features and organization of the case. Breeding cows as a business: profitability and productivity Is it difficult to keep a cow

Is it profitable to keep a cow in a private household?

Rural families have completely stopped keeping cows - they say: unprofitable. From producers of milk and meat, the villagers gradually began to turn into its consumers - like city dwellers. Reflecting on this problem, we decided to calculate what costs are incurred for the maintenance of one cow and what income it brings.

If you already have a cow...

For a year, for the productive maintenance of a cow (which means feeding it not only so that it lives, but also to give milk), four tons of hay and 1-1.2 tons of feed are required.
Four tons of hay will cost 8-8.5 thousand rubles (16 bales of 500 rubles apiece). The Bogdanovichi plant sells feed for 12-13 thousand rubles per ton. Buying 1.2 tons at this price, we will have to shell out another 14,400 rubles from our pocket. In total, for hay and feed for one cow, you will have to pay 22,400 (8,000 + 14,400) rubles.
To these expenses we will add grazing. If you organize a collective grazing of cows and hire a shepherd together, set a fee, for example, 300-400 rubles. per head per month (and cows graze from May to October inclusive, that is, six months), which means that grazing a year will cost 2,400 rubles.
Let's sum up the cost per year per cow - 24,800 rubles. Of course, other costs may be added to this. For example, vaccinations, calling a veterinarian, etc., as a result, keeping a cow costs twenty-six thousand.

What can we get?

We calculate two options for the sale of milk. Option one- we hand over the milk to the manufacturer. In our district, such a purchase is organized mainly in the Galkinsky rural settlement by an individual entrepreneur A.V. Osipov. So, on average, a cow will give 3,500 liters of milk per year (and this is not the best cow, let's call it average).
Let's assume that we drink 500 liters of milk to the born calf, leave three liters for the needs of the family every day, and hand over the rest of the milk to the purveyor. This balance (on average) - 2300 liters (3500 l - 500 l - 700 l) is multiplied by 11 rubles. (average purchase price for the current date), we get 25300 rubles. Yes, the price is very low, but at the same time you have no worries about who to sell to, no transportation costs, you do not spend money on electricity, gas in case of milk processing.
It would seem that what happens when the cost of a cow is 26,000 rubles. income is only 25,300 rubles.? But we left 700 liters for ourselves, and if there weren’t a cow, we would have to buy this milk in a store at a price of at least 30 rubles, which is 21,000 rubles. That is, even with this option for the sale of excess milk, you can save 20,300 rubles for the family. In addition, every year a cow brings one calf. It was possible to sell a monthly calf last year for at least 9-10 thousand rubles, and if you leave it and grow it, then the family will have meat, and part of the meat can be sold.
Option two- We do it ourselves. To whom? Residents of their village, in the city. For calculation, let's take average prices: milk costs 25 rubles. per 1 liter, sour cream - 200 rubles. cottage cheese - 100 rubles. per kilogram.
We consider. Milk - 6 liters per day for 25 rubles. This is 150 rubles for seven days - 1050 rubles for a week.
Sour cream - 200 rubles. multiply by three liters per week, the result is 600 rubles.
Cottage cheese - 100 rubles, 3 kg per week, total - 300 rubles.
It turned out that in a week we received 1950 rubles, multiply by four weeks, in total - 7800 rubles per month of income from one cow.
A cow is milked for ten months a year, but we will only calculate for six, when it is most productive, so we will receive 46,800 rubles from the sale of dairy products (7,800 rubles are multiplied by six months).
For the remaining four months, we calculate the sale of milk daily for three liters, we multiply these 360 liters by 25 rubles, we get another 9,000 rubles. Total income for the year - 55800 rubles. Considering that the cost of keeping a cow amounted to approximately 26,000 rubles, the net profit is about 29,800 rubles. At the same time, we ourselves have milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, and maybe butter on the table all the time - this is also uncalculated profit, we didn’t pay for them - it was our cow who gave us “free”.

Includes the following main activities:

feeding animals and watering them in stalls;

grazing;

hay making;

milking;

breeding (materials);

periodic veterinary examinations and preventive vaccinations.

Each of these procedures, of course, requires not only certain knowledge, but also financial costs.

Is it profitable to keep a cow: reviews of farmers

According to the majority of homeowners, keeping cattle for milk todaypretty profitable. But only if the owner of the barn approaches the choice of breed with all responsibility and strictly observes the technology of keeping animals.The recent reduction in the number of cattle in Russia, according to many farmers, is not due to the fact that it has become unprofitable to grow such animals, but simply to the banal laziness of our compatriots. Indeed, unlike the same rabbits or chickens, it requires a huge amount of time and effort. Such animals need not only to be fed correctly and on time, but also milked at least twice a day. Also, the cattle farmer should know how to properly take, how to care for calves and much more.

