Snail farm in the village of Parfentyevo near Kolomna. "Snail driver" and part-time tour guide Anatoly Turtle with his wards Photo: Pavel Volkov

Several years of import substitution have shown that sanctions are more beneficial for agriculture. For example, farmer Sergei Balaev is engaged in breeding a delicacy - a grape snail, the demand for which is growing in our country.

The farm in the village of Parfentyevo, which is a short drive from the center of the Kolomna Kremlin, turned out to be ideal for breeding grape snails. So far, this is the only farm in the Moscow region where it has been possible to grow mollusks on an industrial scale.

Sergey Balaev, a Reutov resident, took up farming business back in the 2000s. True, the story began unexpectedly: Sergey went to the bird market to buy aquarium fish ...

He left with a bigger purchase - four sheep, which he registered on his suburban area. Over time, the expansion of the "living space" was required. So, at first I had to rent a farm in the Orel region, but then I moved closer.

And in 2012, he and his horned wards ended up on a farm in Parfentyevo. On the site of the destroyed state farm "Sergievsky" Sergey built a new farm and set up the production of cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt.

It would seem that things are going uphill. Where does the sudden craving for such an exotic business come from?

Sanctions are not afraid of snails

A person with an entrepreneurial streak never sits still. Thoughts on how to improve your business are constantly spinning in your head. We started our conversation with Sergey at a large log table, where gastronomic master classes on cooking snails are held.

- Sergey, how did the idea to breed mollusks come about?

A lot of tourists come to my farm, they need something to entertain them. There are raccoons, horses, geese, but this, as they say, is a standard set. And in 2014, in the wake of sanctions and import substitution, there was talk on the Internet that many people want to open a snail farm: it seems not expensive, but the profit is good. But none of them got off the ground. I am the first.

- And where did the gastropods come from?

I decided to combine business with pleasure, went by car to rest in the Crimea and gathered snails in the fields. As a result, it turned out 300 kilograms. I brought everyone safely to the farm, but they did not take root ... Apparently, our climate did not suit.

- But that didn't stop you...

On the contrary, it spurred on! I turned to a snail breeder in the Krasnodar Territory. And a batch of mollusks quickly bred on the Kolomna land.

- And how do they endure our winter, do they really not freeze?

With the onset of cold weather, the snail goes underground to a depth of 30 centimeters and falls into suspended animation. And in the spring, after hibernation, they appear on the surface.

- How much is this exotic product in demand?

We take a snail for breeding, for cooking - both at home and in restaurants.

The last order was for 300 kilos.

- But not everyone is able to put a slug in their mouth. Why such interest?

For myself, I explain this by the fact that many have tasted snails abroad. By the way, snail caviar is no less in demand.

- Snail caviar?

Yes, in terms of cost and quality, it is comparable to black caviar. True, we do not produce it yet.

- Well, how relevant was the story of import substitution in your case?

Well, here you can compare yourself. A pack of 12 snails from a French manufacturer will cost about six times more. So this is some kind of import substitution.

- And how many mollusks live here now on the farm?

Nobody counted exactly, but about a ton.

- Who visits your farm?

From ordinary people to deputies. They come to eat ready-made snails, and collect them with them, some buy them for breeding.

- During the tours, you conduct a master class on cooking snails. Where did you gain experience?

Initially, there was no experience in cooking, I learned by trial and error. I chose the most popular recipe for the master class - “Burgundy snail”.

- Have you tried snail abroad, which one is tastier?

The French chef who made the escargot* from our snail said that they have exactly the same in France. But it seems to me that he is disingenuous, ours is softer and fatter. Abroad, they have adapted to sell snail meat and are doing the following trick. Snails are taken out of large shells, their meat is sold separately, and then a smaller snail is placed in empty shells and sold to restaurants.

- Planning to expand your farm? Maybe you will breed some other exotic living creatures?

Frog! The environment here is the most suitable - the swamp of the village of Parfentyevo. I studied the matter in detail, but this is in theory, in practice, alas,

Menu for gastropods

From theory, I decided to move on to practice, more precisely, to the examination of mollusks. Frankly, I had no idea what a snail farm might look like. Anatoly Turtle undertook to dispel my fantasies on this subject. He has been in the village of Parfentyevo almost from the very foundation of the farm. Moved here from Zaporozhye, and stayed that way. First she pastured the cows, and then the snails. It was raining nasty rain outside, and for the snails, it turned out to be the most pleasant weather.

We let them out of the brooders, so look under your feet, they have spread across the lawn, - Anatoly warns. - They woke up from the water, now they will “mow” the lawn.

Snails, like a lawn mower, can trim the lawn

In some places, the grass really looks like it was mowed by a lawn mower. I approach the brooder, which is more like the frame of a wooden greenhouse. Only at the top are watering umbrellas. And the walls are covered with soft mesh, on which snails constantly crawl. In the middle of the brooder there is a narrow wooden flooring, and on the right and left are small boards-feeders. Finely chopped food for gastropods is laid out on them.

