Russia’s biggest farmers, the Linnikov brothers, Alexander and Viktor, certainly do not hide either their ambitions or their capabilities. The scale of the farm plans and agribusiness operations of these two extraordinary Russian agri-entrepreneurs is astonishing.
Recently, in a rare interview, Alexander Linnikov told the Irish Farmers Journal about the brothers’ targets for dairy, beef, pig and poultry production. “For us, a dairy farm must have at least 7,000 high-yielding dairy cows,” he said. Anything less would not have “the critical mass” essential for the Linnikov’s livestock farming and agribusiness conglomerate, Miratorg.
Targets for their other livestock enterprises are equally ambitious. But what is even more worrying for all Irish and European farmers is the past agricultural performance of the Linnikov brothers, which can only be described as phenomenal. Their progress to date in livestock production cannot be matched anywhere in the world. Their future farm plans and potential seem to be unlimited.
Viktor and Alexander Linnikov are both in their 40s. They have third-level degrees in geology and cartography. Their work experience includes stints at importing and distributing food from Europe and America. All this is now well behind them, but it got them into modern large-scale farming and producing their own food for 15m consumers in Moscow.
As Alexander says: “It’s difficult to find the country in the world that has such a huge potential for good-quality food production – without using any antibiotics, additives, or growth hormones – as Russia.”
Ten years ago the Linnikovs got their first farm. They started off with very large pigs and poultry enterprises; beef cattle breeding and production followed soon after. Now, large-scale dairy farms are also rapidly getting off the ground. Large sheep production farms and lamb processing plants are next on the agenda.
Today, the Linnikov brothers own 52 farms and cultivate 250,000ha of black soils in western Russia. Currently, they are planning to bring these numbers up to 85 farms and 500,000ha. These are some of the best and the most fertile lands in Russia. The Linnikovs’ farms generally range from 5,000ha to 6,000ha. On these farms, they produce high yields of a range of agricultural crops such as wheat, barley, maize, grass and clover, lucerne, soyabeans, sunflower seeds, rapeseed, sugar beet and fodder beet.
Their main livestock enterprises are as follows:
Pig farms produce 310,000t of pork per year from 4m pigs farrowed by 120,000 breeding sows.Beef farms produce 60,000t of prime beef per year from a total herd of 400,000 Aberdeen Angus cattle.Poultry farms produce 1.2bn eggs and 63,000t of poultry meat per year from a total of 10m birds (broiler chickens and egg-laying breeders).The Linnikovs have their own ultra-modern and very large meat processing and packing plants. Their flag-ship beef packing factory, 400km south of Moscow, has a slaughtering capacity of 100 head per hour. It cost €20m to build and equip.
In addition, the company has its own nationwide chain of supermarkets. Last year, the Linnikovs had 36 supermarkets and this number is expected to double this year. They will go on to open 200 supermarkets throughout Russia within the next few years. Miratorg also has its own chain of restaurants in prime locations around Moscow and St Petersburg. The Linnikovs’ other food service customers in Russia, include McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King, along with halal and kosher meat outlets.
Currently, Miratorg’s main focus is on import substitution of food into the Russian market. But the company is also preparing to enter all the most profitable export markets for its meat and dairy products. Miratorg’s halal and kosher meats are already available all over the Middle East.
The Linnikov brothers and other similar large Russian livestock producers are now consuming all the grain and protein crops they can grow.
As Alexander says: “Russian livestock farmers are now beginning to compete for grain with exporters.”
This trend is beginning to reduce the amount of Russian grain and protein available for export to world markets. A deficit of Russian animal feed ingredients in world markets will also be very serious for Irish and European pig and poultry farmers.
Miratorg’s complete control over the processing, sales and distribution of all its beef, pork and poultry products, ensures maximum returns to the Linnikov brothers. 30% of the profits in their supermarkets come from sales of their own meats. Their net returns across all farming, food processing, marketing and distribution operations are 15% to 20%.
The company’s target is to double livestock and meat production within the next five years. Annual turnover by then will exceed €5bn. By 2020, net profits for Miratorg are expected to be over €1bn per year.
But despite all their vast agricultural assets and company profits, Miratorg does have three problems:
1. The management for their farms and meat processing plants has to be brought in from America and Europe.
2. Pedigree Aberdeen Angus bulls, heifer and semen also have to be brought in from the US, Canada and Australia.
3. Pedigree boars, gilts, sows and pig semen have to be brought in from Ireland.
Ned Nolan’s Hermitage Genetics from Kilkenny is now the top pedigree pig breeding company in Russia. Hermitage’s Russian sales managers, Gerry Douglas and Ilya Korolev, are also very highly rated in Russian pig breeding and production enterprises. They supply all the best pig breeding, feeding, housing, and production advice to Miratorg.
They also have a very big influence on many other large-scale pig farmers throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Irish pedigree cattle and sheep breeders and AI groups could and should be following in the footsteps of Hermitage pedigree pigs. There is a vast and a highly profitable market in Russia, for all Irish pedigree livestock breeders and farm managers.