Thus, only people who are not afraid of various kinds of difficulties and, moreover, permanently residing in rural areas, buy cattle for keeping. For such farmers, the question of whetherin the economy, in principle, it is not worth it at all. Having spent maximum effort on caring for cattle, such people really get a good profit. It’s just that in the country a cow, unlike the same chickens or rabbits, is not only unprofitable to keep, but in most cases it’s even completely impossible.

How much does care cost: feed

Before buying a cow, of course, you need to make a calculation of the future costs of its maintenance. It is also worth trying to determine the expected profit. Keeping cows in any case involves the use of:

roughage (grass and hay);

concentrates (grain and bran);

succulent feed (root crops,silage).

The most expensive type of foodare, of course, concentrates. On average, one cow needs about 1 ton of barley per year. The cost of this type of feed is about 8500-9000 rubles. Also, the farmer will need to purchase about 500-600 kg of bran. Their purchase will cost about 3000-4000 rubles. That is, in total, you will have to spend at least 11,500 rubles. in year.

Many farmers in specialized forums are interested inIs it profitable to keep a cow if you buy hay.Similar feed for one animalusually about 50 bales are required per year, the cost of each of which is 80-85 rubles. That is, the costs in this case will be at least 4000 r.In principle, this is not much, and the purchase of hay does not have a special effect on the final profit from keeping cows in most cases. But, of course, if desired, the farmer can save on hay and mow it on his own (if there is one).

Juicy feed, according to the technology of keeping, one cow needs about900-1000 kg per year. Beets, for example, cost about 3000 r. per ton. For the same amount of silage, you need to pay about 4200-4500 rubles.

Thus, in total, per year, you have to spend on feed for one cow:

11,500 + 4,000 + 3,000 = 18,500 rubles.

And this is only the minimum amount.

Additional expenses

Among other things, the maintenance of a cow implies, of course, the cost of grazing. The average price of a shepherd's services is 600 r. per month. The total amount for the warm period of the year, therefore, will be about 2500-3000 rubles.

Additional costs for keeping a cow should also include the cost of electricity (shed lighting) and fuel (delivery of milk to customers). All this will cost an average of about10-15 thousand rubles in year.

Thus, the total cost of keeping a cow will be 18,500 +2500 + 10 000 = 31 000 R. in year.Based primarily on this, and it is necessary to determine whether it is profitable to keep cows for milk. Of course,the farmer will have to pay back over time the cost of the barn, which in this case should be large enough.

Veterinarian services

The answer to the question aboutdepends, among other things,and from the cost of various kinds of preventive measures aimed at preventing diseases. INowners of small household plots containing one-two cows, usually pay leashfor vaccinations. In total, holdingvaccinationsin small farmsit costs about 5-6 thousand rubles a year. That is, to the previously received amount of costs of 31,000 rubles. you need to add another 5 thousand rubles. Thus, the average figure for the cost of maintaining one cow per year will be 36,000 rubles. in year.

Mating costs

Of course, this item of expenditure should also be included in the project of the future farm. After all, if a cow does not have calves, it will not work to get milk from it. The cost of mating a cow with a bull depends primarily on the breed of the latter. So, the services of a champion can cost 10-15 thousand rubles. But most often, the owners of personal plots paybehindmatingyetno more than 2000 r. in year. That is, the total amount of expenses will be 38,000 rubles.

Possible profit

So, we found out approximately how much farmers spend on feed, prevention of cattle diseases, mating, etc. SoIs it profitable to keep a cow inau pair? To answer this question, among other things, one should, of course, also know how much money can actually be earned from the sale of the main product produced on a farm of similar specialization.

High-yielding cows, with proper feeding and keeping technology, are able to give an average3500 -6000 liters of milk per year. In Russia, a liter of such a farm product costs about 53 rubles on average. That is, from one cow for a year you can get about 318,000 rubles. If 38,000 rubles are spent on maintenance, the income will thus be 318,000 - 38 000 = 28 0 000 r. from one cow.

Is it really possible to get 280,000 rubles of profit

Thus, the answer to the question ofis it profitable to keep a cow to sell milk, is clear. With the right choice of breed and compliance with the technology of care from one animal, you can get28 0 000 r.income per year. However, this amount mayytredeemed, unfortunatelyonly if the milk is sold directly to the consumer.Meanwhilefind buyersthe owner of a personal plot often happensnot soAndJust. Of course, you can sell milk in the marketor summer residents, if there are gardening associations near the village. But it is not a fact that in this way it will be possible to implement the entire product.

