Journey from corporate world to Farming

Farm Questions
21

other topics that was covered was

Fodder cultivation
Disease in cows
First Aid for the diseases
Insurance
Financial aid from govt

I’m not getting into the details of this as this is very much area/location based. As for diseases and first aid, the topic being very sensitive, I would leave it for the experts to handle it. My personal opinion, have a veterinary doctor visit regularly and check all the animals. There are lot of locals who say there is no need of vets and local home made medicines will be enough. I leave it to you to decide…

Also if you need any info about the above topics which I hv not elaborated on, please get in touch with me, I will help you in the best way I can

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THANK YOU

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Dear all,

Hope I was able to give some useful inputs of what I learnt in training.

After completion of the training, I went around to a few farms to get started… but cost put me on the back foot big time. You just cannot touch any land around Bangalore even in 150kms radius :frowning: decided to go for lease option. 5 yrs is a long enough time to know if I want to stay medium scale or go large scale…

About 5 land options lined up… spent about 15 days to visit each farm and check the most suitable options. One thing i have learnt is no water = no milk… so continuous water source is very important.

1 farmer i met said all was fine for 4yrs, then his borewell went dry… and he faced severe shortage of water. So this is one point we have to consider while planning.

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Mr.Nithin

Water is not just one ponit, it is the main point. It is the most important part for any farmer, for any activity.

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Hi Nithin,

Congratulations on the shift in life and best of luck! The kind of planning and maturity you show, you sure will enjoy the journey.

I am from Bangalore too and along with a couple of friends bought some land near Denkanikottai, TN for similar reasons. Currently planting mix of timber, fruit, fodder trees in one portion with an objective of growing a food forest.

Tackling water … once that is sorted, will increase pace.

I really like the approach you are taking. Do share info on the place you are taking training and if you can share links to any sites you felt helped you a lot that will be great.

Best of luck!

Manjunath

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Nithin,

Neatly documented journey thus far, I think I am able to see the fun you are having going thru the journey.

sure to see you success and your success story inspire many more in this direction with stats, and facts.

Good Luck

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Dear Manjunath,

I took training from the Government farm in Hesarghatta. They conduct regular courses there on Dairy farming. As for websites, there is a whole lot of them, nothing in particular

To get confidence I read a few blogs of people who ventured into it from cities. Just google using the key word “Dairy success blogs” you get a lot of info.

Dear khushizone

You are 100% right, Im just loving the transition from corp world into farming. During my various field visits I could make out that this is something which I have my passion for and am really exited.

With lot of farmer suicide in the news off late, I hope our contribution in this forum/site will help the farmers change their methods rather than change profession or end precious life and also encourage more people from cities venture into farming and help increase the output of the country.

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Dear Team,

Taking the jorney further, I did a lot of field trips… met many dairy farmers covering areas like Magadi, Maddur, Nelamangala to name a few… still on the list is Tumkur, Kolar, Krishnagiri, Shivamogga areas…

The common opinion - if done with proper care and attention, there is profits. Dedication, hardwork and water is the 3 bare necessities rest can be worked out effectively if properly planned.

Meanwhile, found a place close to Badravathi and liked it a lot. Rectangle piece of plot, 1 acre (pic attached) verbally enquired locals about pricing to get an idea… owner was not available for final negotiation. Hopefully will finalize soon.

Reasons why I liked it was, since it is a one full stretch it will be easy to plan the fodder plantation. By the time we cut from one side (planned weekly cutting) by the time we reach one end the fodder in the other end is ready for next cutting.

P_20150124_135607.jpg800×450 134 KB

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Hi Team,

Sorry for the long gap, was tied up with research and office work :frowning: but the research has resulted in some good developments. I was able to come up with a costing - revenue vs expenses for a small 5 cow farm.

Again, I repeat… do not take this as final… figures will change from place to place. But this can be a guide for an approximate costing - I would say this is 80% accurate… :slight_smile:

*I have considered growing my own green fodder in 80% of land (1 acre)
Electricity and water added in miscellaneous expenses
In the land I have selected, water is not a problem, we have a channel running close by
I’m not selling Cow dung and urine and using it in my own land for manure
Im building a basic shed and not a hi-fi farm to reduce cost
Vet-doc charges may not incur every month
Additional income can be made selling gunny bags and dung&urine
Azolla will also be a part of the green feed, not included in costing as the cost is negligible

[Attachment deleted - see next post]

Hope this helps… Good Luck…[/ul]

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hi all,

Sorry, just noticed the total is not visible due to the watermarking. I had not checked it. Attached is a new image of the same costing.

Dairy Costing.jpg800×379 58.6 KB

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Dear Nithin,

First of all a big ‘thank you’ for taking the time and your efforts to not just document, but also share your points of learning with the FarmNest family. Not many people bother to do this. Your efforts are well appreciated.

