How To Start A Dairy Farm for Profit
A dairy farm business is a livestock venture that deals with milk production. Though highly marketable, dairy farming is not very popular. Milk is a product that is consumed by most people in the world and it has a lot of health benefits. Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of dairy products”.
Dairy farming can be operated using different kinds of animals such as goat, sheep, donkeys, camels, buffalo, and cattle. These animals can be reared in a small or large scale for the production of products like milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt. There is a high demand for these products around the globe, the business has continued to expand and it is highly profitable in season and out of season. The statistics of dairy farming say “ 264 million cows worldwide produce nearly 600 million tones of milk every year, the dairy market is projected to reach and surpass a value of USD 703.5 billion by 2024.
Uses of Dairy Products
- Source of Food: Dairy products such as milk are an essential part of human and animal diets. The demand for it is very high.
- Industrial Purpose: Dairy products are used in the production of beverages, juice, and confectionery. Dairy products are a great source of food supplements.
- Pharmaceutical purposes: Lactose that is only found in the milk of mammals is used in the manufacturing of tablets and capsules.
Step By Step Guide On How To Start Dairy Farm
Dairy farming has its peculiarities as it requires proper planning and intensive care for it to be successful. Below is an elaborate guide on how to start a dairy farm anywhere in the world and they are:
Business Plan
A business plan is a blue print or formal document that contains business goals and the timeframe they are to be accomplished. It serves as a road map for every business and strategy it intends to meet to achieve its target. A business plan is very essential for this business because banks will not give out loans without a comprehensive business plan. A good dairy business plan should contain the number of animals you want to start with; it should also contain the overall business set up and location. In addition, conduct a feasibility study about dairy farm and include it in your business plan. The dairy farming business is a long time investment that can be sustained across different generations, so make a good business plan that your progenitors can also use in your absence or demise.
Registration of Business
Register your business to make it legal and also decide on the business structure you want to adopt; being it a sole proprietorship, partnership, or Limited Liability Company. Many countries have stipulated procedures you can follow to make your business a legal entity, in Nigeria for example, every business is supposed to be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Registration of your business helps you get a business name and also helps you to be tax compliant. In addition, ask for state or local permit a dairy business must-have.
Know Your Target Customers
Dairy products have an inexhaustible demand and it accounts for a huge part of daily food consumed by 90% humans. The target market for the dairy farming business is very large because almost everyone consumes milk. The target market for this business is companies that produce liquid and powdered milk, companies that produce juice, beverages, and confectionaries. People also can buy from you directly but make sure you maintain good hygiene because this will also show people that you sell good quality of milk.
Capital
Capital is the amount of money used to start up a business. A dairy farming business is an expensive endeavor to start even though it is very lucrative. It is expensive due to the fact that you have to purchase these animals (cattle), maintain the animals by feeding them, and hiring the service of a veterinary doctor when they fall sick. Capital is one of the major challenges for this business, there are different ways o source for capital and they are: government grants, Investors, agricultural loans from banks or the government, personal savings, and loved ones. For anyone to conceive a business idea, he or she must have personal savings in the bank but if the capital is not enough you can use other sources to complete it and then establish your business.
Conduct Research and Get Training
In business, Knowledge is power and the application of knowledge brings tremendous effect. There are many pieces of research that have been conducted by academicians from various agricultural institutions on dairy farming to get hold of these researches and go through them. In addition, make inquiries from farmers who are into dairy farming. You must continually keep learning how to improve your business efficiency, technological improvement, and industry development.
To fully venture into the dairy farming business, comprehensive knowledge of business start-ups is paramount. Starting from breeding, calving, weaning, milking, feeding, farm management, and manure all these require the service of an expert. Expertise is usually built from prior experience, training, or employing the service of a dairy consultant. If you don’t have prior experience you can consult an expert or go for an internship on a dairy farm for a while, this will help you to gain more business experience and help you to manage cows. In addition, you may need to consult the service of an agronomist, nutritionists, veterinarians, and other professionals who can provide different perspectives on managing a dairy farm.
Farm Laborers
The Dairy Farming business can be very drudgery for an individual to handle; you can get friends and family to help you out on the farm. You can even employ a farm assistant. As the business expands, you may need to hire laborers and place them on your business payroll.
