The idea that agricultural business is unprofitable is erroneous. Only those who either don’t understand anything about it, or don’t have patience, logical thinking and are not in the mood to work hard believe in it. There are a lot of areas of this type of activity, among which growing potatoes occupies a special place.
Pros and cons of the potato business
The main advantage is the high demand for such a common vegetable, which no family or person can do without almost every day. In terms of popularity, potatoes are not inferior to any other vegetable. Based on this, profitability b business on its cultivation can reach more than 160%.
Relatively small investment into business, the return of which can be obtained after the first harvest, is another pro factor.
By growing potatoes in small batches, you can save on tax payments, which in this case are not required.
If the soil is sufficiently enriched organic fertilizers, you can do without fertilizers - this is also a clear plus.
The growing process does not require complex technological knowledge, and this product is in high demand all year round. And if you take care of good conditions storage, and choosing the moment of sale when potato prices are highest, you can significantly increase income.
Fast payback business is also a significant advantage.
Technique For potato growing you need a special, oversized one - plows, a mini-tractor, a hiller.
If we talk about cons, then there are controversial points here. Many become fixated on the risks associated with weather conditions, which are not always favorable to the harvest or the quality of planting material, and the difficulties of pest control. However, all these problems can be overcome thanks to modern technologies. If you use high-quality fertilizers and effective remedies against the Colorado potato beetle and diseases, then no climatic conditions will affect the harvest results.
Of course, one can name a serious disadvantage - this is a low price and cultivation only once a year in the warm season. But this problem is easy to solve if you make the right calculations and organize sales.
The business is seasonal, and in winter the farmer is practically left without work. But to consider this fact as an opportunity to engage in some other type of income-generating activity, it will not be a minus at all.
Features of growing potatoes
The success of a business depends on a professional approach to the implementation of the main production process. In our case, we are talking about the technology of growing potatoes.
There are two options: planting early ripening varieties in greenhouses in such a period that the potatoes are ripe by the beginning of spring, and growing them in the usual way in open ground.
If you are betting on getting a more significant profit, you should try the first method, because early potatoes can be sold for more high price. In this case, you need to take into account the upcoming costs of installing greenhouses. This option is more suitable for experienced potato growers who know all the intricacies of growing this vegetable.
It is better for a novice entrepreneur to choose the second method. Firstly, here minimum costs, secondly, the growing process itself is simple and familiar even to a layman.
Growing potatoes is not difficult, but you must follow the technology, which involves going through the following stages:
- Purchasing planting material and preparing it for sowing.
- Soil preparation.
- Planting potatoes.
- Hilling.
- Treatment with special preparations against pests.
- Fertilizing the soil.
- Harvesting.
- Preparation of a special storage room.
- Bulkhead, sorting.
- Package.
- Sales
Even with minimal business volumes it is impossible to do without special equipment, which will greatly facilitate soil cultivation, planting, care and harvesting of potatoes. To work on land area for half a hectare you must have:
- walk-behind tractor or small tractor;
- plow;
- hiller;
- device for digging potatoes.
It is in vain to wait for a good harvest if you do not take care of soil fertility. Experienced farmers use the following types fertilizers:
- ammonium sulfate;
- potassium sulfate;
- potassium superphosphate;
- vermicompost;
- ash.
To achieve fertile soil quality, you will have to incur fertilizer costs of about 20 rubles. per 1 sq. m of land. However, in fact, this is not a cost, but an investment, because fed land will return everything a hundredfold in the form high yield.
The main stumbling block in this business is Colorado beetle, which for many decades continues to be a clear threat to the potato crop. Unfortunately, we still have to use chemicals. According to average estimates, you will have to incur costs of approximately 3 thousand rubles to purchase funds from this insidious pest. on 35 acres of land.
Requirements for seed material
Any person who has ever grown potatoes for personal needs knows how important it is for planting material to be of high quality. For this there are requirements:
- Do not mix varieties.
- The size of the potatoes should be, if possible, the same.
