Sheep farming: business plan. Sheep farming as a business from “A” to “Z”. Raising sheep as a business: secrets and calculations of a profitable business

The specific features of breeding Romanov sheep are the correct selection of feed, competent organization of the place where the animals are kept and the study of the peculiarities of raising this type of individual. The rules for drawing up a business plan and calculating the costs of organizing a business will show its high profitability and benefits for the farmer.

Romanov sheep are the oldest domesticated breed. They were bred in the eighteenth century in the Yaroslavl province on one of the peasant farms. To obtain this breed, the best short-tailed sheep were crossed, as a result of which livestock breeders created representatives of a fertile and productive breed. The bred sheep were called Romanov sheep, since the first sheep appeared in the Romanovo-Borisoglebsky district. Now the breed is adapted in almost all regions of Russia, and there are its representatives in other countries. Over the past couple of years, Tatarstan and Bashkir farmers have begun to breed animals of the Romanov breed.

Romanov sheep: maintenance and breeding

These sheep are a meat-and-wool type, which makes these animals universal. Sheep provide not only wool and meat, but also milk and skins. These sheep differ from other breeds in their gray wool with black fringe. Males also have a black mane. The tails of this breed are very short, both females and rams have horns, although sometimes polled animals can also be found.

The animals have a medium-sized body, a wide chest, a straight back, an elongated skull, a narrow muzzle and a neck with developed muscles. The slanted teeth of this breed make Romanov sheep ideal for grazing. The animals also have slender and straight legs with a wide stance, and the ears are long and positioned horizontally. Sheep have a dense coat with a creamy undercoat and long black down.

The breed has several subspecies, differing from each other in the thickness of their coat and skeleton. Tender type sheep have a wool to fluff ratio of 1:11. Breeding of this subspecies is used very rarely, as it has poor sheepskin, poor physical development and a tendency to many diseases.

Sheep of the coarse type have a heavy skeleton, coarse and thick wool, the ratio of which to fluff is 1:4. These animals also have very thick skin. Sheep belonging to the strong type have thick wool and a powerful body. Such animals are distinguished by their vitality and productivity. They have flexible thin skin, a strong skeleton, a broad chest and good health. The wool to fluff ratio is 1:10. It is for this reason that the profitability of breeding sheep of this subspecies is very high.

Male Romanov sheep weigh from eighty to one hundred kilograms, and females from fifty to seventy. When lambs reach one hundred days of age, they weigh eighteen kilograms and are ready for slaughter. Nine-month-old animals weigh up to forty kilograms.

From other breeds, the Romanovskaya differs in its population and rapid growth. A female gives birth to up to three lambs during one pregnancy; in rare cases, seven babies can be born. Females give birth three times a year. When feeding lambs, a sheep produces from sixty hundred liters of milk. These sheep live up to fifteen years, but in livestock farms animals that have reached ten years of age are discarded.

Wool

The wool of Romanov sheep consists of awns and down. Sometimes there are visible transitional villi in it. Their presence in the fleece is undesirable because they are much thicker than wool and do not have curls. When assessing a sheep, they look at the ratio of fluff to long wool, the number of hairs, their purity and number of curls, belly hair and the quality of the flesh. The animals have black fur and white undercoat. Because of this feature, each subspecies of sheep has various shades of fleece.

If the sheepskin is too fluffy, then during wear it will fall off, becoming felt. To prevent this from happening, the fluff should have a length of no more than five centimeters. In addition, such a sheepskin will be much lighter and warmer. If there is a lot of wool in the fleece, then it becomes coarse and heavy with reduced thermal characteristics. The optimal fleece color is dark gray with a blue tint. If Romanov sheep have a red or light shade of wool, they are culled.

The highest quality fleece is that obtained from young animals that have reached six months and have never been shorn. This type of sheepskin is called Petrovskaya. After the first shearing, the sheep need to be sheared three times a year. For one shearing, a sheep gets from one to three kilograms of wool, depending on the subspecies of the breed. The first fleece of young sheep has a thin awn and long, soft down. By breeding this breed of animals, farmers will receive from sixty-five to eighty percent wool. It is better to shear sheep in early spring, mid-summer and early autumn.