Set Up a Good Animal Housing System
Once you have acquired extensive knowledge of the business, the next thing is to set up your farm. To set up your farm you need to acquire a piece of land but I will advise you set up the farm very close to your personal residence so that you can always check on the animals. Many farmers set up ranches in the same place where they live. Usually, animal farms can be constructed with bamboo, seasoned leaves, and coconut front mats. You can also create half walls, bamboo, and curtains where necessary, these animal housing systems are also called ranches. After setting up the housing system, fill the ground with beddings like straw, saw-dust, leftover roughage, or make the flour with rubble and cement. Make the flour sloppy so that waste can be easily flushed into the gutter. A good animal farm setup provide easy access for feeding, water, milking cleaning operations and it protects the animal from severe environmental conditions such as cold weather or intense heat. It also makes the animal very comfortable and the animal can move its body very swiftly such as standing and lying. It is also advisable that you should build separate housing systems for food, manure storage, milking parlor, spaces for calving, and well for watering to avoid congestion.
Start with the best breeds
To start on positive ground, you can start with 40-50 best cows you can purchase. There are various animals used for dairy farming in other parts of the world but the most common is cattle though small goats are used in small farms and buffalo in South Asia. Moreover, Cattles are the most common animals used for dairy farming around the world because they are easy to maintain and they are more suitable than other breeds. Cattle breed can be used for different purposes; it can serve as a source of milk, meat, and hide.
Types of Cattle Breed
The following are types of Cattle breed: Beef Cattle Breeds, Dairy Cattle Breeds, and Dual Purpose breed.
- Beef Breed is reared mainly for meat production and the Examples are Angus, Afrikaner, Beefmaster, Braham, Hllikar, Shorthorn, Devon, Adaptaur, and White Fulani.
- Milk Breed is reared or raised specifically for milk production and the examples are Holstein, Freisian, Sahiwal, Agerolese, Evolene, Jersy, Red Sindhi, Brown Swiss, and Ayrshire.
- Dual- Purpose Breed is raised both for milk and meat production and the examples are Abondance, Tharparkar, Red pool, Kankrej, and Milking Shortorn.
Make sure you choose the right breed, ensure that the animal is healthy and well vaccinated.
Hygiene
In dairy farm hygiene is very important because it helps you maintain the health of the animals and it also determines the good quality of dairy products. Proper hygiene can protect your cows from pests and diseases. These are ways you can maintain proper hygiene on a dairy farm and they are:
- Wash concrete floors daily
- Animal dung should be removed daily and kept away from the farm
- Water should be changed daily after cleaning the water trough
- Hoofs of all cows should be trimmed regularly if the need arises.
- Create good waste management in your farm to prevent the spread of infection.
It is very important to note that the quality of water and feed you give to your cows determines the quality of milk they will produce, a sick cow will produce a little amount of milk; get the help of a veterinarian if your animal is sick.
Feeding your cows
The next thing to do is to determine the cow feed. Green forage like sweet potatoes vines, a leguminous plant, and Rice straw, wheat straw, and maize Stover can be given to your cows. You should have a plantation for most of these feeds and chop them and put them in containers or troughs so that the animals will not waste it. The quality supplied should be 40-70kg per day and for mineral administration, Maclin supper should be given to cows. For grazing, I recommend you establish zero-grazing because it is best for beginners Zero grazing means feeding your cows with the grass you cut instead of taking them to pasture. The forage should be chopped before given to the animals and concentrates should be given to high milking producing cows.
Heating Period and signs of Calving
One of the periods to look out for is the heat period in cattle and the following are the symptoms: the animal may drop in milk production, they will have a dilated and enlarge vulva, restlessness, and climbing on other cows or standing still while being mounted by other cows. The heat period can last from 6 to 30 hours.
Calving is the processes where cows produce their young ones and the symptoms of calving in cattle are loss of appetite, restlessness, mucus from enlarging vulva, and a stiff udder. Any cow that is due for calving should be kept in isolation for one week before the calving time and attention should be given to milking cows before calving. You should massage the udder and newborn calves should be allowed to suckle the mother’s breast for 24 hours to get colostrums before isolating it but if you are not experienced in this, you can consult the service of a veterinarian.
Control of Pest and Disease
Pests and Diseases can affect cattle and this can cause damage to milk production. There two types of pests that attack cows and they are Endo-parasite and Ecto-parasite. Pests like flatworms, liver flukes which are Endo-parasites can attack your cows. To prevent this, dose your cows with the recommended anthelmintics at 4 months or after every 6 months. Ecto-parasites like lice, flies, fleas, and ticks may attack your cows get rid of them by spraying effective insecticide and acaricides.
Diseases like Calf pneumonia can also affect cows if they are exposed to cold or chilly weather conditions. The symptoms of this disease are Coughing, shallow breathing, and refusal to eat.It can be controlled by housing them properly and calling your veterinarians.
Poor nutrition can also affect the overall animal health and poor nutrition can be caused by overfeeding, and insufficient balance diet. In addition, poor hygiene practices such as dirty milk and dirty buckets can also deteriorate the health of the animal. When you notice the following signs: calf scours, loss of appetite, rise in temperature, dejectedness and dehydration then control it by it by reducing or completely withdraw milk for two to three meals or you can also replace it with warm water mixed with half spoon of baking powder plus two tablespoon of common salt and 110kg of glucose
Milk Production
Dairy cows start producing milk when they are 24 months old, the cows get pregnant and then she produces milk for 10 months. After 10 months of milk production, the cows rest for two months and repeat the process all over again.
Milk production is majorly done in milk parlor and it is usually produced by lactating calf after the birth of the calf. The lactating cow must go through the cycle of insemination, pregnancy, and parturition before she is taken to the milking parlor at least twice a day to be milked. With the availability of milking machines, it has become very easy to extract milk from cows; the cows’ udder must be first cleaned to prevent milk contamination and udder infections. Then, they are placed on the milking machine and the milking process is done.
Storage and Packaging
One of the most important things to do is to store the milk and the milk must be kept in the best condition. Dairy milk can be stored in a milk tanker. Dairy is where industrial manufacturing techniques are required to create finish milk and after this step, the milk can be delivered in two ways, it can be processed one more time to produce cheese, cream and butter. Package your milk in an attractive way that can attract customers. You can package it in a bottle or whatsoever just make sure your brand can attract customers. Customize your business name on the bottle and promote your brand.
Equipment
There are several types of equipment used in a dairy farm and the equipment is cost-effective and reduce time and labor. For example, milking of cows can be done manually and mechanically, with the use of the machine the process is faster and less stressful but when it is done manually it is very tedious. The following are some of the types of equipment used in a dairy farm:
- Milking Machine: this is the machine used for extracting milk from animals and milking is usually done in the milking parlor. It is made up of metal cups, each line with rubber or silicon, and also the milking cluster. The milking machine operator attaches the cluster to the row and the machine senses when the cow has fully been milked and drops off independently.
- Pasteurizers: this is a machine used to heat up the milk after it has been collected to get rid of harmful bacteria.
- Separator: it is made up of stainless steel, aluminum, and plastic and it is used to separate creamed and skimmed milk.
- Homogenizers and Tanks: the tanks are used to store the milk when extracted while the homogenizers are used to separate immiscible liquids into an emulsion.
The equipment listed above are the major equipment and below are the minor equipment:
- Mud pump
- Tractor
- Chain
- Baler
- Feed Grinder
- Reapers
- Generator
- Book and pen for record-keeping
- Movable fence
- Water pipes
- Semen Container
- Fodder Chaff Cutter
Marketing
Marketing is the process of promoting your business by passing out information about your product and service. A dairy farm business is a very profitable agricultural business but if your target customers are not informed how then can they patronize you? Marketing is a paramount factor this business needs in order for it to boom. The following are marketing outlets you can use:
- Word of Mouth: the mouth as an organ may be small but it is mighty, you can tell someone that will tell someone. You can advertise your business by telling people about your dairy farm business and these people can tell others.
- Business Cards: Business Cards are cards that bear information about a company or individual. Create a beautiful and colorful business card, your company’s name and logo should be on the card. In addition also include your phone number, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram name. You can give friends and families to help you distribute.
- Fliers and Handbills: You can design colorful fliers and handbills and give it to friends and families to help you distribute. These fliers and handbills should contain your business address and phone numbers so that your customers can easily get access to you.
- Business Website: build a business website and optimize for search engines so that when companies or people just type “Dairy Farmers” your website will showcase. You can place your price tags on our business website; it will be very easy for companies or customers to access you through your business website.
- Create Social Media Pages: The Social Media Platforms are Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter and Instagram. You can use these online platforms to update your friends and customers about your business, you can also post pictures of your farm on your social media accounts. Young people, companies, and business tycoons are on social media, you can send them a message to inform them about your business.
You can also sell the milk directly to consumers or through a more advanced production company. Also, you can create other dairy products like cheese, butter, and sell directly to consumers.
Threats of Dairy Farming Business
- It can be very expensive to start
- It is labor and management intensive
- An Outbreak of pest and disease can affect animal milk production
- Poor Management policies can spell doom for the business
- Lack of investment and inadequate funding
- Poor grass quality can affect Milk production
- Unhealthy Competition
- Poor price mechanism
- The maturity of cows to start milk production is time consuming
- Adverse Weather and climatic conditions can affect the animal health
- Difficulty in increasing scale of production
- Difficulty in maintaining high production efficiency.