Seed preparation begins in the fall. To do this, potatoes are sorted, giving preference to the healthiest ones (without suspicious spots, cuts, or other damage). The seed material is subjected to gardening, laid out in the light for 3 weeks (direct sun rays exclude).
For further storage, the seeds are sent to a warehouse with an air temperature of no more than +3 and high humidity (maximum 80%).
During the winter it is worth checking the condition of the seeds several times. If damaged copies appear, they must be immediately removed and discarded.
A month before planting, the seeds are brought out into the light in a place warmer than in the warehouse for germination. If large tubers are found, they are cut into pieces so that at least 3 eyes remain in each of them. Ideally, it is recommended that cutting be done directly on the day of planting. But in both cases, the cut site should be treated with tree resin.
Such detailed actions produced on a small scale. When grown on an industrial scale, such a process will require automated installations that completely replace manual labor.
Planting potatoes
There are no recommendations for all occasions; sowing dates are dictated by the weather and climatic features of a particular area. You can only be guided by the temperature indicator: when the soil warms up to 12 degrees, you can start planting.
Before planting, the soil is loosened manually with shovels or a tractor in large areas. This process will provide the plant with enough air and retain moisture.
Potatoes are planted in rows, the distance between which is at least 1 m. This helps active development bush and convenience when harvesting using specialized equipment - milling units. If the distance is smaller, then even with manual processing You can damage the roots, thereby slowing down the growing season.
Landing depth– approximately 8 cm, sowing is covered with an earthen ridge up to 10 cm high.
After 2 weeks, the first treatment against weeds is carried out and hilling(raise the ridge another 10 cm). Light, loose soil is poured on top, which will allow the tubers to form well.
Potatoes need watering. If no rain is expected, it should be done at least 2 times a week. If the air is humid, then water it once every 7 days.
At the very beginning of flowering, preventive treatment is carried out against late blight and the most malicious enemy of potatoes - the Colorado potato beetle. Such treatments are carried out up to 5 times during the season.
When treating potatoes against pests and diseases, you must follow the recommendations indicated on the product packaging.
Setting up a potato business
If we are talking about small volumes of production, when almost all the work is done independently on your own plot of land, you can do without documents. Growing potatoes and then selling them is also a business, but, one might say, an inferior one. It's more of a small side hustle additional income to the family budget. And even without documents, you will have to sell the goods yourself.
If we talk about a significant scale, we will have to go through registration individual agricultural entrepreneurship in the tax office in form A.01,13,21. It is recommended to choose the Unified Agricultural Tax system.
You can learn more about this tax regime from the following article:. It is this form of doing business that is more acceptable for the businessman himself and his partners. This form is simple and convenient for both parties.
Organization of potato sales
Long before the start of cultivating the first potato crop, it is necessary to work out the issue of sales and establish contacts with potential partners with whom long-term cooperation contracts can be concluded.
If large-scale production is planned, it is worth establishing contacts with large retail chains in advance. To do this, you need to prepare your product so that it is presentable appearance: washed, neatly packed in clean, sealed bags.
Selling on the market is also possible; it is especially profitable when prices rise. If you can’t stand behind the counter yourself, you can find a wholesale buyer at the same market. This makes sense, because potatoes are a product that requires special storage conditions, otherwise they will begin to deteriorate (rot, wither, sprout). At wholesale succeeds in short term sell goods and calculate income.
It is worth considering that if you correctly follow the technology requirements, you can grow up to 20 tons of potatoes on 1 hectare. If you have a permanent buyer, you can fully count on a high income.
The financial side of the potato business
In order to turn potato growing into an income-generating business, a systematic approach is needed. For this purpose, a business plan is drawn up. The most important part of it is financial calculations with clear balanced costs, income and profit making.
The following are not excluded expenses:
- Acquisition seed material.
- Purchase chemicals for treatment against pests and diseases.
- Fertilizers.
- Special equipment (purchase or rent).
- Packaging material.