Raising sheep

If you comply with all the prescribed conditions, then breeding Romanov sheep will be a relatively simple and profitable activity. If you use animals for breeding purposes, you need to take into account that females can be mated at any time of the year. In females, sexual heat is observed even while feeding offspring. Pregnancy in sheep lasts one hundred and forty-five days. Sexual hunting can last from three to five days. Due to the fact that sheep often undergo multiple inseminations, the likelihood of multiple pregnancies is high.

Sheep of this breed become sexually mature at four months, but at this age they cannot be inseminated. It is advisable to carry out the first mating when the female gains approximately seventy-five percent of the required weight, the approximate weight will be forty kilograms.

Based on farming experience, sheep give birth easily and should only be intervened in extreme cases. Before the female begins giving birth, several hours before it begins, she tries to lie down more and constantly bleats. To make it easier for a sheep to give birth, she needs to cut the wool between her hind legs in advance. Babies survive in ninety-nine percent of cases.

In order to breed Romanov sheep, it is necessary to prepare a dry, warm, well-ventilated barn. For a female without lambs, an area of ​​at least a square meter must be allocated, a pregnant ewe needs two square meters of space, and a female with lambs needs three square meters. The length of the feeder should not be less than forty centimeters.

The floors in the stable should be clay and covered with a layer of scrap. In the cold season, the temperature in the barn should be less than three degrees; for pregnant females and sheep with lambs, the temperature should not fall below eight degrees. This breed needs to be provided with coolness and a flow of fresh air without drafts. The walking pen must be built on the sunny side; it is better to cover its surface with sawdust so that it does not get wet.

Animal grazing should be carried out in meadows with lush and dry grass, which should contain moss and dry leaves. This breed is very hardy and can live in areas with any climatic conditions.

How and what to feed Romanov sheep?

It is better to keep sheep of this breed in a stall for as little time as possible. In summer, animals should be grazed in shady places, avoiding water meadows and swampy areas. The main food for this category of animals is represented by coarse, juicy, green and concentrated feed additives. During the cold season, they can be fed root vegetables and silage. Feed additives that are mealy or stain the coat should be avoided. Minerals, urea and vitamins need to be added to the feed.

Animals must be given water in the morning and evening with clean well water. It is best to feed animals with succulent and concentrated feed additives. The latter are best given after watering; it is best to feed the animal with succulent additives at lunchtime. Sour hay and reeds should be completely avoided.

Pregnant and lactating females must be given two kilograms of hay per day, half of which can be replaced with high-quality straw. Oats in the oats diet are a concentrate. If you feed barley to animals, it must be ground. It is not recommended to feed sheep grains for a long time, otherwise they will begin to get fat. Young individuals can be fed with bran and to supplement their diet with protein, they can be given pea flour.

Over the course of a year, a sheep should eat three kilograms of salt and one and a half kilograms of chalk and bone meal along with food. Barren sheep and castrated males should be fed low-calorie feed to prevent them from becoming fat.

How to start a sheep breeding business?

It is best to start a business for raising sheep for residents of villages, since it is there that there are all the conditions for keeping these animals, from pastures to a place for creating a mini-farm. To keep these animals, a spacious barn without dampness and drafts, a walking paddock and pastures for grazing Romanov sheep will be sufficient. Sheep are not picky about climatic conditions, but they do not like to be reclusive, so they need a large area for walking.

Many novice farmers make the stupid mistake of trying to save money on buying young animals, and instead of purchasing truly purebred sheep with good performance, they purchase home-grown sheep of unknown breed and end up facing numerous problems that cause complete disappointment in sheep farming. For this reason, you should not save money when buying young animals. It is best to purchase young animals from special farms, since it is there that you will be offered truly purebred animals with good characteristics.

When choosing among many breeds of sheep, farmers prefer the Romanov sheep, as it produces high-quality fleece, is large in size, prolific and has good weight characteristics, thanks to which the young stock fully pays for itself after only a year of keeping.

The advantages of the Romanov breed include the rapid growth of young animals. After five months, the sheep can be sheared for the first time, obtaining delicate and soft wool. At six months, animals produce high-quality fleece, at seven months - young lamb, at eight-nine months, females can already bear offspring, which they carry for up to one hundred and forty-five days.

Farmers receive the main income from Romanov sheep from meat. Young animals are ready for slaughter by seven months and can produce from twenty to thirty kilograms of meat per carcass.