*Brendan Dunleavy has over 20 years practical livestock farming and agribusiness project management experience in Russia
Russia’s biggest farmers, the Linnikov brothers, Alexander and Viktor, certainly do not hide either their ambitions or their capabilities. The scale of the farm plans and agribusiness operations of these two extraordinary Russian agri-entrepreneurs is astonishing.
Recently, in a rare interview, Alexander Linnikov told the Irish Farmers Journal about the brothers’ targets for dairy, beef, pig and poultry production. “For us, a dairy farm must have at least 7,000 high-yielding dairy cows,” he said. Anything less would not have “the critical mass” essential for the Linnikov’s livestock farming and agribusiness conglomerate, Miratorg.
Targets for their other livestock enterprises are equally ambitious. But what is even more worrying for all Irish and European farmers is the past agricultural performance of the Linnikov brothers, which can only be described as phenomenal. Their progress to date in livestock production cannot be matched anywhere in the world. Their future farm plans and potential seem to be unlimited.
Viktor and Alexander Linnikov are both in their 40s. They have third-level degrees in geology and cartography. Their work experience includes stints at importing and distributing food from Europe and America. All this is now well behind them, but it got them into modern large-scale farming and producing their own food for 15m consumers in Moscow.
As Alexander says: “It’s difficult to find the country in the world that has such a huge potential for good-quality food production – without using any antibiotics, additives, or growth hormones – as Russia.”
Ten years ago the Linnikovs got their first farm. They started off with very large pigs and poultry enterprises; beef cattle breeding and production followed soon after. Now, large-scale dairy farms are also rapidly getting off the ground. Large sheep production farms and lamb processing plants are next on the agenda.
Today, the Linnikov brothers own 52 farms and cultivate 250,000ha of black soils in western Russia. Currently, they are planning to bring these numbers up to 85 farms and 500,000ha. These are some of the best and the most fertile lands in Russia. The Linnikovs’ farms generally range from 5,000ha to 6,000ha. On these farms, they produce high yields of a range of agricultural crops such as wheat, barley, maize, grass and clover, lucerne, soyabeans, sunflower seeds, rapeseed, sugar beet and fodder beet.
Their main livestock enterprises are as follows:
Pig farms produce 310,000t of pork per year from 4m pigs farrowed by 120,000 breeding sows.Beef farms produce 60,000t of prime beef per year from a total herd of 400,000 Aberdeen Angus cattle.Poultry farms produce 1.2bn eggs and 63,000t of poultry meat per year from a total of 10m birds (broiler chickens and egg-laying breeders).The Linnikovs have their own ultra-modern and very large meat processing and packing plants. Their flag-ship beef packing factory, 400km south of Moscow, has a slaughtering capacity of 100 head per hour. It cost €20m to build and equip.
In addition, the company has its own nationwide chain of supermarkets. Last year, the Linnikovs had 36 supermarkets and this number is expected to double this year. They will go on to open 200 supermarkets throughout Russia within the next few years. Miratorg also has its own chain of restaurants in prime locations around Moscow and St Petersburg. The Linnikovs’ other food service customers in Russia, include McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King, along with halal and kosher meat outlets.
Currently, Miratorg’s main focus is on import substitution of food into the Russian market. But the company is also preparing to enter all the most profitable export markets for its meat and dairy products. Miratorg’s halal and kosher meats are already available all over the Middle East.
The Linnikov brothers and other similar large Russian livestock producers are now consuming all the grain and protein crops they can grow.
As Alexander says: “Russian livestock farmers are now beginning to compete for grain with exporters.”
This trend is beginning to reduce the amount of Russian grain and protein available for export to world markets. A deficit of Russian animal feed ingredients in world markets will also be very serious for Irish and European pig and poultry farmers.
Miratorg’s complete control over the processing, sales and distribution of all its beef, pork and poultry products, ensures maximum returns to the Linnikov brothers. 30% of the profits in their supermarkets come from sales of their own meats. Their net returns across all farming, food processing, marketing and distribution operations are 15% to 20%.
The company’s target is to double livestock and meat production within the next five years. Annual turnover by then will exceed €5bn. By 2020, net profits for Miratorg are expected to be over €1bn per year.
But despite all their vast agricultural assets and company profits, Miratorg does have three problems:
1. The management for their farms and meat processing plants has to be brought in from America and Europe.
2. Pedigree Aberdeen Angus bulls, heifer and semen also have to be brought in from the US, Canada and Australia.
3. Pedigree boars, gilts, sows and pig semen have to be brought in from Ireland.
Ned Nolan’s Hermitage Genetics from Kilkenny is now the top pedigree pig breeding company in Russia. Hermitage’s Russian sales managers, Gerry Douglas and Ilya Korolev, are also very highly rated in Russian pig breeding and production enterprises. They supply all the best pig breeding, feeding, housing, and production advice to Miratorg.
They also have a very big influence on many other large-scale pig farmers throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Irish pedigree cattle and sheep breeders and AI groups could and should be following in the footsteps of Hermitage pedigree pigs. There is a vast and a highly profitable market in Russia, for all Irish pedigree livestock breeders and farm managers.
*Brendan Dunleavy has over 20 years practical livestock farming and agribusiness project management experience in Russia
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