- Salary in case of hiring workers for large volumes of production.
- Transport costs.
- Paying taxes.
The amount of costs may vary depending on factors such as the availability of our own warehouses, technical equipment for storing and growing crops or renting them.
Approximate calculations:
- Costs are about 450 thousand rubles.
- 22 tons of potatoes were harvested.
- After sorting, approximately 2.5 tons of waste.
- The average cost of 1 kg of potatoes is 50 rubles.
- If 19.5 (22 – 2.5) tons are sold, the proceeds will be 975 thousand rubles.
- Profit – 525 thousand rubles. (975 – 450).
"Potato" business (video)
The technologies and stages of growing potatoes, as well as the advantages of this type of business, are described in the video presented.
By growing potatoes you can earn more than 100% profit on the invested amount. This means that this type business is quite profitable. To do this, it is necessary to make efforts, take a responsible approach to issues of soil condition, control pests and diseases, and ensure proper storage and marketing of the grown crop.
- Market attractiveness
- Production plan
- Recruitment
- Risk assessment
- Financial plan
- Fixed annual expenses
- Which taxation system to choose for business registration
- Growing technology
Business plan for growing potatoes on a sown area of 10 hectares.
How much money do you need to start this business?
According to preliminary calculations, to open a potato growing farm you will need to invest at least 6,950,000 rubles:
- Registration of a land plot, making a deposit - 200,000 rubles.
- Purchase of equipment and machinery - RUB 2,450,000.
- Construction of a vegetable storage facility - 3,000,000 rubles.
- Purchase of planting material - 800,000 rubles.
- Primary tillage, application of fertilizers - 100,000 rubles.
- Business registration and other organizational expenses - 100,000 rubles.
- Reserve fund - 300,000 rubles.
Market attractiveness
Potatoes have become an integral part of the diet modern man. This is the second bread that can be found on almost every table. For some, especially rural residents, potatoes are the main product and the first among all vegetables. The average Russian eats no less than 80 kg of potatoes per year. This suggests that the demand for potatoes remains consistently high, so marketing the products will not be a big problem.
Step-by-step plan for opening a potato farm
Our farm plans for the current year include the following sequential actions:
- Search and rent a plot of land from the municipality with an area of 10 hectares. The lease agreement is planned to be concluded for a period of 49 years with the right to purchase.
- Business registration and fees necessary documents. As organizational form it is planned to register a peasant farm (peasant farm) and switch to a single agricultural tax (Unified Agricultural Tax, 6% of profit).
- Purchase the necessary equipment.
- Hire staff.
- Purchase planting material.
- Till the soil and prepare it for sowing.
- Carry out sowing work.
- Monitor the growth of plantings, carry out all necessary measures for watering and processing plants.
- Harvest
- Carry out a number of marketing activities and sell the entire volume of grown products.
Description of products and technology
The crops on our farm will be grown according to the Mittlider method. According to this technology, planting material is planted in ridges half a meter wide, with wide (up to a meter) passages. The perimeter of the site is fenced with earthen beads in order to save water. Plants are subject to regular watering and fertilizing three times a season. Hilling potatoes using this technology is not required. This technology makes it possible to reduce the size of the area under potatoes by three times, while significantly increasing the yield of the crop. It is planned to produce up to 30 tons of marketable potatoes from one hectare (part of them will be used for planting material). Potatoes will be sold in bulk at an average annual price of 15 rubles/kg. In total, it is planned to produce and sell up to 300 tons of potatoes per year. Approximate annual turnover the economy will thus amount to 4,500,000 rubles.
Download a business plan for growing potatoes
Production plan
To grow potatoes, the business plan provides for renting a land plot of 10 hectares. The land plot will be located 70 kilometers from large city, which, on the one hand, allows you to get a guaranteed sales market, and on the other hand, allows you to significantly save on rent. Rental payments will amount to 240 thousand rubles per year.