In order to obtain young lamb, farmers use an intensive feeding scheme for young animals. To obtain juicy meat, moderate fattening is used, and to obtain fatty meat, you need to use grain feeding of already adult livestock. Sheep live up to fifteen years, but keeping them for more than eight years simply does not make sense.

Sheep maintenance costs

Beginning farmers who are drawing up a business plan need to allocate a special expense item that will be allocated for the purchase of young animals. One young individual, regardless of gender, will cost from one hundred dollars per head. Adults will cost from two hundred dollars per head. It is best to buy young animals in the spring, in order to provide them with free grazing on pastures.

For the cold season, it is necessary to create a winter enclosure for animals with a comfortable temperature, ventilation and no drafts. To do this, you will need special equipment costing three hundred dollars.

You also need to think about purchasing feed additives. For each sheep, two kilograms of hay, one hundred and fifty grams of grain, root crops and silage must be consumed daily. The feed supply must be carried out taking into account the number of sheep in the herd plus separate feed for future lambs.

Profit from sheep farming can be obtained from the sale of meat, young animals, wool and milk, depending on which direction the beginning sheep farmer chooses. Sheep farming is considered a fairly profitable and simple business, so if you decide to engage in it, start without hesitation.

The Bayandaevsky farmer was the first in the region to start breeding Romanov sheep. He started with 190 goals. The farm is already two years old and the increase in young animals and adults has amounted to four thousand sheep.

The sheep farmer proudly talks about his charges and their care. He says that this breed is very unpretentious in keeping and brings good profits, providing the farm not only with meat and milk, but also with wool and significant offspring. In the future, the farmer plans to expand his farm to ten thousand head in order to provide the entire region with high-quality and environmentally friendly sheep products.

Sheep farming is not the most profitable type of business. However, you can succeed in it if you correctly calculate your strengths and do not expect instant super-income. To make money, you need to choose a suitable breed of sheep, organize good grazing and think through a product marketing scheme.

Sheep breeding is considered a rather complex business. Absolute beginners with no experience in agriculture rarely take up sheep farming. However, experienced farmers know that these animals have many positive qualities.

These include:

• rate of growth and weight gain;
• pasture maintenance, which allows you to save on the construction of premises for animals;
• ewes of popular breeds bear offspring up to 2 times a year;
• the livestock is resistant to diseases and tolerates temperature changes well;
• Sheep provide not only tasty meat, but also skins, wool, and milk.

Before you start organizing a farm, you should weigh its disadvantages. The disadvantages of sheep farming include:

1. High cost of breeding livestock. The entrepreneur will have to invest a large sum in the formation of a herd.
2. In order for animals to gain weight well, it is necessary provide them with high-quality feed, some of which will have to be purchased.
3. Needed for grazing spacious pastures with fertile grass.
4. The demand for wool and hides is not high enough today. Many farmers rely only on sheep meat farming, without paying due attention to wool, milk and other products that sheep can provide.
5. Only a large herd will ensure profitability. To maintain it, it will be necessary to hire people with the necessary qualifications and provide them with a decent salary.

You can learn about the main advantages and disadvantages of raising guinea fowl at home, as well as the peculiarities of doing business in this area.

Sheep breeding as a business: where to start and how to succeed?

• Rent land for a future farm. Empty areas of bankrupt state farms, abandoned farms with ready-made premises for livestock are ideal. It’s good if there is a settlement near the grazing area where you can hire workers.

The price of land depends on the ecological state of the region, its remoteness, availability of communications, transport accessibility and other factors.

• Equip pastures. For good fattening, sheep need succulent grass with a predominance of legumes and succulent cereals.

The ideal option is to divide the pastures into sections, alternately sowing them with grass and transferring the herd from one section to another. Install pens and sheds for livestock, equip them with feeders. It will be necessary to build a house for the shepherd, who must constantly monitor the sheep.

• Breeding sheep at home for beginners is recommended to start from registration of a farm (peasant) enterprise. Creating a legal entity is not necessary, but many farmers still prefer or It will also be necessary to obtain a veterinary certificate, without which it will be impossible to sell products.
• Hire staff. To service a herd of 300-500 heads, you will need 1-2 shepherds, as well as a livestock specialist with a veterinary education. Several people will also be required for the daily care of livestock. Seasonal workers can be hired to shear sheep.
• Buy young stock. The minimum herd is from 200 heads. But for greater profitability, it is better to purchase 300-500 sheep. Provide them with feed that complements the pasture diet.

