Writing a small farm and fleet business plan is an excellent tool for planning your farming business.
Additionally, you can use your ranch business plan in securing grants and loans for farming. Often, the process of designing a small farm business plan might be intimidating and overwhelming in the beginning. However, when you break it down into component steps, it becomes easy to manage.
When writing down a business plan for livestock farming, there are some requirements that you will need to consider. Often, livestock farming is not a type of business that appeals to most people;
However, it is a kind of business that can make you a millionaire overnight. Writing a business plan for livestock farming is an essential step that you should take as you start. In connection with that, business plans act as maps, which will help you plan good progress for your farming business.
Nonetheless, you should garner plenty of livestock farming information to help you build a solid business plan.
When writing a business plan for livestock farming, you will require the following information;
What To Consider When Writing A Business Plan For Livestock Farming
1. Business Overview
Livestock farming is often the leading agricultural industry in various countries on earth. Moreover, livestock provides food for the general public as well as raw materials for different companies.
Since agriculture plays a significant role in various countries, the government often gives farmers fertilizers, seedlings, and farming machinery and encourages the entrepreneur to practice multiple types of farming, including livestock farming.
In the agricultural sector, there are various business opportunities with a market for all the farm produce. Livestock farming is a thriving and profitable business due to the usefulness of meat and by-products from animals.
Moreover, livestock farming is a booming industry, and it is active in various such as Kenya, the United States of America, China, Egypt, Nigeria, Israel, Turkey, Argentine, Germany as well as Holland, among others. Since there is no specific livestock farming company that has dominated the industry, small livestock farming firms can make profits successfully.
In the United States, a statistic indicates that there are approximately 38,184 licensed and registered livestock farmers who are responsible for employing nearly 62,463 workers.
Nonetheless, the industry makes a total of $13 billion per year, and it is said that it is growing at a rate of 3.1% per annum. If you want to venture into the agriculture sector, then the best business to start with is livestock farming since it generates colossal income. [1]
2. Executive Summary. Roles And Responsibilities
The Chief Operating Officer
- He or she has to increase management effectiveness through recruiting, training, selecting, coaching, orienting, and counseling managers. Nonetheless, the chief operating officer has to have objectives, strategies, and communicating values. He or she should be assigning accountabilities, monitoring, planning, as well as appraising job results. On the other hand, the chief operating officer should help in developing incentives, as well as a climate for offering opinions and information.
- The chief operating officer should be responsible for giving direction to the business.
- Creates, implements, and communicates the organization’s mission, vision, and overall direction.
- The chief operating officer should be responsible for signing documents and checks on behalf of the firm.
- He or she should always evaluate the success of the company.
The General Farm Manager;
- Ensuring compliance with project executions.
- The general farm manager should be responsible for managing, planning, and coordinating all the activities on the farm on behalf of the company.
- Supervising other sections manager.
- Carrying out staff induction for new team members.
- The general manager should be responsible for evaluating, assessing, and training the employees.
- He or she should be responsible for overseeing the accounting, sale, and costing of the farm products.
Administrator Or Accountant;
- He or she should carry out induction for new members.
- The accountant serves as an internal auditor for the firm.
- Take care of all the financial transactions for the firm.
- The administrator should be responsible for risk analysis and financial forecasting.
- Administering payrolls.
- Administrators should be responsible for assessing, training, and evaluating employees.
- The accountant should develop and manage the financial system as well as policies.
A Supervisor Or The Animal Manager
- He or she should be responsible for managing livestock.
- The supervisor should always work closely with the general manager in archiving the firm’s objectives and goals.
- Should be responsible for maintaining the boarding services, dairy support, breeding services as well as livestock health and farrier services.
Sales And Marketing Officer;
- Identifying any development and opportunity.
- He or she should be responsible for handling business research, feasibility studies, and market surveys for the client.
- The sales and marketing officer should document all customer information and contacts.
- Always help with increasing the sales and growth of the firm.
- Marketing officer should help with evaluating, executing, and developing new strategies for expanding and increasing sales.
Contract Staff Or Field Workers;
- The contract staff should be responsible for feeding livestock as instructed by a supervisor.
- Carrying out his or her tasks in accordance with the job description.
- Carry out any duty assigned to him or her by the manager.
- Taking care of the farm machines and appliances as instructed.
- Help in handling livestock breeding.
Client Service Executive Or The Front Desk Officer;
- He or she welcomes the guest by greeting them on the telephone or as individual as well as directing inquiries.