When an entrepreneur plans to set up a manufacturing unit, he makes up a business plan - which includes all aspects of the business - like the banks call it - economic viability and technical feasibility. He examines demand and marketing aspects, locational advantages, seasonal preferences, break-even analysis, fixed and variable costs, promotional aspects such as advertising etc, etc, etc. However, many people who venture out into agricultural and allied activities seldom do this exercise. This results in many a heart break. I am of the view that it is essential that all farming activities should be started with a thorough business like approach - whether the motto is profits or not. In this respect, you seem to be taking a studied and closely monitored approach into the venture. Wish you all success in your endeavors.

In your earlier post of April, you had mentioned about identifying a piece of land. What happened to it? Did you take that plot or something else?

Please keep posting.

Cheers,

John

1 Like
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Hi John,

Thank you for the wishes. I’m badly in need of it now… going through some rough patch in the journey :frowning:

As for the approach, yes I believe if all our fellow farmers take the business approach, success would me more in reach. I have documented the journey here as I want more and more people to venture into farming; hope it helps and encourages people.

The land - yes, I have shortlisted/finalized the land and we are almost done on the negotiation part. I was almost about to pay money and get the agreement done when I hit an unexpected roadblock (actually 2 problems).

In India everything is done based on “when is a good auspicious time to start” and usually we do not do any good things in monsoon season (locally called Ashaada maasa) and hence I had some parental pressure to hold the horses back a bit. Also a major concern is some astrologer told my mom that I will not have success and face big failure if I venture into this business :astonished: so now fighting these personal issues…

The ashaada issue works in my favor as I can get about 2 months for planning the layout of the site, where the cow shed would be, where the milking parlor would be and so on… also money stays with me for some more time :wink:

Hope to emerge victorious in these silly but serious personal issues.

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Hi Nithin

I totally understand your frustration of holding your high energies especially due to factors not in your control.

Most probably the astrologer is “Wrong number (PK reference)” and the entire “astrology” industry works on the “Fear” factor. If I were you and having done strong analysis of the project, and proper risk analysis, I would still would have gone ahead with the project with “much more” vigor, not just to succeed in the project but to also prove the “astrologer” “wrong number”.

Every event/ career / project we take up will have following possibilities, and anything is possible

  1. Successful
  2. Breakeven
  3. Loss

With delays there are couple of problems you might need to deal or mitigate

  1. the land owners might get better offers (as there is no agreement)
  2. your though process might get contaminated (I see you are strong but still internal/external influence)

Things you can do during cooling of period

  1. Try to find land - more suitable, less costlier, more closer to you
  2. try to visit farms, be in continuous touch with farmers, gather more information
  3. keep writing your thoughts in this journey, many of the thoughts you are going thru are those many of us might have already gone thru or still going thru, might help each other knowing very well that we are not alone in this path.
  4. do more through risk analysis and solidify your mitigation mechanism

Good Luck, and looking forward to see you go over these initial hiccups.

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Hi Khushizone,

Thank you for the encouragement. I have taken up the challenge to prove the whole idea of astrology in this case wrong :wink: no offense to people who believe it. Just a personal decission.

Meanwhile I have started to set up an aquaponic system on my terrace to ensure I have some experience in that - I plan to take it up along with dairy farming in the same place on a bigger scale later…

Hoping for the best :sunglasses: expecting atleast good :stuck_out_tongue:

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Hello Nithin

Your attachment is Good, But few regular expenses are not covered like Insurance cost of cows, Diesel cost, Feeding cost of calf etc…
For capital expenses i think shed construction cost & milking cans etc are also need to consider…

I dont have particle knowledge but i gain some knowledge which is cow never gives 12 liter milk daily, its yield reduced after 3 month…
SO it is better to calculate yearly basis…

Am i right Sir,

Kindly share your view …

Thanks & Regards
Vishal Goel

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Hi Vishal,

Good you brought out the points, I have tried explaining this below:

Insurance: Added during the cost of the cows
Diesel: Does not add to me as the milk collection center is at walkable distance from the farm
Feeding cost of calf: I have miscellaneous costs which will take care of it

Quantity of milk is variable and after my research I find it safe to calculate 12 ltrs a day (6ltrs 1 time) you can tweek it as per your regional averages.

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What is feeding schedule during dry period ?

For concentrate feed is it (8th & 9th Month)
Maintenance 2 kg
For pregnancy 1 kg

am i right ?

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Hello Sir,
How to confirm pregnancy after crossing ?

Kindly share …

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Hello Nithin

Total feed cost per month is rs-6900 as per your attachment.
Is it for one cow or for entire lot?
If it is for one cow then as per my view calculation of profit in your attachment is not right.

Kindly correct me if I m wrong.

Thanks & Regards
Vishal Goel

Dairy Costing.jpg800×379 109 KB

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Hi Vishal,

Questions, questions, questions… :slight_smile:

I have seen you around for a long time now in the forums; I totally understand the confusion and clarifications you need. We have all gone through the same phase. I suggest you should go to a training center in your locality and get some formal training. This will help you in getting the basic platform ready and you will understand the concept deeper and better.

For every point there will be lot of changes from place to place… life sciences has a lot to be considered, not like IT which has constant rules across the globe. Thanks to the person who taught me this :slight_smile:

As for the costing question: it is for entire lot of 5 cows and I have explained the same in the email written to you :slight_smile: