How to start a livestock farming business?

The goat and sheep farming business is filled with opportunities. You can sell dairy products to animal meat at local fairs or markets. It is a small-scale business that can be highly profitable if you do it with a proper strategy and planning. It is a multi-layered process and requires a business plan that is sorted, clear, and concise.

To start a livestock farming business, you need a business plan, allocation or a piece of land, and capital for your business. Initially, you can start your business with a couple of sheep and cows. Once your business grows, you can have more livestock. You might end up turning your business into a thriving livestock farm. Let us look at some steps to start a livestock farming business.

How to start livestock farming?

Starting livestock farming is not easy. However, we have simplified some steps for better understanding. The steps of starting livestock farming are as follows:

1. Livestock farming business plan

The first and foremost plan is to create a sheep farming business plan. It is essential that you start with a business plan. Your business operations play an important role in the growth of your business. Write down the strengths, weaknesses of the cattle industry, possible contingencies, and uncertainties that your business might face. Include the type of land you need, how many cows and sheep you need, and how much money it will take to run your business.

A cattle farming business plan must elaborate the financial plan, labour requirements, and the size of land required. A business plan will help you refocus your business’s strategies and goals. A livestock farming business requires a large amount of investment to start your business. It is considered one of the best businesses to start if you plan it systematically.

2. Find a suitable location

Livestock farming is the best business idea to start in a large space. Livestock like goats, sheep need space to roam around, so choosing a suitable place for this business is essential. Goats, sheep, and other livestock grow with a group, so find a place large enough to do your business and take care of livestock. In cities, it might be hard to find a suitable place as cities have more pollution.

Choose a place far away from the city or a less polluted area. While selecting the area you must ensure that the place has a dry and clear surface, water and food are available, and is an open area.

3. Register your business name with the government

The next step in starting a livestock farming business is to register your business. Registration includes name, licenses, and permits for your business. Starting a livestock business requires proper trademarks and several other applications. Registration allows you to choose a structure for your business and protects your brand.

After registration, apply for a tax ID number with the government's tax agencies. It will help you to hire employees legally for your business. You can register your licenses and permits with the Department of Agriculture. You can register either by visiting the government's agriculture agencies or through the online website.

4. Build your farm

Livestock farming is a small business idea. Many livestock businesses fail due to a lack of proper information about livestock foods and breeding. It is highly advised that you must select your cattle breeds wisely. There are more than 100 breeds available in the market that you can choose from. It might get difficult to select the right breed for your business type.

Some of the best breeds for dairy production include Holstein, Jersey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, and Guernsey. Other than that, you can choose Red Polls, Herefords, Galloways, and Black Angus. You can also educate yourself and gain enough knowledge through market research and books that will help you select the right breed for your business.

5. Manage your farm

The last step is to manage your farm. After you create a business plan, find a suitable location, choose the right breed, register with the government, take a license and permits, and manage your farm. Managing your farm includes various activities like getting in touch with nutritionists, veterinarians, etc., to take good care of livestock. It also includes creating a waste management plan and using it for compost.

It is a small profitable business idea that will help you increase your revenue. So, it is essential to create a record of all the finance activities. To accelerate the process, you can automate your financing business activities. Proper management of livestock business will help you streamline the small activities like health records, vaccination details of livestock, health problems, and other related issues.

The goat and sheep farming business is a new business idea that many people are interested in. It is due to the high demand for dairy and poultry products. The new generation uses this traditional business and adds their technological touch to fast forward the process. It not only increases the sales but also arranges the business systematically. If you are looking to start a livestock business, then read the above five major steps to help you with your own business.

Also read:

1) How Do I Start An Organic Farm Business In India?
2) Scope of Farming in India
3) Silk Farming in India - All you need to know about Sericulture
4) Best Home Business Ideas in 2020

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FAQs

Q. How can you make money with animal farming?

Ans. Animal farming is a profitable business. There are several ways to make money with animal farming. You can sell poultry products, such as duck, quail, turkey, chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, etc. These products are in high demand in the market. You can also sell goat milk, goat meat, goat's milk soap and lotions, pig meat, cow milk, fresh fish, manure, etc. All these animal farming products are not only in high demand but also highly profitable. The profit margin is very high in these products.

Q. What are the types of livestock farming?

Ans. The types of livestock farming are listed as follows:

Intensive livestock farming
Semi-intensive livestock farming
Extensive livestock farming
Monadic livestock farming
Transhumant livestock farming
Organic livestock farming

Q. What do you mean by Organic Livestock Farming?

Ans. Organic livestock farming is a production system where the highest quality of food is generated. This type of farming doesn't use synthetic chemicals, chemical fertilisers, or pesticides. Animals and livestock also feed off natural and chemical-free products. Organic livestock farming is expensive because it is the highest quality food available in the market without any chemicals.

Q. What are the important steps of starting a goat farming business?

Ans. The steps are as follows:

Pick a profitable goat’s breed
Select a suitable location
Isolate the areas with a fencing
Select food and water for livestock
Learn everything about goat, behaviour, and lifestyle
Understand the breeding and maturing stage of a goat