Plantations of strawberries (Growing strawberries as a business).

DAILY CELESTIAL CHALLENGE ( SATURDAY AGRICULTURE )

🍀Plantations of strawberries (Growing strawberries as a business)

It is hard to find a more popular berries than strawberries. It attracts with its appearance and unique aroma, excellent taste qualities. A lot has been written and told about its usefulness. But very few people know that the brighter the color of the berries, the more they contain vitamins, B1, B2, PP, A, E, which counteract the inflammatory processes in the human body. If we eat quite a lot of this wonderful berry in the season, then the immunity is strengthened until next summer.

Some time ago, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, published in America, published a study demonstrating a significant reduction in the risk of developing breast, esophagus, intestine and cervical cancer for those who eat strawberries. This is due to ellagic acid, which has anti-carcinogenic properties. Professor Aydin Kessidi of the Norwich Medical School (UK) says that, in combination with routine, it also strengthens the walls of blood vessels and purifies blood, reducing the likelihood of cardiovascular disease by 32%.

🌳The first steps in the business of growing strawberries

If someone thinks about growing strawberries for profit, a small plot in the garden or between the trees in the garden will not be enough. For example, in sunny California due to favorable climatic conditions this business has long been on an industrial basis. But not only warm states in America or Italy can boast of large volumes of cultivation. Scandinavian countries with their rather harsh climate also successfully cultivate this berry on large plantations.

🌱Outdoor plantations

It is not necessary to grow it on an industrial scale to generate income. Strawberries are produced as a business for two purposes: selling berries, and selling seedlings. Both the first and second option requires the constant use of labor. The mechanization of some processes reduces this need.

Most private farms grow strawberries in the open. This choice they make for a number of reasons. The main ones are:

A smaller investment of money is required: in comparison with a closed ground, including using a hydroponics system. Money turnover is achieved due to the increased area of growth;

No special qualification is required: maintenance of complex technological processes with intensive method of growing strawberries in a protected ground requires a lot of experience and knowledge;

The habit of working "in the old fashion": many simply do not think about the prospects of a different way of cultivation, except in the open ground.

🍓🍓How to increase profit from planted strawberries

Those who claim that strawberries are always in demand, do not negotiate the main thing. Even if there is such a demand, the price of a product directly depends on the availability of competition. There are always a lot of consumers, but the price may drop during the season below its cost price. In such conditions, one must always think about how to reduce competitive pressure.

If a strawberry plantation is planted, great competition can be avoided by growing earlier products. To do this, strawberry plants are covered with autumn cover material, for example, agrofiber, which protects them from cold winters, retains moisture during melting snow, protects against spring frosts. As a result, it is possible to obtain products from open ground for 2 - 3 weeks earlier. The price of berries is higher due to fewer competitors.

In addition, you need to pay special attention to cultivated varieties of strawberries. One of the most important indicators when choosing new varieties is its yield. It depends on many factors:

       Characteristics of the variety;
       Applied agricultural technology, including protective measures;
       Nutrition;
       Conditions of growth (climate) and weather;
       Age of planting material;
       Soil composition.

Under normal growing conditions, the average yield of strawberries varies from 15 to 20 tonnes / ha. For statistics: Spain is the leader in Europe in terms of these indicators: the return from one hectare is 44 tons; in Japan the productivity of the crop is 27.4 t / ha, in South Korea 28.6 t / ha, in Israel - up to 30 t / ha; in the USA - up to 48 t / ha.

Source: http://vizazh-2.ru/

♣️Expenses for growing and harvesting strawberries

If the main items of expenditure for the plantation were the purchase of seedlings (provided that it is not grown independently) and a mulching film or spunbond with a drip irrigation system (without this a normal crop from a more or less decent plantation can not be obtained), then in the process of cultivation and harvesting The yield of such items will be greater. The main expense items after the plantation:

Watering;
Fertilizer (food);
Fighting diseases, pests and weeds, removing "whiskers" (if the plantation is not planted to obtain seedlings);
Technology and fuel (if used);
Employment of labor (during cultivation and especially harvesting strawberries on the plantation more than 40-50
acres without assistance, not to manage, even if in the process of cultivation were involved family members);
The costs of transporting the crop and its sale (if the products do not surrender in bulk on the spot).

In terms of time for growing this type of product it is believed that strawberries require a large amount of spent man-hours. Here you have to choose: either invest money to automate the process, or pay for the use of labor.

🎁🎁Prices for strawberries

The final result (profit) ultimately depends on the price of the product. In turn, this indicator is not a stable value. It is influenced by:

Competitive environment (this was mentioned above);
Demand for products;
Ways of selling (selling) berries.

The greatest effect in terms of profit can be achieved if the products being grown are sold in retail trade at fairs to the manufacturer itself. But it is not always possible to find time at the time of harvest to stand at the counter. In this case, you can take the harvest in bulk. It is better, if the wholesalers themselves come for strawberries, because during transportation a certain part of the crop comes in an unusable marketable appearance. The difference between prices in retail and wholesale is 30-40%.

Grow strawberries as a business rather profitable, but this will require a fairly serious financial resource at the very beginning of the project (for planting a plantation, including a drip irrigation system) and a lot of physical labor. Naturally, we still need a great desire to get results, a pragmatic approach (as in any other business) and love of one's business.

This is my contribution for this saturday celestial challenge. Thank you.