Is it true that snails only eat grape leaves? - I'm interested.

It turns out this is a myth.

The most favorite food for them is dandelion, nettle, cucumbers, carrots, but most of all they love cornmeal. They grow on it, as if by leaps and bounds, ”says Anatoly and looks for the most well-fed ward in the grass.

Then he picks up a few more pieces of snails of different sizes in his palms.

This one, - pointing to a mollusk the size of a large plum, - will go for stuffing, smaller, the size of a grape, for breeding, - explains the snail shepherd.

And suddenly, unexpectedly, he brings the collected snails to my ear.

Do you hear? They squeak! - Anatoly states not without pleasure.

There is almost no trouble with such wards, after the rain I collected it, woke it up and fed it several times a day.

Do snails grow fast? I ask the shepherd.

Pretty fast. In captivity, they would grow to the size we need for three years, and here it turns out in just one and a half, - without letting go of one of the largest snails, says Anatoly.

And then I remember that a snail is not only a valuable meat, but also ... a cosmetic product!

Anatoly, are your pets suitable for cosmetology? - I could not resist the question.

grape snail

These are not, but tropical Achatina (landclam large sizes, which some have as a pet. -"VM" ) just used in cosmetology. By the way, we have one. My name is Masha. We demonstrate it during master classes, - Anatoly boasted.

Why don't you breed? The business is profitable, and in demand.

They grow too long, and the meat is tough, so one Mashka is enough for us, - Anatoly admitted.

With garlic and boots you can eat

Well, how, being on a snail farm, not to try the signature dish - "Burgundy snail". The photojournalist and I ordered two dozen for two. I must say that our snails turned out to be more impressive in size compared to the Greek ones. And even the photographer, who looked at my idea with skepticism, aroused an appetite for garlic aroma. True, not for long. As soon as he tried the snail, all the fuse disappeared.

However, that didn't stop me. The snail really turned out to be juicier than its Western relative. Perhaps our nettle and dandelion played a role. To taste, snail meat does not look like either chicken or beef, rather like seafood with spices. But in any case, it will not replace real meat, after all, snail dishes are still exotic for us.

*Escargot is an exquisite French snail dish served with dry white wine.

snails in burgundy

For the recipe you will need:

snails - 100 g, white wine - 1 l, vinegar 3% - 200 g, flour - 3 tbsp. l., carrots - 2 pcs., onion - 2-3 pcs., parsley - to taste, bay leaf, thyme - to taste, salt, snail oil - 800 g.

For snail oil:

onion - 100 g, garlic - 3 cloves, parsley (chopped) - 80 g, salt - 25 g, ground pepper - to taste butter - 700 g.

Pour snails cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Rinse them with cold water and pat dry with a clean towel. Then take them out of the shell and cut off the black tip.

Rinse the cleaned snails again and put in a saucepan, pour white wine and the same amount of water so that all the snails are covered with liquid. Add 2 chopped carrots, 2 onions, thyme, parsley root, celery branch, green onion.

Salt at the rate of 10 g per liter and cook for 4 hours. Then remove from heat and leave to cool in this broth.

While the snails are cooking, wash and boil the shells in soda water. Then rinse them with clean water and dry.

Prepare snail oil. To do this, finely chop the onion, garlic and parsley, add salt and black pepper. Put soft butter there and mix everything thoroughly.

Snail meat cut and stir. Then stuff the shells with meat, covering with a good portion of the same oil. Put the stuffed shells with butter up on a dish and put them in a hot oven for 7-8 minutes before serving.

GRAPE SNAIL

grape snail- one of the largest terrestrial mollusks.

The spherically twisted shell of the grape snail reaches a height of 5 cm and a width of 4.5 cm, has 4–4.5 whorls, ending in a wide mouth.

The shell is yellowish-brown in color with wide dark brown stripes running along it.

FACT

In metropolitan restaurants escargot will cost from 1000 to 2000 rubles.

BY THE WAY

Use only 6 snails in terms of energy value, it can be compared with 1.5 kilograms of beef.

A rather interesting business idea in terms of 100% profitability of the entry threshold and profitability is a snail farm. Many are not even aware of the high profitability of this business with minimum investment. It is also worth noting the still very low competition of this exotic business.

AT last years the breeding of grape snails has gained particular popularity. This is due to the fact that in many countries of the CIS and Europe, the snail is considered a tasty, healthy and exotic delicacy. Naturally, such delicacies are quite expensive. In this regard, an actual idea for a business appears - the cultivation of grape snails. But what is needed for this, where to start and what is the benefit, not everyone knows.