- Receiving documents or parcels on behalf of the company.
- Helps in distributing mails in the firm.
- Constantly being updated on any new information about the firm’s products.
- He or she should always build clients’ interests, whether via the phone or in person.
3. SWOT Analysis In Business Plan For Livestock Farming
It is always essential to conduct a proper SWOT analysis when it comes to livestock farming.
Once you get it right, you will have a successful firm from the onset. As a livestock farmer, you should always look forward to maximizing your strength as well as opportunities and learn to operate within your threats and weaknesses.
Here is a summary of a SWOT analysis you need to consider as a livestock farmer:
Strength
As a livestock farmer, you should always have a good relationship with loads of major players.
In connection to that, you should always have a good relationship with both buyers and suppliers from outside and within your country. Having some of the latest machinery is essential in breeding your livestock with less stress.
Moreover, having experienced people in your firm will help in boosting your productivity.
Weakness
Identifying your weak spot will help you work extra hard in order to solve it. Often, being new in the industry is seen as a weakness, and you might require some extra cash for advertising your business. Addressing this issue might take some time; however it will result in a great advantage for the firm.
Opportunities
Always assess places with the best opportunity to start your livestock farming business.
However, livestock farming features plenty of opportunities for any firm, whether it is a small or big farm business.
Threat
The arrival of a competitor within the same area is often seen as one of the significant threats in livestock farming. However, there are various threats such as the global economic downturn which might impact negatively on household spending.
Moreover, unfavorable government policies natural disasters such as draughts and epidemics are among the significant threats in livestock farming.
There is no action you can take as regards to these challenges and threats apart from being optimistic that everything will be working as usual for your firm.
4. Market Analysis In Business Plan For Livestock Farming
Market Trends
Nowadays, various livestock farming companies are no longer focusing on farming a specific species of livestock. It is easy to practice both crop cultivation and livestock farming.
Furthermore, some companies have gone ahead to include milk and meat packaging and processing businesses along with their products. This practice will help you to maximize profits in your industry.
Even though livestock farming has been there since time immemorial does not mean that the industry is oversaturated. Livestock farmers are embracing the new technology, which helps in improving livestock rearing processes as well as milk and meat preservation and the packaging process.
Nonetheless, there is always a ready market for livestock products, which makes this industry evergreen.
Target Market
Every household uses livestock products from the skin, which is often used for shoes, bags, and belts production to milk and meat, among others. Therefore, there are plenty of companies that rely on livestock products as their raw materials.
In accordance with that, you, as a livestock farmer, will be able to sell your products to as many companies as possible.
You should always try to position your firm to attract livestock product consumers not only in your country but also in other parts of the globe.
5. Sales And Marketing In Business Plan For Livestock Farming
When writing a small farm business plan, you should always understand things that hinder other small livestock farming firms from making good profits. Having poor sales and marketing strategies is often the main factor that hinders small livestock farming businesses from making good profits. Using a standard milk and meat packaging and processing plant will help you to maximize profit from your firm.
It is always essential to perfect your sales and marketing strategies. In order to achieve this, you will need to have a great networking system with agricultural merchants as well as companies that depend on livestock products as their raw materials.
Here are some of the sales and marketing strategies you can use:
- You can list your livestock firm on yellow pages ads.
- Engaging in direct marketing.
- Advertising your livestock business in food-related magazines as well as websites.
- Introducing your company by sending brochures to various stakeholders in livestock farming industries.
- Encouraging the use of word of mouth marketing.
- Attending livestock farming seminars.
6. Sales Forecast
Sales generated by livestock farming often depend on the network of your business and the size of your ranch. For you to be optimistic about your livestock farming business, it is essential to perfect your sales and marketing strategies. With a good sales and marketing strategy, you will be able to attain or surpass your sales target.
Your pricing strategy is among the factors that can affect your livestock farming business. Some elements depend on your marketing strategy in selling your livestock produce, whereas some elements are beyond your control.
Some of the factors that you don’t have control over include natural calamities such as inadequate rainfall. This will affect your livestock produce directly as well as the market price. Choosing a good location for your livestock ranch will help you in getting the correct pricing for your livestock produce.
Moreover, when starting livestock farming, it is recommended to choose good livestock breeds, which will assure multiple and steady breeding. Cutting down the cost of managing your firm as well as attracting buyers to your firm will help you in growing your business with less effort.
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