Sample veterinary certificate.

Choosing a breed: which sheep to bet on?

The most promising direction for the farm is raising sheep for meat as a business. The demand for this type of product is great, which will ensure stable income.

Dairy sheep farming is possible, but difficulties may arise with processing and marketing the products. In addition, a dairy farm needs more personnel; in addition to cattlemen and shepherds, it will be necessary to hire milkmen.

The choice of meat breeds is large. In the southern regions, preference is given to fat-tailed sheep, whose meat is considered especially tender and tasty. This category includes Edilbayev and Karachay sheep, which produce delicious meat and fat, as well as the especially large Gissar breed. Gissars grow very quickly, rams gain weight up to 180 kg.

In areas of the middle zone and in the north it has proven itself well Romanov breed. These sheep are prolific, quickly gain meat, and are distinguished by lush, high-quality wool.

The Teckel breed, bred in Holland, is also highly valued. Sheep produce very tasty meat without the characteristic “mutton” smell.”

Farmers who want to get not only meat, but also high-quality wool can include fine-wool sheep in their herd. Altai, Caucasian, and Stavropol sheep, which are distinguished by their resistance to cold and prolificacy, are perfect. These breeds produce good milk, which produces high-quality cheese.

Sheep for the flock It’s better to buy from different farms, this will help avoid inbreeding and guarantee good immunity of the young.

Purchase breeding animals only from certified breeders. It is not necessary to rely on one breed. Buy several different ones, and later you can make a choice in favor of a more promising one.

Business plan for sheep breeding: accounting for expenses and income

For example, you can take an average farm with a herd of 500 sheep:

1. For such a livestock you need 25 hectares of land, which will be divided into plots and sown with grass throughout the spring-summer season;
2. The price for renting land in the middle zone is from 100,000 rubles per month;
3. Purchase of livestock – from 100,00,000 rubles (from 5,000 rubles for a purebred sheep);
4. Feed in winter - from 180,000 rubles.

Expenses include the construction of a pen and shed, employee salaries, paperwork costs and additional expenses.

In the income column, the main item will be the sale of meat. The price per kilogram starts from 100 rubles. From selling the meat of 100 sheep you can earn up to 1,000,000 rubles. Thus, the profitability of the business will be 25%. The farm will reach self-sufficiency after 2 years of operation.

The following will help increase profitability:

• increasing the number of animals to 1000 or more;
• shifting the slaughter schedule closer to the beginning of spring, when the cost of meat increases significantly;
• meat processing (stew or sausage production workshop, smokehouse);
• sale of sheep milk and products made from it (primarily cheese);
• sale of hides and wool to wholesale suppliers. The profit will be small, but stable and will not require additional financial investments;
• sale of breeding young animals.

Master meat processing yourself. Lamb can be smoked, stewed meat, sausages, and snack sets can be prepared from it. Processed meat lasts longer, and its price increases significantly. You can sell products via the Internet, private stores or markets.

Breeding sheep at home for beginners - video with recommendations for care and maintenance

In recent years, there has been a clear trend that many of our fellow citizens are starting to engage in business. This is due to the fact that people want to have more income and (oddly enough) confidence in the future, which work in an office or government agency cannot provide.

Various livestock industries are becoming very popular. However, it is not surprising, given the historical background and the amount of abandoned land in our country. As a rule, the leadership of local municipalities provides assistance if you want to engage in farming. In this article we will present a simple business plan. Sheep breeding will be our main activity.

Why sheep farming?

The fact is that this livestock industry is very profitable, as it has excellent profitability. Sheep are grazing animals and therefore easy to feed. They are extremely unpretentious, they can dig food directly from under the snow, and cases of death are extremely rare.

They have offspring once every six months, and the queen can easily bring up to four lambs in one lambing. By the way, it is precisely because of the large number of offspring that we can recommend breeding Romanov sheep. This is a domestic breed, distinguished by its extreme unpretentiousness, excellent taste of the resulting meat, as well as excellent wool and skins, which are readily purchased by procurement organizations.

Some disadvantages of the Romanov breed

These animals feel excellent in the central and even northern regions of our country. As we have already said, one uterus can produce up to four lambs.

