Raring to go rearing cattle
Whenever you start something new, you will have to face certain challenges
When we started our farm, it was never intended to become a commercial platform.
Four friends, passionate about cows, wanted a weekend getaway place near Dhaka where we could build a farmhouse and raise a few cattle to get fresh milk for our families.
In July 2017, we started with two cows and four years later, we now have around 200 cattle on our farm.
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Over the last two years, we have gotten a very good response during Eid-Ul-Adha, however, our initial plan was to become a dairy farm.
In our first two years, we had to struggle a lot. Maintaining a dairy farm was a challenge that we were not ready to take upon.
As soon as we realized it, we pivoted our focus to bull fattening, and we have come a long way.
For the young generation who want to start this business - it is not a short hustle that can generate profits overnight.
If you can invest four-five years in this sector and understand the cattle's "language", only then can you expect a fruitful return on investment from a cattle farm.
Training matters a lot as well. We prefer on-the-job training; you can acquire firm knowledge from the learning process.
Capital investment for a farm
For the newcomers who want to learn on the go, you can start with a small capital and by the end of the second year, you will be able to figure out the dos and don'ts of a farm.
Instead of building a farm based on someone else's advice, it is better to do it yourself and learn as you grow.
When it comes to assessing how much capital you need to set up a farm, there is no limit. However, it is wise to start a farm small with the least amount of capital.
You do not need the capital to just buy cattle, you have to consider costs that you will have to incur along the way. You should estimate the expenses; analyze the food, medicine, labor, and utility costs you will have to bear starting day one.
Challenges that lie ahead
Whenever you start something new, you will have to face certain challenges. When we started the farm, we faced many challenges as well, however, we learned from every barrier that we overcame.
The biggest challenge was developing a diet plan which could ensure proper organic growth of our cattle.
For any farm, sourcing the food, processing it, and feeding it to the cattle; these factors are interdependent, and ensuring effective implementation of all three is the biggest challenge.
Sourcing food
The most important factor behind a successful farm is ensuring good food for the cattle. The closer the food source is to your farm, the better it is to secure a constant food supply.
Instead of planning a farm, one should first analyze how to source quality food for the cattle. There have to be enough fields near the farm where you can either grow grass or collect from.
We emphasize grass production; it is the most beneficial food for cows. The more grass we can feed them, the better their health condition will be. Without grass, you cannot think of operating a farm.
When it comes to fattening cows, granular food like wheat bran and corn plays a vital role. We mix various types of grains and feed them to our cattle.
Health concerns that you should be aware of
There will always be health concerns at a farm.
The biggest problem that we face at a certain time of the year is FMD - "foot and mouth disease", a very dangerous and contagious disease. Once it affects one cattle, it quickly spreads among the rest.
However, there is, a way to save the cattle from this disease - an FMD vaccine that has to be given to the cattle from time to time. We give FMD vaccine to our cattle twice a year.
A recent virus called Anthrax also poses a huge threat to livestock. We provide the Anthrax vaccine twice a year. You also have to deworm your cows once every three months.
If you can follow the above-mentioned processes, your cattle will stay healthy. You must ensure that the cows on your farm get sufficient minerals and calcium especially when they are pregnant.
Better environment, healthier growth
Ventilation plays a huge role in any farm.
Manure and urine form a lot of gas in a farm and you need proper ventilation to make sure that there is sufficient airflow in all sheds.
Balancing temperature at sheds is also very important otherwise, it can affect cattle's growth rate. The easiest way to overcome temperature imbalance would be to keep sheds open so that air can flow through easily.
You can also opt to install exhaust fans in enclosed sheds. Industrial fans are much more reliable for farms and can be kept on for longer hours. The more the temperature is in control, the better it is for the cattle.
Our farm is quite open and ventilation is not an issue for us. Previously, we used commercial fans to balance the temperature in sheds, one fan for each cattle, but commercial fans cannot fulfill the purpose when it is too hot.
This is why we have now replaced commercial fans with industrial ones. Now the air circulation has increased and the cattle are much more comfortable. The cozier they are, the better their growth is.
Sources of income for a farm
For a cattle farm, there can be many sources of income. You can generate revenue from selling milk. The by-products of milk can help generate more revenue than milk.
The manure for the farm can be used to create biogas that you can use at your farm and supply to neighboring homes as well. It can also be used or sold as fertilizer; it aids in cutting costs at the farm.
The final source of income would be selling cattle during Eid and selling meat throughout the year if yours is primarily a fattening farm.
Many think, the cattle, dairy, or fattening farm can be profitable in the short run but we think otherwise. If you want to generate quick profits from a farm, it will not sustain in the long run.
Attending to the cattle; understanding what they need and what not to give them takes time. You need to have patience.
This article was written by Managing Director Faisal Bin Maleque, Chairman Al Farooque Ahmed, Director Fahimuddin Chowdhury, and Marketing Director Farhan Bin Maleque of Farmside Agro.