Pros and cons of breeding grape snails

One individual in one season brings about 1 kg of offspring - 50 individuals with a shell diameter of 5 cm. At the same time, the cost per individual is approximately $ 0.25 per month. Feed consumption for 40 snails is 2 kg. feed mixture prepared according to a special recipe. It includes crushed corn, chalk, milk powder and greens. The purchase price of snail meat is $5 per 1kg. And the purchase price of white snail eggs can reach up to $ 200 per 100g.

Snail meat is healthier than chicken meat. It does not contain fat or cholesterol. And most importantly, it has a high taste performance. Snail meat is popularly called natural Viagra, as it has the properties of increasing potency, not inferior to oysters. Up to 40 snails can be grown per square meter. But some professional farmers use artificial feeding and increase this figure to 200 pcs. per 1 sq.m. The period of maturation of molluscs is from 6 months to 1.5 years. It all depends on the subspecies and the effectiveness of the intensive feeding technology.

Ways to sell finished products

Before breeding grape snails, of course, it is necessary to analyze the sales markets. As the Japanese say: “Half the job to do, the job is to sell!”. All your efforts will be in vain if you cannot sell the received products. The main markets for deli meats include:

If there are similar businesses in your area, then you may well start this business. Otherwise, naturally, you will have to think about ways to deliver goods over long distances, perhaps even export to European countries or China.

The technology of growing grape snails at home

The future entrepreneur has two main options for growing at home:

The first method is suitable for people who live in urban areas. Also, this method is a great option for those who are not completely confident in their abilities, because in an apartment you can try to breed a small number of snails in order to feel all the "pitfalls" of this process. Business testing is very important step which many people miss. At the same time, they take a lot of risk with their investments. But experts still recommend starting to grow mollusks in natural conditions.

For breeding you will need:

1. Equipped area of ​​20 square meters.
2. Special terrariums for gastropods.
3. Soil fertilized with various useful elements.
4. Food for growing molluscs, twigs and leaves.

Growing snails for meat is not a difficult process, but it requires control. It is necessary to maintain a strict temperature regime of 23 degrees Celsius, remove waste products of vital activity every three days and be sure to monitor soil moisture. The main food for snails is leaves, preferably from cabbage, plus a feed mixture. If there are no problems with all this, and you have received the first profit, you can think about full-scale breeding of mollusks.

For farming on outdoors, You will need a plot of 50 square meters. It is desirable that it be a garden. First you need to take care of the fence so that the snails do not “run away” to the neighbors :) You should also pay attention to the soil. Clams prefer areas with weeds or planted with wild vines. To start, you will need at least 800 adults. You can buy this amount of clams from wholesalers who sell them by weight. The price of snails for brood is $ 15 per 1 kg (50 individuals with 5 cm shells). Although one snail can be bought for $0.5. If you want to test a business idea, you can collect several dozen snails with your own hands in the forest, garden, country house, etc. The main thing is to choose large individuals for good performance. The shell diameter should be 5 cm. The mollusk is a hermaphrodite, that is, it has male and female reproductive functions.

Crops grown on the farm should not be higher than 50 centimeters. Also, the soil must be regularly weeded and fertilized (especially with calcium), add fresh weeds and leaves. An equally important task is to protect against pests such as carnivorous beetles, birds, lizards, rats and moles. Further deepen the fence into the ground by 30 cm and raise the fence 70 cm above the ground, around the entire perimeter to prevent rodents from entering the territory.

Harvesting shellfish

It is best to harvest in wet weather. To do this, it is first necessary to lay out the sheets of slate where the mollusks will be collected.

Mollusks are harvested only after reaching maturity. This can be determined by the edge of the sole (when it becomes hard, the snail will no longer grow). Collection is carried out weekly, usually in spring or autumn. After this, the gastropods must be kept in a cage for seven days so that their digestive system completely gets rid of the soil. Mollusks are not fed or watered. With a temperature regime of +4 degrees and sufficient coolness, they can last for 2 months. Then it is enough just to pack the shells in boxes or mesh bags and put them up for sale.

A livestock of 50,000 gastropods produces meat per ton. Thus, at a market price of $5 per kilogram, you get net profit 400 thousand (already minus expenses). Business profitability easily reaches 100%.

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Entrepreneurs who want to build a business on breeding all sorts of edible animals usually choose poultry or cattle for this. Much less often - fish, rabbits or ostriches. But Aleksey and Galina Dyachkovy have been developing a snail breeding farm for several years. Alexey Dyachkov, the owner of the Ulitka farm, told the portal ratanews.ru about why such an exotic business arose and how it is possible to build infrastructure for agritourism around snails.

Alexey and Galina Dyachkovy, entrepreneurs, owners of an agro-farm Snail”, adherents and promoters of agritourism. The farm is located near Pereslavl-Zalessky, on the shore of the famous Lake Pleshcheyevo, near the walls of the ancient Nikitsky Monastery; specializes in breeding snails, growing organic vegetables and fruits, food production. One of the main areas of work is agritourism and gastronomic tours.