Note that a large number of offspring still has disadvantages: there is not enough milk for everyone, and therefore it is necessary to feed the lambs with special mixtures or goat milk. In addition, the meat of these sheep is not liked in the Caucasus, and therefore it can only be sold in the Central regions and the Far East.

Profitability and what affects it

We continue to discuss our business plan. Sheep breeding will be profitable in any case. Let's not promise mountains of gold: in the first years, the profitability of this type of business rarely exceeds some 25%.

But this is a stable profit that you will receive almost guaranteed. In the case of dairy cattle, this is sometimes only a dream.

Since we take as an axiom the lease of land (since few people have the money to buy it), it is difficult to say about the specific cost of it: in different regions of our country the cost varies greatly.

Pay attention to the distance to the nearest settlement: the further it is, the lower the rental price. The scale of money received is immediately influenced by two main factors: the availability and quality of the food supply, as well as the number of animals and the degree of reproduction. In general, sheep breeding (as a business) has a high chance of paying off only if you have sufficiently large pastures.

How to calculate the required amount of pasture land for grazing?

It is very important to immediately calculate how much specific pasture you will need. Otherwise, the profitability of your production will be in serious danger. To do this, let’s take the classic formula, which was developed by the Soviet luminaries of sheep breeding at the dawn of the formation of the entire industry.

G = U/N x P. What is what in this expression? Let's look at this important issue in a little more detail.

• G is the number of sheep that will fall on one hectare of pasture.
• Y is the amount of grass that grows on a particular land multiplied by the percentage of maximum possible feed utilization. This value directly depends on the type of pasture you use. If it is natural, then sheep will be able to eat up to 60%. On pastures of an improved natural type, they can consume about 70-80% of the grass stand. Artificial plots are the most productive: on them, more than 90% of the grass can be used for feed. If we talk about productivity, then on average this figure is within 100 centners per hectare.
• N is the standard consumption of grass by one sheep per day. In the case of the Romanov breed, this figure is 10 kg.
• P – time during which this pasture was used.

What natural pasture types are best for the Romanov breed?

Since there is most often no money for “improving” natural pastures, and even state sheep breeding companies often do not have it for creating completely artificial plots, we have to make do with what we have.

But if there is at least some possibility of choice, it is better to take advantage of it. After all, our business plan (in which sheep breeding is at the forefront) is designed to make a profit, and without food there will be no profit in any case.

Virgin steppe pastures are ideal for early fattening. The grass on them is varied, and appears virtually with the first rays of the spring sun. In summer, pastures of this type are completely burned out, but by autumn a second harvest appears on them. Thus, they can be used for early and late fattening. There should be an average of 0.1-0.2 hectares per animal.

Hereditary sheep farmers say that the best plots are mountain pastures with an incredible variety of grass and high nutritional characteristics of plants.

As you can see, in 99% of cases in our country you will not find anything like this. Therefore, we will include some tips on creating artificial pastures in our business plan. In this case, sheep breeding will become much more profitable.

Remember what we said about the high costs of this event? But they can be reduced to a minimum if half-abandoned agricultural fields are used.

Firstly, this way you will be able to restore their fertility to a significant extent. Secondly, artificial pasture can feed many more sheep.

First, the field should be sown with alfalfa. Closer to lunchtime, it is necessary to fence off a certain area, mow the grass on it, which should be placed in feeders. The animals are kept in this pen until nightfall. At sunset and until 11 am they are released to “free bread.”

By lunchtime the whole procedure is repeated. This regime will not only allow rational use of pasture resources, but will also increase weight gain.

Costs and profits

Now let’s calculate whether it is profitable to raise sheep in this way. From one hectare we will get an average of 100 centners of alfalfa. Since one animal eats only 10 kilograms per day, 1000 animals can easily be fed per hectare. However, we have already agreed on the rational use of the land.

To use the scheme with fenced areas, 50 hectares will be enough. A thousand heads in just a day gives an increase of no less than 20 thousand. In a couple of years, the profit will exceed three million. In addition, by the end of the season the field will be richly fertilized with manure, and therefore will produce a bountiful harvest next year.

