Do you want to start a sunflower farm from scratch? Or you need a sample sunflower farm business plan template? If YES, then i advice you read on. Sunflowers is a viable business to start, as a matter of fact it is quite easy to grow and one of the good things about going into this type of farming is that do not always have to worry about diseases as they aren’t susceptible to them like other crops. However, care must be taken to ensure you do the needful things.
What are these needful things to be done? It is just like other farm businesses, there are steps that you must take. You have also got to consider getting the land that would be used, as well as have a ready market for the produce. There are loads of sun flower farms in Russia that runs through one side of the county to another.
Hence, if you have a penchant for farming and are looking to start an agricultural business then you can consider the sunflower farming. Here are steps and factors that you can follow to get things underway.
Starting a Sunflower Farm – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Learn All About Sunflowers
This is the first rule of thumb. It is that you must first of all do some market survey about the sunflower farming business before starting one. One of the advantages of doing this is that you are able to decipher from the right step to take, and so that you do not fail woefully when you eventually start. What are those things that need to learn?
You have got to garner knowledge around the area of what is needed to start this business with, the type of equipment needed, how long it takes to grow them, how they are harvested, the target markets and what have you. You may consider reading physical books as well as usurping the goodies of the internet have to offer.
2. Go Understudy a Sunflower Farmer on the Field
It is good to get a theoretical background of something, but it is more important to get the practical and firsthand experience of how things are done. For that reason, you may consider visiting a sunflower farm mentor. This means that you must have someone whom you readily look up to in this line of business to coach you.
Be sure to know the duration with which the learning process would take. It is worthy that you note that doing this would in all aspect help you broaden your horizon and also you prepare your sunflower farming business plan.
3. Determine the Variety of Sunflower to Grow
Part of what you would have been exposed to in your learning and training quest would be the different varieties of the sunflower. It is therefore needful that you determine the variety to specialize in. There are the hybrids and other varieties.
There are the dwarf sunflowers with large seed heads, and those that produce the sunflower oil with rich content in oleic acid. The hybrid type seems to be the common types that are grown, as they do not need insects to pollinate them and they are high yielders.
4. Pool Resources Together
The sunflower farm business is such that would require a large expanse of land. This is solely because of the rate the sunflowers tress grows. They are usually very tall and enormous and as such require a vast land to thrive. If you are from a wealthy home –especially if you are from Africa, then you may be lucky to have inherited a good space of land from dynasty.
On the other hand if you have got to purchase a land to do this, you would require a huge amount of money to get things underway as lands do not come cheap. You may decide to raise money from family and close friends, as well as through bank loans.
5. Acquire Land
After you might have done well to raise the money that is required for purchasing the land, the next thing to do would be to go ahead and look for a fitting land. You may consider talking to a realtor to help you do this.
On the other hand since the type of land in question is very enormous, then you may consider going through the government of your country to be sure that there are large lands that may be available to be purchased. In some cases going through the appropriate government quarters of your country might be your best bet so that you can purchase a land that is duly registered and one that you wouldn’t have to face a problem with.
6. Hire Workers
After you might have acquired the land in question, then the next thing for you to do would be that you hire some experienced sunflower farmers to help you get things underway. The land would need to be cleared and rid of anything that might hinder the cultivation and flourishing of the sunflower crops. It is for this reason that experts are needed. You do not want to end up with a rookie who might damage and hamper the progress of your farm.
7. Secure Water Source
Be sure that it is a place where water might not be an issue. Ideally it would be said that rain should be sufficient to take care of the watering of this plants, however with the dimension with which the global warming is taking, and then you may want to consider other water sources. Sources like nearby canals and dams, as well as a water tanker source. This is all in a bid to be sure that your crops have adequate supply of nutrient and grow healthily.
8. Harvest Your Sunflower
The sunflower is ready for harvest when the back portion of the plant turns brown. It is important that as soon as the sunflower gets to maturity that it is harvested. This is especially important as waiting a bit long before ripping want you have sown might cause birds to eat them up or also diseases to attack them. Birds are a menace to sunflower seed, it is one thing they readily enjoy eating and as such you and your team must be vigilant enough to discourage this.
9. Have a Ready Market
Way long before your sunflower is mature, you have got to get words out about your sunflower farm and how soon you would be harvesting. This is all important, so that your suppliers might know when to come in for them. It is usually good to have the sunflower seeds supplied early enough in its fresh state.
That is it. These are steps that can readily guide you to start your sunflower farm business. It just doesn’t end here as you have got to also continue to look at ways to get better at this.