What equipment to choose for growing potatoes
The use of technology will significantly reduce labor costs and increase farm efficiency. Therefore, it is planned to purchase the following machines:
- Tractor MTZ-80 (900 thousand rubles);
- A machine for inter-row tillage (350 thousand rubles);
- Potato planter (350 thousand rubles);
- Potato harvester (450 thousand rubles);
- Sorting line (400 thousand rubles).
In total, about 2.45 million rubles will be spent on the purchase of equipment and machinery. It is planned to purchase the elite mid-late potato variety “Golubizna” as planting material. The price per kilogram will be 40 rubles. About 800 thousand rubles will be spent on purchasing planting material. The construction of a modern vegetable storage facility will allow storing potatoes until the high season (spring), when the price of vegetables increases 2-3 times. Investments in the construction of a vegetable storage facility will amount to at least 3 million rubles.
Recruitment
The farm will employ machine operators (2 people), general laborers during harvesting (10 people), a mechanic (1 person), and security guards for the duration of the harvest. summer period(3 people), sales manager (1 person). Accountant services are planned to be provided under an outsourcing agreement. The total annual wage fund will be 550 thousand rubles.
Risk assessment
Risks to manage of this business are as follows:
- Characteristic of everything agriculture— complete dependence on weather conditions (drought);
- Competition in the market, dumping;
- Problems with selling products during the low season.
Financial plan
Before organizing a potato business, you need to carefully calculate investments and risks.
Fixed annual expenses
- Rent - 240,000 rub.
- Wages+ insurance contributions - 715,000 rub.
- Costs for soil treatment (fertilizers, watering, pest protection) - 150,000 rubles.
- Fuel and lubricants - 200,000 rub.
- Depreciation of equipment - 120,000 rubles.
- Equipment repair - RUB 80,000.
- The cost of storing the crop is 150,000 rubles.
- Accounting - 60,000 rub.
- Other expenses - 50,000 rubles.
Total - 1,765,000 rubles.
How much can you earn from growing potatoes?
Thus, the net profit of the farm for a year of operation will be 2,570,900 rubles, subject to 100% sales of all grown products. Under the most favorable circumstances, the return on the initial investment occurs already in the third year of operation. However, in practice, taking into account all the risks (weather, problems with sales, etc.), the return on investment will not occur earlier than in four years.
We recommend download business plan for growing potatoes, from our partners, with a quality guarantee. This is a full-fledged finished project, which you will not find in the public domain. Contents of the business plan: 1. Confidentiality 2. Summary 3. Stages of project implementation 4. Characteristics of the object 5. Marketing plan 6. Technical and economic data of the equipment 7. Financial plan 8. Risk assessment 9. Financial and economic justification of investments 10. Conclusions
Which OKVED code to indicate when registering a business?
To grow potatoes, you must indicate OKVED 2, Section A: Agriculture, forestry, fishing and fish farming: 01.1 Growing annual crops, 01.13 Growing vegetables, melons, root and tuber crops, mushrooms and truffles, 01.13.1 Growing vegetables, 01.13.12 Cultivation protected soil vegetables.
What documents are needed to open
Grow potatoes for sale in retail outlets will require registration of peasant farms. Documents that will be required in this case:
- Registration application written by the entrepreneur and certified by a notary.
- Photocopies of passport and taxpayer ID code.
- Receipt for payment of state duty.
If you are starting a business with partners, you will also need to draw up an appropriate contract, which specifies: telephone numbers, the responsibilities of each entrepreneur, the procedure for accepting and leaving the business of its members.
Which taxation system to choose for business registration
Growing potatoes gives you the right to pay a single agricultural tax, the rate of which is 6%.
Do I need permission to open?
Growing technology
To increase the efficiency of growing potatoes, you must be guided by the features of the technology:
- Use only productive potato varieties with a high yield, from 30 tons per hectare.
- Compliance with the correct planting technology with a density of no more than 30 stems per square meter and a hole depth of less than 4 cm. The width between rows is from 60 to 80 cm.