Hay costs

In winter, it is best to feed animals hay. On average, a kilogram costs about five rubles. It is best to use hay from legumes and meadow grasses. Food made from forest crops and grasses grown in acidic soil is unsuitable. One ewe needs about two kilograms of hay per day. Please note that the livestock will consume a certain amount of feed per day, and lactating animals must also be fed with bran.

In most regions of our country, to keep them you will need to build a simple wooden pen. There is no need to even provide heating, since these animals can easily tolerate even quite severe frosts. Buying one purebred sheep will cost you no less than 10 thousand rubles.

What products are best to sell?

We have already said that the Romanov breed produces excellent skins and wool. But at the present time, the demand for them is far inferior to the population’s needs for meat. That is why our business plan for sheep breeding assumes meat productivity.

What kind of staff will need to be hired?

Professional shepherds are a must. You also cannot do without the services of milkmaids who will obtain milk to feed the lambs. Of course, you can trim animals yourself, but it would still be much better to hire professional shearers for the season. The cost of wool largely depends on the quality of its cutting, and therefore you yourself will obviously spoil it to a substandard condition.

Also take care of purchasing at least one truck, since you will have to transport a lot of the same feed.

How much money will it take to organize production? A little about the profit received

If you sell sheep by live weight, you can earn up to 200 rubles per kilogram. If it is meat, then in large cities they will give more than 400 rubles for the same weight.

But dealing with sheep's milk and wool can sometimes be very difficult. If possible, it is best to sell wool and skins to specialized procurement offices, and sell milk to milk processing plants.

Now about the costs that sheep breeding requires. For the initial increase in the number of 300 animals, you will spend at least a million, and the profit margin is unlikely to exceed 250 thousand. Thus, it is better to start at least 1000 sheep right away.

Information on the form of business ownership

To engage in sheep farming, an individual entrepreneur is enough. There is less fuss with documents, and simplified taxation schemes are a nice addition. In general, a sheep business, if properly organized, will provide you well!

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 5 minutes

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Are you planning to open your own business, but don’t know in what area and where to start? If you are thinking about a business like sheep farming, let's try to figure out together how to organize this business so that it makes a profit. It is not in vain that this business direction is considered profitable and promising not only for experienced livestock breeders, but also for beginning farmers.

Sheep breeding as a business

Any business of your own begins with the development of a business plan. A competent business plan for sheep breeding is the first step to successful further development. Next, we will look at the main points that such a plan should contain. Before you start drawing up a plan, you should realistically assess your capabilities.

If there are enough of them, then the question arises of choosing the form of state registration.

Typically, a sheep farming business is registered in the form of a peasant farm (peasant farm).

To resolve this issue as quickly as possible, you should consult a specialist who will help you avoid mistakes in preparing the necessary documents. To legally develop your business, you will need to register with the tax authorities and obtain the necessary permits from the fire and sanitary inspection authorities. To sell the resulting meat, you will need permission from the veterinary service.

Business plan development

Land lease

The second point of the business plan, after state registration and obtaining the necessary permits, should be the land issue.

Rent or buy? A beginning farmer should try to minimize initial costs, so they usually choose renting as a cheaper option. And it will be easier to register a peasant farm. For example, issues with fire safety will be decided by the owner of the land, not the tenant. It is necessary to immediately provide for the initial number of animals, since this directly determines how much land is needed to feed it.

To ensure normal grazing conditions, one hectare of land is usually planned for one sheep.

When building sheep farming as a business from scratch, it is better to take a closer look at abandoned livestock farms, since on their territory, in addition to the pastures themselves, there may be livestock buildings that need to be repaired. This is significantly cheaper than building them from scratch. Sheep are unpretentious animals and do not have any special requirements for such structures.

Since these animals adapt well to almost any living conditions, at first an open pen is quite suitable for them, and in the winter - the building of a once-abandoned livestock farm. As the business develops and income increases, a successful entrepreneur can buy out the leased land. It is not at all necessary to buy land for grazing; at first it is easier and cheaper to rent it.

Selection and purchase of animals

A separate item in the business plan must include the issue of purchasing the initial herd. A novice sheep breeder should learn more about the available breeds and, having decided on this issue, proceed to search for a supplier. This search should be carried out according to two criteria - how long has this supplier been on the market and what is its reputation.

In order to choose a suitable breed of sheep, you need to decide what products are of interest to you as an entrepreneur. Sheep provide wool and meat, and depending on your preferences in this matter, you should choose animals. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the productive indicators and fertility of the breed (or breeds) of the future herd.

