How to build a farm: farm animals, fundamental differences in construction and planning

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

A village, town or any available land opens up many prospects for a person to develop a business. Someone prefers to grow vegetables and then sell them to the market, someone breeds rabbits or goats, someone can build a chicken farm and earn good money selling eggs and meat. But another option for a home business is to organize a small farm for keeping cattle. However, before you build a farm, you should figure out whether it is profitable to keep cows at all, what kind of care is needed, how to successfully raise calves.

Basic principles of a mini farm

Before starting construction work, it is necessary to analyze in detail all the nuances and possible pitfalls of this home business. Before you build a farm, you should take into account that the key role here is played by:

• features of keeping cattle on a farmin warm and cold seasons, depending on climatic conditions;
• dairy and meat breeds of cattle, the rules for their maintenance and production of products in a modern way;
• how best to sell the products received and sell cow manure.

Work areas

Before you build a mini-farm, you should pay attention to the fact that it can focus on getting milk or meat. But inexperienced farmers in this matter do not always understand in which livestock variant they should move, as well as what conditions to provide livestock, depending on the method of breeding. To do this, it is worth considering in more detail separately meat and dairy farms.

Meat Farm

Before you build a farm for cows, it is worth considering that the meat direction is more expensive than the dairy one. The main thing here is to choose the right bulls or heifers in order to fatten them in the future. This does not require the construction of additional premises, and the equipment for maintaining the farm is reduced to a minimum. It will only take funds to purchase good feed for cattle in order to successfully raise a calf or heifer at home, and breed animals in the future.

If the main goal of animal husbandry is to make a profit as soon as possible, then this option is the most suitable. However, if the farmer plans to organize a long-term business, then it is best to build cattle farms to receive and sell dairy products.

Currently, the most widely used home family models of farm projects that facilitate the maintenance of bulls. This includes the following technologies and methods:

• when calves reach 1 year of age, they must be raised in stalls;
• pasture period of cattle breeding is used to the maximum;
• calves can be fed milk at home until they are seven months old;
• using automatic feed dispensers and feed dispensers that are very easy to maintain;
• Using a home freestyle care option for livestock - with this method, the cows are simply in the stalls.

Dairy Farm

Before you build a farm aimed at obtaining dairy products, you should pay attention to the fact that the main element here is the hall where the cows are milked. To get the maximum result, its construction must be regulated according to strict dairy standards, as well as the installation of appropriate equipment. As a result, a farm that will keep cows according to the rules will become a fairly profitable business, like any properly organized animal husbandry with good products.

As a rule, in business they use loose keeping of livestock in separate stalls or keeping in whole groups. Cows are fed only in the territory of the yard for walking. Drinking will need to be provided with special automatic drinkers directly inside the premises. Cattle raised formilk production, needs water, the temperature of which should be about 12 degrees. Every heifer is watered and milked every day.

What is a mini-farm

Speaking of animal husbandry, it should be noted that this direction is limited by fairly strict limits in relation to all its areas. Before building a farm, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the premises in which the animals will be kept must meet several rather important requirements:

1. Versatility, thanks to which you can raise cattle in absolutely any climatic conditions and in any available way, so that heifers feel as comfortable as possible.
2. Possibility of conducting water and electrical communications to all premises, so that it would be comfortable to care for each animal and milk the heifer.
3. Availability of the necessary equipment that is required for the maintenance of cattle (cows and bulls), including loose housing.
4. In order to successfully raise a cow, calf or bull, the total area must be at least 1000 square meters so that the livestock feel comfortable.
5. Speaking of how to properly build a farm, you should pay attention to the fact that all ceilings in the premises should be at least 6 m. Crowding can adversely affect milk production and rearing of milk-aged calves.

To build a farm from scratch, you must also take into account that such a business requires a certaintype of premises, depending on the orientation. Dairy varieties of farms always have a modernly equipped workshop where milk is bottled. Meat farms have a carcass cutting area and a laboratory.

There is a so-called cold method of rearing calves, which means that the animals must constantly breathe cool fresh air, and the humidity and air temperature in the room should be similar to natural outdoor conditions. Currently, there are many different projects, thanks to which it is possible to build a farm for 100 heads. All of them are designed to create conditions in which cows will grow and feel great.

Choose a plot for a farm

Before you build a farm for animals, you need to choose the right land on which to raise calves at home. The following criteria are taken into account:

• plot area must be at least 1000 square meters;
• on the territory there should be a pasture or a place where it will be possible to build various kinds of hangars;
• there should also be a place to run;
• should be hay for the winter.

Much will also depend on the method of rearing calves at home, that is, whether loose housing is practiced or not, and whether the farm will be meat or dairy. It is worth paying attention to the fact that it will be more profitable to maintain mini-farms that do not have their own fodder.base. In this case, all the profits from the family trade in milk or meat will be used to feed livestock. Livestock farming is a pretty serious business where productivity matters.

Building equipment

To build a successful business, you need to adhere to some plans and rules. The size of the stall for one cow or heifer should be 1 by 2 m. In each box, while the calf needs to create a slight slope where the waste will collect. In addition, there should be a door in the compartment so that it is easy to remove manure.

For a dairy farm, additional consideration will be given to the layout of the milking system, as well as good water supply. Modern automatic milking machines cost less than hiring milkmaids. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the zone in which the cows will be bred. Raising cattle must be profitable in terms of turnover.

Acquisition of animals

Calf selection will be based primarily on the future direction of the farm. For a dairy farm, it is necessary to purchase cows with a large udder without hair, a rounded body and pointed withers. It is recommended to buy young animals, since each of them will allow you to take maximum milk.

When choosing meat breeds, it is best to opt for completely he althy and unpretentious animals, which are distinguished by their large weight. During the purchase, when calculating the number of individuals, the estimated turnover of the herd of cattle should also be taken into account.

Feeding livestock

Feeding equipment is a must on a farm. Feeders can be single or group. The choice is best to stop on wooden products, as they are distinguished by their simplicity of design and excellent quality. The same applies to drinkers. To check the weight of livestock before selling or other procedures, the mini-farm must have a scale. This is especially true in cases where animals are raised for meat.

Farm staff

If the farm is located in a village or town, it is best to hire local residents. Jobs that will be required to care for dairy and beef cows: handyman, milkmaid, farm keeper, animal technician, sales manager, accountant, as well as a person who will monitor the he alth of each animal.

Costs and profits

The approximate amount that will be required to organize the necessary conditions for raising dairy or beef cows should be from 650 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles It includes the construction of a building, the purchase of livestock, the registration of individual entrepreneurship, the development of a business plan. The first year you will also need to purchase feed, pay for the labor of hired workers, taxes, and there will also be costs for various unforeseen expenses that are associated with animal breeding. The profit will depend entirely on how well the organization of the whole business is carried out.

Conclusion

Housekeeping has great prospects. However, in order to reachany success, it will take a lot of effort and time. Since in our country farms have good support from the state, if you do business correctly, you can get a good income. In addition, agricultural products have always been and will be in great demand both in domestic and foreign markets. The main thing is to clearly draw up a plan, weigh all the positive and negative sides, study well the rules that are associated with running such a business, whether it is milk or meat production.