- Timely control of pests and viruses, treatment and spraying against late blight 5 or more times per season.
- Dig up potatoes for seeds at the beginning of August, and for sale at the end.
- Maintaining crop rotation with alternating planting of potatoes and winter grains in the same place.
Let's consider the option of running your own business - growing potatoes as a business. It is in demand by consumers all year round, and activities in rural areas has a number of economic advantages.
Is the potato business profitable?
The business of growing and selling potatoes, especially if the activity is carried out in rural areas, has a number of benefits:
Growing potatoes requires strict adherence to the planned plan. Of course, a lot depends on weather factors, in particular on air temperature and amount of precipitation. The lack of moisture can be compensated by watering, but it is difficult to deal with excess sunlight.
There is only one way here - frequently spraying the leaves with water, and an irrigation system will be a good helper for this. The cost of such an installation may not be high, but it provides many advantages. The moistening process will be fully automated, which will save a lot of time and allow you to regulate the degree of soil saturation with water, and also save the foliage from drying out.
A lack of sun is unlikely to ruin the crop, but ripened potatoes will be small and of poor presentation, and they may not survive the winter. There is absolutely nothing that can be done here, although such cases are extremely rare. Try to analyze the long-term weather forecast before landing, so you will be aware of weather changes in advance. The hydrometeorological center provides reliable data regarding the coming season, and the average daily data is quite accurate for the entire period of the season. Make sure in advance that you have pest control equipment and all technical equipment.
During the ripening process, you may need to monitor the vegetables to protect them from encroachers; this point should also be taken into account. Many people plant onions and carrots between rows of potatoes; these vegetables fight a number of pests and help the soil, and they are also easy to care for and will provide material benefits. There will be no problems with their sale, since potato resellers, as a rule, deal in both onions and carrots.
The use of professional agricultural machinery significantly increases labor productivity
The potato growing business will require complete dedication; you should not think that everything will be easy. But still, this is a very promising business.
It is advisable to take care of the sales market in advance, then you will save time and the goods will not deteriorate. The average price for wholesalers in 2019 is 10-15 rubles, and from one hundred square meters it turns out to be about 250 kg, further calculations are not difficult to make. Growing potatoes as a business can be a fairly profitable activity and absolutely legal. But of course it is necessary to sow not just one hundred square meters of land, but entire fields.
If you take care of transport for delivery, this will reduce your costs significantly. Growing potatoes is a seasonal business, but after earning money, you can find something to do for the winter.
Growing potatoes in industrial scale- a profitable and profitable business idea that will bring tangible profits to the entrepreneur, subject to a competent approach and a clear calculation of costs. In order for potato growing to be profitable, it is necessary to draw up an algorithm of actions for opening a business, draw up documentation, find markets and grow the crop.
Growing potatoes - always current business, since this root vegetable is a frequent guest on every table. Even if a family has a private plot of land, not everyone can meet their needs for the quantity of potatoes and, accordingly, purchases them.
For an entrepreneur, the advantages of business are:
- in the ease of growing root crops;
- in the absence of dependence of demand for the sold product on the time of year;
- low costs for seed and fertilizers;
- V quick payback- with a competent approach, the business will begin to make a profit from the first season.
The disadvantages and difficulties of entrepreneurship include:
- low price when selling the product;
- seasonality - it is impossible to grow potatoes all year round in the Russian climate;
- the need to regularly treat plants against pests and install irrigation systems in the fields in case of drought.
Before starting a business, an entrepreneur should explore the possibilities of marketing the products he grows. The profit he receives largely depends on how profitably a businessman will sell his potatoes.
Potatoes can be sold in the following ways:
- independently sell root crops on the market - this method requires high costs time (which farmers often lack) or additional expenses if the decision is made to hire a seller;
- selling the harvest to those who already sell retail at markets is convenient and often profitable;
- sell potatoes to wholesale dealers. This method is convenient because there is no need to equip a special storage for potatoes for the winter-spring period;
- directly delivering goods to retail outlets. This option is the most profitable, but finding regular customers is quite difficult.