In the Russian climate, breeding sheep for meat production is considered more profitable. However, this does not mean that you will throw away the wool. This is a stable source of good income, therefore, when planning to raise animals for meat, it is worth paying attention to the quality of the wool. Based on this criterion, sheep are divided into the following types of breeds:

• fine wool meat and wool. The most common sheep breeds are Vyatka, Skew, Fat-tailed, Georgian and Kazakh;
• semi-fine wool meat and wool. They come in short-haired and long-haired varieties. Examples of such breeds are Lithuanian, Gorky, Kuibyshev, Tien Shan, German Blackhead, Suffolk and Romney March;
• semi-coarse-haired meat-greasy-wool. The main breed of this species is the Saradzhinsky;
• coarse-wool meat-greasy, sheepskin-meat and meat-wool. This species includes Kuchugurovskaya, Romanovskaya and.

For a novice sheep farmer, raising Romanov breed sheep is best suited. Its main advantages are high fertility and rapid growth in slaughter weight.

Already at the age of seven months, individuals of the Romanov breed, with proper maintenance and feeding, reach a weight of about 35 kilograms. Adult specimens weigh up to 90 kilograms (rams), and sheep of this breed can weigh up to 50 kilograms, which provides a novice entrepreneur with a high level of profitability. The Romanovskaya breed belongs to the sheepskin-meat breed. In home or farm conditions, wool from these animals can be obtained three times in one year. One male of the Romanov breed produces about three kilos of wool, and a female of the Romanov breed produces about two.

If you take into account the income from the sale of wool in the business plan, the turnover will increase and the payback period will significantly decrease. One of the main advantages of this breed is its early maturity. Sheep of this breed are capable of producing from three to five lambs in one litter. Three lambs in seven months give an increase of about 110 kilos of meat. Accordingly, five lambs are about two hundred kilograms. The time of year for queens of the Romanov breed does not in any way affect her desire to mate. Within one year, a Romanov ewe can lamb twice. Don't forget about.

Sheep of this breed produce up to 110 kilograms of milk during the lactation period. This breed does not require any special conditions of maintenance and care. It is quite enough to provide the herd with a complete feed ration, and in winter provide it with a minimally insulated indoor space with a dry floor. Based on the above, sheep breeding experts advise starting a sheep breeding business with the Romanov breed of sheep. For the subsequent sale of products obtained in a household or farm environment, it is necessary to document the animals.

Such documents indicate the breed of the animal, its age, a list of past diseases and a list of vaccinations given. Strict maintenance of sanitary documentation will allow you to avoid problems in the future when selling meat, milk and wool.

Required Personnel

In a household farm, the maintenance of animals is ensured by the owner and his family.

However, this is clearly not enough for any serious business. As a result, a mandatory item in the business plan should be hired personnel, their number and, accordingly, the cost of paying hired labor.

But if you manage to conclude agreements with dairy or cheese-making enterprises, then this will be a constant source of additional profit. Having established your business in terms of sheep breeding, it is worth thinking about other sources of income, for example. a small workshop for the production of sheep cheese or a workshop for sewing natural sheepskin products (belts, blankets, vests, slippers, children's envelopes for winter, etc.).

Financial part of the business plan

In this part, it is necessary to take into account, on the one hand, all expected expenses, such as: purchase of the initial herd, rent for pasture land and agricultural premises, wage fund, overhead costs (transportation, temporary workers, utility bills, purchase of feed, tax payments, etc.). On the other hand, the “Revenue” column reflects the estimated revenue from the sale of meat, milk and wool, as well as animals for the breed.

Based on the debits and credits of your business plan, the payback period and the expected level of profitability of the business are calculated.

The average payback period in sheep farming is two years.

The main risks in this industry are the loss of livestock as a result of epidemics or natural disasters. However, such force majeure exists in any agricultural industry.

Sheep are hardy and unpretentious animals; they rarely get sick, so the risk of death of the herd outside of force majeure circumstances is low.

In any case, at the first stages of business development, a novice sheep farmer should seek help from professionals in this field, since it is quite difficult to independently develop a competent business plan and implement it without sufficient experience.

In conclusion, I would like to say that although the average profitability of sheep farming as a business is low, with the right approach it guarantees a stable income.