In the event that it is not possible to find a sufficient number of buyers for milk, it will most likely have to be handed over to the dairy. And profits will decrease, and very much. The fact is that food industry enterprises accept milk at a price of only 12-15 rubles per liter. That is, the income from one cow in this case will be15 x 6000 = 90,000 max.

A large number of animals: is it profitable?

Many villagers keep one or two cows in their personal backyard. In principle, this business can be quite profitable. But many Russians are also wondering if10 or 20. Of course, a cattle breeding farm, like a small household plot, can also become a fairly profitable enterprise. However, the organization of a business of such specialization, of course, will require additional costs. For 5-10 cows, you will need a much larger barn. In addition, the owners may have to hire an assistant. Yes, and milk in this case, most likely, will still have to be handed over to the factory, which will greatly affect profits. The only way to reach the consumer directly in this case is to open your own store. And this, of course, will entail additional costs for renting a room, hiring a seller, etc.

Sale of calves

The answer to the question aboutis it profitable to keep a cowon the farm, depends not only on how much milk an animal can give, and the prices of these products.Of course, a farm owner specializing in growingcattlecan make a profitAndfrom the sale of offspring.In particular, cattle breeders who keep cows of popular breeds with documents have good income from the sale of heifers. Such animals are usually bought very willingly and also at a high price.

Breeds of dairy cows

For what price do farmers sell heifers and what profit can be made from their sale? The best breeds of dairy cows among Russian cattle breeders at the moment are:

red steppe;

aishirskaya;

Holstein;

Kholmogory.

You can find out how much a heifer of a particular breed costs and whether it is profitable to keep a cow from the table below.

Dairy products have always been in demand in our country.

Without them, it is impossible to imagine either a festive or daily table.

Therefore, many private entrepreneurs, choosing a field of activity for themselves, prefer breeding as a business.

The profitability of such a business is undeniable, especially as modern technologies for genetic modification of products develop, which makes it difficult for people to find quality products.

If you provide the consumer with a quality product, very soon the manufacturer will have a good reputation, many regular customers and the business will be successful.

Since the market is constantly demanding fresh and quality dairy products, it makes sense to start breeding as a business.

It is profitable or not to grow them for milk production can be understood if you familiarize yourself with the numbers a little.

Statistics show that if you keep a cow farm for milk production, then the annual profit is about one million six hundred thousand rubles.

Breeding bulls for meat will bring one million three hundred thousand rubles a year. Another opportunity to receive money from keeping cows is the sale of manure as a soil fertilizer. It can be purchased in large quantities by farmers who grow crops in the fields. Thus, all funds spent on promoting the business will be returned in one to two years.

The expected market for milk sales is mainly in:

Production shops for the manufacture of dairy products such as cheeses, kefirs and oils.
Large markets that always need a huge amount of fresh produce.
Counters of small sizes, which are located in towns, villages and on the outskirts of the city.

Also, when starting a dairy business, competition should be taken into account. So that later there are not many problems, it is better to immediately choose such points of sale and a place to build a farm where there are no similar enterprises nearby.

Amount of starting capital

The initial capital for starting a dairy business will depend on how many livestock the farmer plans to keep. This determines the size of the premises, and the purchase of feed, and the hiring of full-time employees.

In total, the costs can be as follows:

For the construction or reconstruction of the premises, it may take up to two hundred thousand rubles.
It will take about three hundred thousand rubles to purchase livestock (if you buy seven or eight).
To complete all the documentation for doing business, you need about twenty thousand rubles.

As a result, you will need about five hundred or six hundred thousand rubles, depending on the number of livestock.

The annual cost of doing business will be:

Three hundred and sixty thousand rubles for renting the premises (if it is your own, part of the money will be spent on paying utilities and other taxes).
Sixty-five thousand rubles for the purchase of feed.
Five hundred and forty thousand rubles for the issuance of regular wages to full-time employees.
One hundred thousand rubles to pay off state taxes.
About a hundred thousand rubles for other expenses, such as the purchase and maintenance of equipment and the treatment of animals.

Consequently, in order to keep about a dozen cows, more than one million rubles will be required per year. If the business develops well, the owner may want to increase the number of livestock. In this case, expenses will increase, but income will also increase.

A certain part of the costs of organizing a new business can be covered by the state. If you are well acquainted with laws and rights, you can apply to some services and authorities to receive subsidies for the purchase of livestock and buildings for their breeding, as well as for the purchase of feed. However, this option is not always available. For details, contact your local government development agency.

Where to start business development

It is not so easy to raise cows as a business. Where to begin? The development of any business should begin with the collection of information in this area.

First of all, you need to learn all about the following topics:

Varieties of cows for milk and meat, their advantages.
Features of keeping cows of the selected breed.
The nuances of raising livestock at different times of the year, their response to an increase and decrease in temperature, different humidity.
Opportunities for the sale of milk, meat products and manure. Learn about exchange and wholesale options.

Selection of cows for breeding

When choosing a breed of cows and purchasing a herd for breeding for milk, it is necessary to pay attention to the presence of the following factors:

The growth rate of young heifers.
Large size and weight of animals when they grow up.
Good health of all individuals in the herd.
High level of animal performance.
The ability of cows to produce one healthy yearly.
The ability of cows to produce large amounts of milk for many years in a row.
Good adaptability of livestock to different climatic conditions and the ability to quickly adapt to change.

Cows that meet the above requirements are distinguished by the following description:

The abdominal area of the body of the cow has a barrel-shaped, round belly, the skeleton is thin in appearance, but of high strength. This suggests that the animal's digestive system and lungs work well.
The shape of the head is elongated, it has a small weight. The horns are small and not wide. The withers are not sharp and not forked. The line of the back is even, without excessive bends.
The udder is large and heavy. It has a thin and soft hairline. Its volume becomes significantly smaller after milking, and soft and elastic folds appear behind the udder. The most high-yielding udder is in the form of a bowl or bath.
The first third of the lactation period of cows is considered the most productive. The closer the end of this period, the less milk it gives. When a cow is no longer young, she is less productive. Usually the amount of milk increases until the seventh lactation, after which it begins to gradually fall.

Farm arrangement

The old building can be bought or rented. When choosing, pay attention to the following features:

To maintain a herd of ten individuals, a room measuring about 34 x 6 m is required. If the population is small, animals can be kept inside the stall. Their average size can be equal to two square meters.
It is desirable to locate the farm in an area where there are many fields for growing crops. This will allow you to quickly find buyers of manure and transport it without difficulty.
In order for the cows to be healthy and the milk to be of high quality, there should be a meadow for grazing animals near the buildings for their maintenance. Juicy greens are an important part of the diet, and getting them from free natural resources can save you money.
In the stall, it is necessary to provide a drain and a door for manure.

If a farm with several hundred cows is planned, grazing in the meadows will be unlikely, and all feed will be distributed using special machines directly inside the farm. In this case, the specifics of the area may be different: the building for keeping the herd and storing food will take up more space, and the presence of a meadow nearby is not so important.

Catering and animal care

The diet of cows should include the following ingredients:

Compound feed.
Dried grass.
Fresh greens.

Also, it is necessary to add all kinds of vitamin bait to food. The feed should be varied and nutritious so that the animals do not lose weight and give a lot of milk.

According to statistics, for one cow per day, it is necessary to spend from nine to fifteen kilograms of hay. But this figure may vary depending on the season and climatic conditions. When the herd is grazing in the meadow, then being in the stall it will consume much less food. However, in winter, the animals have a considerable appetite, so you should calculate in advance the amount of hay and feed that you need to stock up on so that the herd is full and productive.

Recently, fewer and fewer people have begun to keep a cow in their own backyard. A modern person is not always ready for life to exchange life in the city for life in the countryside, therefore only a small proportion of people arbitrarily dare to do this. Those who live in villages and towns, have a personal household, know how hard work is, what a person is responsible for his animals, for his family, and for food on the dinner table. And in order to make it profitable to keep a cow and other cattle, you need to put a lot of effort into maintenance, treatment and nutrition, as well as unforeseen expenses. Farming is a business for those who do not like haste and know how to wait.

You can’t keep a cow in an apartment, keeping it close to the city will also be extremely problematic. Therefore, the ideal place for a cow is when she is kept next to a private house in the village, where there is a paddock, pasture meadows and fields. Breeding one cow is not an easy and costly business, since it is necessary to build a room for an animal, because it cannot be kept on the street. The built premises must comply with sanitary and construction standards, the barn must be suitable for existence in winter and summer, in rain and in heat. Since the cow is not a small animal, it accordingly eats a lot, so it is imperative to store supplies for the winter, and for this you need another separate large room. To save on buildings, you will have to arm yourself with a tool.

From this we can conclude that keeping a cow is suitable only for those who are in love with farm life, love to swarm with living creatures, know how to wait, understand the physiology, psychology of animals, as well as a jack of all trades. Selfless, family people are perfect for farming.

It should be understood that in our time a cow is not very suitable as a business for beginners, but still the most courageous can try.

Purchase of livestock and feed

In your yard, under good conditions, you can keep more than one cow. But if you are an inexperienced cattle breeder, you must understand that cows, like people, are completely different, each with its own individual habits and characters.