Having decided on sales channels and making sure of their reliability, you can proceed to the main thing - design and organization own business on growing potatoes.
Business organization algorithm
In order for growing root crops to be profitable, you need to think through every step. Initially, you need to complete the following documents:
- if an entrepreneur plans to do business on his own small plot and the activity falls under the definition of subsidiary personal farming, then it is not necessary to go through the registration procedure with government agencies, but it will be possible to sell the goods only independently;
- if the business is planned to expand to an industrial scale, then you should register with Tax Inspectorate How individual entrepreneur, choosing OKVED A. 01.13.21 and the Unified Agricultural Tax taxation system.
Organizing big business it is worth considering that wholesale buyers And retail chains They are more willing to cooperate with individual entrepreneurs than with individuals, so officially registered entrepreneurs have more options for selling grown products.
Also follows:
- rent or buy land;
- prepare the land for planting root crops;
- rent equipment;
- organize a watering system;
- purchase planting material (in the first year, in the future it will remain from the previous harvest);
- organize a place to store products.
For growing potatoes in large quantities fields and equipment required
For the first season, a field of 3-5 hectares will be sufficient for growing potatoes; subsequently, the area can be increased. But simply renting or buying land is not enough - you need to prepare it for planting root crops:
- fertilize the soil before the onset of frost, until mid-autumn;
- the ground is loosened and cleared of growing weeds;
- apply fertilizers - preferably organic;
- Potatoes are planted in the spring - the time of planting directly depends on the region: in the southern regions, planting begins at the end of March, and in the middle zone - in May.
You should start preparing potatoes for planting in advance, in the fall. Potatoes are “greened” like this:
- the tubers are placed in a lighted place for 20 days - this action is necessary to protect the potatoes from rotting and will improve their germination in the spring;
- Afterwards, the root vegetables are transferred to an unlit room and stored at positive temperatures in the range of 1-3 degrees.
Before planting, a month before, the potatoes are moved to light so that they germinate. At the time of planting, the sprouts should reach a minimum length of one centimeter. If large tubers are planted, then before germination it is necessary to carry out a number of manipulations:
Boarding time
Before planting potatoes in the ground, you should make sure that they are warm enough - their temperature should be about 9 degrees at a depth of 12-15 centimeters. The exact planting time is determined by the climatic conditions in each specific region and the weather.
Before the potatoes fall into the ground, the soil must be thoroughly dug up and cleared of sprouted weeds. For maximum comfort of crop growth and, subsequently, convenience when processing plants with agricultural machinery, it is necessary to maintain certain distances between:
- between rows - from 30 to 40 centimeters;
- between the bushes - about a meter.
Root crop care, collection and storage
After 1.5-2 weeks after sowing, it is necessary to hill up the plantings - this procedure will make the soil soft and airy, saturate it with oxygen, and at the same time remove the weeds.
The basic care of plants during the process of growth and maturation is:
- in regular treatment of the aerial parts of the crop (tops) against Colorado potato beetles - insects are especially rampant during potato flowering and, if not carried out timely processing, can destroy the entire crop;
- in watering - in normal weather it is enough to water the plants every 4 days, but in drought, potatoes need moisture every day.
It is advisable to fertilize the soil with manure (horse or cow) before sowing. And so that the land does not lose its fertility, after collecting root crops, it is sown with sunflowers, clover or corn.
The grown crop is harvested immediately after ripening - this is:
- has a beneficial effect on its taste;
- allows you to preserve all the beneficial substances in root vegetables;
- extends the shelf life of potatoes.
Potatoes should be stored in ventilated, moderately cool, dark rooms. Before placing vegetables in a storage place, they need to be dried and sorted - tubers with traces of rot and spoilage are not stored together with a healthy harvest.
Profitability of the potato business
If you have a plot of land of 30 acres suitable for growing potatoes, the main expense items will be:
- purchase of a motor cultivator and attachments- about 48-55,000 rubles;
- purchase of a body for a tractor - from 20,000 rubles;
- purchase of seed - 15,000 rubles;
- maintenance of equipment, purchase of fertilizers - up to 10,000 rubles;
- paperwork and tax deductions - about 10-12,000.
In total, opening a business will cost the entrepreneur 112,000 rubles. With an average yield of 240 kilograms per hundred square meters, after the harvest ripens, the entrepreneur will have 7,200 kilograms of product. With a wholesale price per kilo of potatoes of 23 rubles, the profit for the season will be 54,000 rubles.
The above calculation is approximate, allowing one to assess the profitability and compliance of material and physical investments in generating profit from the business of growing and selling potatoes. If you organize larger-scale sowing operations, using larger areas, the profit will be correspondingly higher.
Growing and selling potatoes is quite profitable and profitable business, the only disadvantage of which is seasonality. If you decide to engage in this activity, then carefully study the algorithm for opening and running a business so that entrepreneurship brings profit and does not cause problems.
Video - Growing potatoes. Successful business
Potatoes have long become one of the most popular products: almost everyone eats and buys them. The heroine of the legendary film “Girls” spoke about how many different dishes are prepared from it, and since then the number of recipes and ideas for preparing potato masterpieces has grown significantly. So this product will always be in demand: even owners of dachas and personal plots are not always able to fully provide their family with potatoes. This means that a business growing potatoes, if you organize it correctly, can become a very profitable business.
Another argument in favor of this type of entrepreneurship: potatoes are an unpretentious crop. Caring for it is quite simple, and it grows almost throughout the country.
So, what will it take to harvest a good potato harvest and sell it profitably? Not so much: a sufficiently sized plot of land, agricultural machinery, necessary fertilizers, labor force. And, of course, seed material - a suitable variety of potatoes will give the best harvest. And so that new business has become profitable, you need to draw up a clear action plan.
Growing potatoes - from A to Z
The “potato” business pays off quickly: the period from the moment the soil is plowed and the tubers are thrown into it to the sale of the finished product is four months. During this time, the aspiring entrepreneur will need:
- prepare planting material;
- prepare the soil (plow, apply fertilizers);
- plant potatoes;
- spud him;
- apply fertilizers;
- pest control;
- harvest;
- pack potatoes;
- sell it.
Packaging is an optional step, but this makes the product much more expensive. If the potatoes are not sold immediately, storage will also be added to this.
Preparation of planting material
First of all, you need to select tubers for planting (usually this is done in the fall, when harvesting). But if you are just starting an agricultural business, you will have to buy seed material. It is important here that it is a high-yielding variety suitable for the existing climatic conditions. For sowing, select small tubers without damage or signs of disease.
Planting potatoes are prepared in a certain way: they are “greened” - placed in a bright place for twenty days. This will improve germination ability and protect the tubers from rotting. However, they should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Then the potatoes are stored in a dark room at a temperature of 1–3 degrees and a humidity of 80–90%. Storage conditions are very important, so if you buy planting material, make sure that the supplier is reliable and honest, and if possible, look at where the potatoes are stored.
A month before the start of sowing, potatoes are taken out of a dark room and left in the light so that they begin to germinate. The size of the sprout for planting should be more than a centimeter.
If you plant large potatoes, you need to cut them into halves or quarters. It is important that each part has at least 2-3 eyes. You need to cut the tubers before germination; it is better to sprinkle the cut areas with ash: how can the surface not covered by the peel be protected from infection.
Soil preparation and planting
In central Russia, potatoes begin to be planted in May, in the south even earlier - in April or even March. In the north of the country, you can usually start planting only in June. The exact date depends on the soil temperature.
Before planting, the soil must be loosened and cleared of weeds. Depending on the size of the area, this is done with a shovel (or, alternatively, with a pitchfork) or a plow is used, and a tractor is used as draft force. It is not recommended to turn the soil over - just loosen it.
Potatoes are planted in rows, the distance between which should be 30–35 cm; this is quite enough for the full development of tubers, and for subsequent cultivation of the field using agricultural machinery.
Care and harvesting
Two weeks after planting, you need to hill up the potatoes and remove weeds. When flowering begins, the bushes are sprayed with solutions against pests (primarily Colorado potato beetles); if this is not done in time, the crop may be damaged.
If the weather is humid enough, there is no need to water the potatoes; rains do an excellent job of this task. If they are not there, you need to add watering 2-3 times a week to the set of measures for caring for the crop. If the drought is quite severe, you will have to water daily.
If you want to offer customers an environmentally friendly product, the best fertilizer is cow or horse manure. It is added to the soil during planting. If the land is not depleted, you can do without chemical fertilizers at all. You can preserve soil fertility by sowing it with corn, clover or sunflower after harvesting potatoes.
As soon as the potatoes are ripe, it is time to harvest. You shouldn’t “overexpose” it in the ground - it will be stored worse this way.
We prepare documents
If the scale of your activity is quite modest, and the land on which you grow potatoes is your property and falls under the definition of personal subsidiary farming(LPH), it is not necessary to register: you are on legally you can offer your product on the market.
But if you want to expand production and sales market, you will have to. for your type of activity - A. 01.13.21 - production of agricultural products. The most profitable system taxation for you - .
Is it profitable to grow potatoes?
How much will it cost you to start a potato growing business and what kind of income can you expect from this business? To answer this question more or less accurately, you should draw up detailed business plan. But it is still possible to approximately calculate costs and profits.
If you own a plot of 30 acres, you will need the following equipment to process it:
- mini-tractor (motoblock) – 35–40 thousand rubles;
- attachments (plow, hiller, device for digging up potatoes) – 10–12 thousand rubles;
- body to a tractor for transportation - 25 thousand rubles.
The total is about 75–80 thousand rubles. These are one-time costs. In the future, the equipment, of course, will need to be refueled and repaired, but the costs for this will be significantly less than for the purchase.
Another expense item is the purchase of seed material and fertilizers. And if potatoes may already be in household, then you will have to buy fertilizers and chemicals against pests. Together with potatoes, the costs will be about 10-15 thousand.
In total, to start a potato business you will need about 90 thousand rubles.
With a yield of about 250 kg per hundred square meters (this is the average), you will end up with 7,500 kg of potatoes. The wholesale price of potatoes is 20–25 rubles per kilogram, so you can count on an income of 150–180 thousand rubles.
How to make potatoes more expensive?
The answer to this question is very simple: wash, dry and pack. Such a product may cost twice as much. However, if you decide to pack your potatoes yourself, you need to take this seriously. technological process: washed, but not dried well enough, it may simply rot.
Implementation: to whom and how?
Growing potatoes and harvesting them is only half the battle. How profitable and successful this business will be also depends on how profitably the product can be sold. You can do this in several ways:
- Sell it yourself at the grocery market. This option is, of course, the most profitable, but time-consuming, which farmers don’t have much of. There are several options for solving the problem: divide responsibilities and appoint someone from the family responsible for sales, or, if storage is possible, sell potatoes from October to May - when there is not so much work. The advantage of the second method is that potato prices are higher in winter and spring.
- Give the goods for sale or sell them in bulk to those who already sell agricultural products on the market. It's fast and convenient, and most often quite profitable.
- Sell to wholesalers or procurers. If you have large farm and the harvest was great, it best option. Prices at wholesalers are much lower than in other places, but the opportunity to sell all the potatoes at once is often worth it.
- Offering your product to stores directly is one of the most profitable ways to sell products, washed and packaged potatoes are in particular demand.
If you have a fairly large plot and you plan to grow a lot of potatoes, it makes sense to contact wholesalers in advance and negotiate the conditions under which they will accept the goods. This will allow you to focus on actually growing potatoes and not worry about selling them.
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