If you want the cow to understand you perfectly in the future, you need to buy a very small heifer, but its maintenance will pay off in at least 2 years. Keeping an adult cow will pay off in about a year, but you cannot be sure that a cow will be perfect for you. It is possible that she will not successfully adapt to a new place, she may not give milk, kick, not obey or be perceived as your owner. When you realize that a cow is not suitable for you, quite a lot of time will pass. Therefore, in order to avoid this, if possible, it is better to buy several heifers or 2-4 adult cows.

If you want to build a business selling milk, you should consider the breed of the cow. Some breeds of dairy cows have reverently won the hearts of farmers and, according to positive reviews, the following varieties can be advised: Kholmogorskaya, Krasnaya Stepnaya, Ayshirskaya.

Reviews about each of these breeds are positive. Large milk yields are pleasing, they are unpretentious, hardy, easily acclimatized and quite resistant to diseases.

When buying livestock feed, you need to clearly know what is needed for adequate growth and development of an animal that is full of health. And these are roughage, grain crops, succulent feed, various vitamin supplements. This includes silage, root crops, meadow grass, tops, hay.

Equipment

For comfortable keeping, stall equipment is also needed, at minimal cost for cleaning manure and premises, you can get by with hand tools - buckets, ropes, shovels, brooms, feeding basins, devices for crushing cereals and making hay. Do not save on equipment - it will make your life easier, save valuable time and nerves, and it will be much easier to keep cows.

Feeding costs

To calculate feeding costs you need to know how many cows you plan to have. For the purchase, you need to take into account the season, for example, autumn is the most profitable period. By the way, good savings are obtained if you grind cereals on your own.

In a year, one cow needs about a ton of barley, 600 kg of bran, 4 tons of hay, about a ton of beets, and the same amount of silage. On average, about 25,000 Russian rubles are spent per cow from the calculation of these products under the most favorable purchase conditions. Of course, you can reduce the cost of feeding, but for this you need to take out cattle for grazing, as well as harvest hay yourself. This is quite realistic if you have only a few cows and 1-2 bulls.

Veterinarian services

A veterinarian is a must. This should include mandatory vaccination of animals, possible diseases, childbirth and routine examinations. If the number of livestock is large enough, you can not do without your own hired health worker - this includes his salary. Also in the services of a veterinarian can be attributed mating or insemination with the help of a doctor.

Vaccinations should not be skipped, especially for newcomers to your site, cows, and born calves.

Additional expenses

The cost of keeping cows is very dependent on the desired plan. If you do not plan to make money and build a business with the help of cows, then the cow is self-sustaining in the first year due to the return of milk. She will feed you, your family, living creatures in the courtyard. You can even earn some money by selling dairy and sour-milk products to neighbors and interested customers from nearby garden associations and villages. The amount of costs in this case will not exceed the income from the cow.

Sale of calves

Calves of sought-after breeds are valued quite expensively, they are easier to grow for meat and sell. Pedigree calves are many times more expensive than outbred calves. The following breeds are best for meat: black-and-white, Aberdeen Angus, Simmental.

The sale of calves is in demand for those who cannot raise bulls for meat, and it is also a good way to earn money for those who have already formed a farmstead and “extra” calves have been born.

Profit from the sale of milk

If you properly organize your business, the profit from one cow can be more than 500,000 rubles a year, and this is only from one cow. If you have more cows for milk, you can organize the sale of various products, and not just fresh milk, such as cheese, sour cream, cream, cottage cheese, kefir, and so on.

The average salary of a farmer exceeds the average income of a villager, so if you give yourself completely to the farming life, it's worth it.

Tip: the cost of 1 liter of milk ranges on average from 30 to 53 rubles per liter. If you develop a client base and recommend yourself and your products well, then the income will be high and stable. For this, development in social networks, ads in newspapers, as well as along with word of mouth will help.

The benefit of a large population

When raising livestock in the amount of more than 10 heads, more effort, time, money are required, and an additional purchase of equipment, a car, hired workers and a large courtyard area is also needed. With a large number of cows, bulls and calves, the profit will be a very large amount.

It is worth considering that the costs will become much higher, since you will not be able to cope on your own and even with your family. You will need the services of hired shepherds, laborers and a veterinarian, and they require wages.
The base must be large enough so that the milk does not go to waste. In the production of cheeses and other fermented milk products, you need to know the technology of their preparation so that the raw materials do not deteriorate either.
It is worth remembering that breeding cows and bulls for meat is not a matter of 5 minutes or even 1 month. You can see real profit in a few years, about 2 to 7 years, under favorable conditions in a year.
You don’t need to think that it will not bring you profit at all. Meat and milk are needed always and everywhere.

How to increase profit

In order to constantly increase the profit from the sale, you will need:

keep more cattle,
expand the territory and build new pens, haylofts and other buildings,
study the market, collect a client base,
study products that you can produce yourself,
study the demand for heifers, the sale of heads for meat,
not be limited to outbred cows, but to buy thoroughbred,
to develop a client base, use social networks - they quickly promote the business.

Keeping one or five cows is a lot of work, but doing it yourself, farming and spending time with your family is probably the best thing that can be for you.

Keeping poultry and small-sized domestic animals is a common option among farmers and villagers. But keeping a cow is a much more difficult task. Is it profitable to keep this animal on the farm? And if so, how profitable? Detailed answers to these and other questions in a real story from a girl who just has a cow in her household.

Why a cow? (+ video with profitability calculations)

Why cow and dairy production? Yes, because, as our grandmothers used to say: “A cow in the yard is wealth in the family.” It is impossible to argue with this even today.

Indeed, if the family has a cow, then you will never be left hungry or without money.

More than one hundred dishes can be prepared from cow's milk, and a cow milks enough to feed a large family, and even remains for sale. And the calf meat that a cow brings every year is quite enough for a family for a year.

What regions are suitable for?

What is good about cattle breeding is that it does not matter in which region you live. The main thing is that there should be areas for grazing and harvesting hay, because a lot of it is needed even for one animal.

Of course, there are limitations: for example, sheep or goats are more suitable for mountainous areas, because cows are still not adapted to galloping in the mountains. Well, or for the tundra, for example, it is better to breed deer, since there is relatively little grass there.

Why breed cattle?

Cattle are bred primarily for milk and meat. Depending on the direction of the business, you can choose dairy, meat or meat and dairy breeds.

There are a lot of options for processing milk, for every taste, as they say: this is milk itself, and cottage cheese, cream, sour cream, yoghurts, fermented baked milk, yogurt and much, much more.

The same is with meat: it is possible to sell not only meat directly, but also the production of semi-finished products, sausages, smoked meats. And the more processing stages meat or milk has passed, the more expensive it is at the exit. However, please note: each stage of processing requires additional equipment.

We keep cows for milk. Is it profitable: in the scheme, milk processing products in numbers.

Also, with a competent business organization, additional profit is received by:

from the sale of animal skins, which are actively used in the shoe industry;
from the sale of manure, especially if it is processed to the state of vermicompost (this can be done both independently and sold to enterprises that do this);
from the sale of liver and offal;
from the sale of horns and hooves.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages include the constant and very high demand for meat and milk. Moreover, this demand will never disappear, under no circumstances: a person always needs to eat, and meat and milk form the basis of the diet. With the right choice of breeds, the profitability of breeding is quite high. And for owners of private farms, a cow is generally the first thing, as it seems to me.

There are also many disadvantages in this business:

if you can prepare feed for one cow yourself, then you can’t do without equipment for two or more (or you will have to work harder or buy feed);
even for one cow, pastures are needed, or imported grass / hay;
there should always be access to water, and cows drink a lot;
after calving, cows often experience paresis, you need to have time to call a veterinarian in time, otherwise the animal will die.

And perhaps the most painful, for me personally, drawback: it is a constant attachment to the house.

You need to milk and feed strictly on schedule, and if you are the owner of a household plot and you do not have hired employees, you can forget about trips for more than 4-5 hours, and forget about vacations and weekends.

Business organization

If you plan to have 1-2 cows in private household plots, and do not plan to sell large volumes of milk and meat to retail outlets, then you don’t need to draw up anything special. You will only need to register with a veterinary clinic and regularly undergo a medical examination of the animal by a veterinarian.

To organize a business in the breeding of cattle, much more effort and investment will be required.

Decor

First of all, you need to register with the tax office. You can choose the form of management at your discretion: it can be a peasant farm, an individual entrepreneur, an LLC, or even a joint-stock company if you plan to open a large enterprise right away.

But it is best to register as a KFH. Moreover, in connection with the protracted crisis, the state actively supports peasant farms by issuing various grants and subsidies.

After registering with the tax office, you can already resolve issues with construction, land lease and the purchase of livestock.

Selection, search and purchase of individuals for breeding (+ video about the best dairy breeds)

As for the choice of breeds: try to choose one of those breeds that are in close proximity to you.

For part-time farming and for small farms, it is better to take meat and dairy breeds. Because meat, as a rule, give much less milk, and it may happen that there will be nothing to sell. And dairy breeds, with proper feeding, give a lot of milk, but they have such a constitution that this animal is large, tall, and has a large skeleton. And since a cow brings a calf, a large skeleton is not needed, it is muscle meat that is needed, and there is more of it in meat and dairy breeds.

In addition, every year you have to inseminate a cow. In order not to keep your bull, you need to have access to the seed in the immediate vicinity, and preferably not expensive.

In our area, for example, the most common are the Yaroslavl, Holstein and Black-and-White breeds.

I, personally, have a mixture of Yaroslavl and Holstein. Within walking distance, I have a small still functioning collective farm, where you can generally put a cow to a bull for mating behind a box of chocolates.

Keeping a cow at home: personal experience of a small farm (LPS), maintenance tips, technology, calculation of consumption and income.

From the main nuances of breeding: it is not necessary to cover a cow of the Yaroslavl breed with a Holstein bull. It's just about the sizes of different breeds. With this insemination, the calf often turns out to be large, and it often happens that the cow may simply not be born.

If you are planning a large farm, then you should choose a breed depending on the main focus of your future production. If you plan to breed them for meat, then choose meat breeds. If for the sake of obtaining milk, then dairy. However, for large enterprises, meat and dairy breeds are often purchased as a universal solution.

In addition to the animals themselves, a food base is needed. Think right away where you will take food.

For one cow with a calf per year, it takes me:

4-5 tons of hay + grass in summer;
potatoes - about 2 tons;
fodder beets, carrots, zucchini, pumpkins and other vegetables - 1-2 tons (I plant the same, and there it depends on the crop);
compound feed - about a ton.

Of all this, I buy only compound feed, we grow the rest ourselves.

During the launch period and immediately after calving, I pierce the cow with vitamins. Otherwise, I add only chalk and salt, we go through a veterinary examination and pass tests.

Required real estate

I have a wooden house with a yard, so where to put the cow was not a question. In general, the size of the stall should be 1.5 by 1.9-2 meters.

We also have a plot of 30 acres, which is enough for planting vegetables. But for harvesting hay, of course, much more is needed.

Approximately 2-2.5 ha for hay harvesting + at least 1.5 ha for summer walking or grass cutting.

In our village, when we moved here, most of the plots were abandoned: people do not keep cattle, and only cultivate their garden. Therefore, the neighbors were even happy when we got a cow and began to mow the grass in the areas outside the village. Many even mowed for us, and we only took the finished grass or even hay. This is an undeniable plus. Because if there is no free space where you live, you will either have to buy hay or look for a plot to rent. And not the fact that he will be close to home, like mine.

I have an ordinary village yard, and there is a story there - this is a place under the roof, above the yard, in which hay is laid for winter storage. It also serves to preserve heat, so we do not use additional heating even in severe frosts. In addition, the house has an underground where all root crops are actually stored until spring.

Feed is also stored in the yard in iron barrels. Therefore, I have no problems with storage, and the additional costs associated with it, too. But if you do not have one, then it is better to take care of where you will store supplies in advance. You will have to build a room for a cow, make a cellar, and build a porch or a shed for hay.

If you plan to keep one cow and a calf, then a large room is not needed, a 3x3 meter insulated barn will be enough.

But I would advise you to make it with a high roof, for storing hay, and to attach a shack for various equipment, feed and other necessary things.

There must also be a place for slaughter. I have this small fenced off corner in the gate.

The cost and arrangement of a barn for 7 heads (video)

List of equipment and machinery

As for equipment: for a personal subsidiary plot, not so much is needed.

Firstly: if you keep animals, like me, then heaters are not needed, and there are small windows for ventilation.
Secondly: for care, you need buckets for drinking, scrapers, pitchforks, shovels for cleaning, a milking machine, cans, pots for milk processing.
Thirdly: garden tools, preferably a walk-behind tractor, or a mini tractor with attachments (plow, hiller, cart), gas trimmer, rake.

Staff

We do not use hired labor yet, we manage with our family: for one cow this is quite enough.

If hiring employees, it is best to take someone from the local, and entrust the performance of individual tasks, rather than hiring for a permanent job.

For example, remove manure and scatter it over the area before plowing; or harvest vegetables; or remove the hay to lead; or hire a dishwasher who comes once a day, for example, to wash dishes after cooking cottage cheese in a Russian oven.

For a small subsidiary farm, a constant hired force is unprofitable.

There is not enough profit to pay a stable salary to an outsider.

Well, if you decide to expand and keep a larger livestock, then you will have to hire workers on an ongoing basis: you will definitely not be able to cope on your own.

Sales of products

As for sales, I have never had any problems with this. On the contrary, I even have an entry on the queue. Now it is even fashionable for urban residents to buy products from private farmsteads.

Dairy products from supermarket shelves are hardly natural and healthy

But there is an important point: the products must always be fresh and of very high quality. It is not allowed, for example, to dilute milk with water. This will work on city market stalls, and only if buyers are not very versed and find fault with quality. And even then it’s not a fact that you will like the taste of such a product, and people will follow it again.

I always sell only to end users, I do not work with intermediaries. Selling expensive, and I can justify the price. I have delivery to the regional center to the entrance, 2-3 times a week. Everything that is more complicated than cottage cheese, I do only on order (cheeses, fermented baked milk, butter and ghee). This is done to ensure that the product is always fresh, and in no case from the freezer.

If we are preparing to slaughter a bull, then I notify all customers in advance and say how much meat I can sell. Never before has there been enough for everyone.

Now I already have my own base of regular customers who sort everything out, sometimes they don’t have enough for themselves. But when I was just starting, I came across such a moment that people, without even trying it, said “it’s very expensive here, milk in the store costs 45 rubles!”.

I don’t work with such people right away: I’m not going to prove anything to anyone, if you want store-bought milk for 45 rubles / liter, go and buy it. And the backbone of adequate people who have now become my regular customers, and do not even require discounts, has developed in a couple of months.

At the very beginning, I told all my friends and acquaintances that I now sell milk and meat. She placed ads on the social networks of her city, submitted free ads on Avito and from hand to hand. And nothing more, word of mouth worked further. Because the products are actually very fresh and tasty, and delivery to the entrance played a big plus: it turned out to be very convenient for people.

Consumer prices for farm products in our city vary greatly.

whole milk: 100 r / liter;
sour cream: 150 r / 500 gr;
milk baked in a Russian oven: 130 r / liter;
cottage cheese: 350 r / kg;
butter: 600 r / 500 gr;
hard cheese: 550 r / 500 gr;
meat: from 450 r / kg.

These are the main products for sale. Please note: prices may vary depending on the season, and may be different in your regions.

Calculation of expenses and income for the maintenance of a cow (+video with calculations)

To start making a profit from the sale of milk, I only needed to buy a cow and feed. It was a planned purchase, and first in the spring we planted a garden and all the fodder, started to mow hay, and bought the cow itself in August, when vegetables appeared.

To purchase a milking pregnant cow, you need 60-90 thousand rubles, depending on the breed and age.
I buy compound feed immediately for a couple of months in advance, for about 2000 rubles.
We already had everything else: a gas trimmer, garden tools, buckets, scrapers, jars, bottles, milkers.

For the first 2 years, we dug the garden with our hands (now a walk-behind tractor), we still mow hay with a trimmer, move it, dry it with our hands, carry it on a small cart, but this is again due to the fact that we harvest it right behind the garden (that is, we don’t need to deliver it far ).

I also don’t have any expenses for milk processing, because I cook it in a Russian oven, which, in turn, also serves as heating at home. We also have our own water, a well. Therefore, the costs are minimal.

About 2 thousand a year is spent on veterinary care.

There are expenses for transporting products to the regional center, which is 40 km away, but I don’t take them into account either, since my husband works in the city and still goes there every day.

My cow gives an average of 19 liters of milk per day, 280 days a year. This is approximately 5320 liters per year, +/-.

Of this, our family uses about 820 liters for personal consumption. 4500 liters remain. Even if we calculate that only milk is sold, then at 100 r / liter it turns out 450,000 a year. If you process it yourself, it will come out more.

Is it profitable, and is it worth doing?

Is it profitable or not to keep a cow in private household plots - consider for yourself. I think a lot here depends on you and on the region where you live.

If you take this as seriously as possible, save on the purchase of feed and labor, income will increase (or rather, consumption will decrease). If you correctly approach the implementation, you will get loyal regular customers. And of course, the proximity and development of nearby cities plays an important role. It is clear that in the wilderness, even if there is demand, the price will be much lower.

If in general terms: it is worth keeping a cow for those who live in the village permanently, have free hands and sufficient area to keep the animal. If you have a summer cottage that you visit on weekends in the summer, then it is natural that you should not start such a serious occupation.

conclusions

Before starting a cow, you need to think 10 times: this is not a chicken or a goat, this is the next step, it is very serious and difficult. It will be difficult both physically and in terms of binding to the schedule and home. But at the same time, it is still interesting, and quite profitable.

The most important point: the cow is fully capable of providing your family with milk and meat, and by selling the surplus, you will make a profit every day, almost all year round.

Well, as it turned out, there is no need to be upset if you have an ordinary wooden house with a yard, and a half-abandoned village, this can even play into your hands.

And the neighbors will willingly agree to help for a small fee, and there will be a large number of areas around where it will be possible to mow grass for food.