How did the idea with snails come about?

We live on the shores of Lake Pleshcheyevo, next to the ancient Nikitsky Monastery, and we are engaged in what at first glance seems not entirely Russian. We grow snails and different plants, including those that are undeservedly forgotten in our garden - artichoke, asparagus, rosemary, thyme and much more.

My ancestors are from Italy. Great-grandfather was even the secretary of the Communist Party of Venice. I began to communicate with Italy when I was already an adult; found relatives, the language was given to me very easily. So, what we are doing now is in many ways the Italian experience of agritourism.

Eight years ago we bought a plot in Pereslavl, built a house and at the same time began to cultivate the land. The land is monastic, and, apparently, it was constantly fertilized. Anyway, she is very noble and grateful. It is easy to work here, you recover quickly, and the harvest is amazing. Three years ago, we began to receive our first tourists, and it was more like a club format - friends and like-minded people came.

My wife Galina searches for and collects various old local recipes and tries to repeat them. But we would like not only to get something long forgotten out of the chest, but also to see it in development. After all, a Russian person has always been curious and inquisitive, he absorbed, including various foreign traditions. Russians love to be surprised. Remember, at Krylov's, - “they led an elephant through the streets, as if for show. It is known that elephants are a curiosity with us.” We decided that we also need a curiosity! We won’t pull an elephant, but snails are interesting. And it so happened that they have taken root with us.

We prepare dishes from them that cannot be tasted either in Italy or in France. Because we feed products that have grown on our land.

The taste of snail meat is very dependent on what it eats. After all, if you plant Italian grapes on African soil, you get a different product and a different wine. So our snail is Pereslavl, if you like. Maybe a bold claim. But what if this is how a new product will be born that will receive international recognition? It even has a mission.

small cattle

There are a lot of rumors, insinuations and even financial scams in the snail business. Often people try to sell experience they don't have. To understand where is the truth and where is the lie, we traveled a lot - both on successful and unsuccessful farms in Europe and the Baltics. We started with the large African Achatina snails, which are often bred as pets. They are edible, do not hibernate, grow quickly. But in the end they abandoned them, because the meat turned out to be tasteless.

Then we started working with the Helix Aspersa snail. It is bred in a closed way, its meat is tasty, but the technologies that were sold to us turned out to be unfinished. As a result, we settled on the classic grape snail Helix Romatia. It hibernates, grows for a long time, but is very tasty and adaptable to our conditions. Plus - there was a wonderful symbiosis with vegetable growing. Our snails have been eating fresh salads since the very spring, all summer zucchini, carrots and much more are at hand.

Now our "farm" is a few centners of "small cattle", as we call them. But we do not supply snails to restaurants, although they offered us. We ourselves have learned how to cook this unique product and we expect to interest gourmets who would like to discover something new.

When we studied the topic, we saw one program where a colorful snail breeder treated a journalist to cold chopped snails with onions. He asks: "Well, how?" “Like a chicken navel!” the journalist replies. What are you! Barbaric experiments with this product are unacceptable! A snail is most often a hot entree - a hot appetizer. And you need to learn how to cut it, cook it so that it is not tough. To do this, you must have an oven and an escargotier at hand. Our guests can taste a real, fresh, properly prepared product. And whatever the demand, we will not sink to the “navels”.

We offer educational tours of the farm, for those who wish, we accompany them with a tasting of products, including snails. But we do not insist. But for those who are ready, we give the opportunity to understand that the horizons of habitual tastes can be much wider. And 99% of "tasters" say it's delicious, and another 1% say it's "fun". After the tasting, everyone gets a small commemorative token: I could do it!

Plans include weekend tours and snail races

We have several cabins for overnight stays. While the account of our guests goes to hundreds. But we already have experience, and this is no longer just a club for friends. People go not only to us personally, but also to the “product” that we managed to create. Rural tourism, like hotel business, is a form of mutual commitment, where I undertake to be an actor, and guests are spectators. And the roles should be distributed in such a way that everything happens interactively.

This means that you need to reduce your ego a little and perceive the person who came to my house, not only as a client, but to truly enjoy every meeting. In Italy we have seen many farms where guests live in the same house as the hosts.

We also have a dream to create a complete village spa. By profession I am an expert in the field physical education, my profession is connected with the rehabilitation of a person after stress. In the meantime, we can invite guests to the bathhouse, show them how to take a steam bath, then treat them with fresh country products and offer some procedures with snails.

And also, imagine, we are thinking of organizing snail races!

Experience shows that people are interested in us not only in the format of “live a few days in nature”. Moscow is so close that one-day trips are quite viable. Our product can be made more mass-produced, taking buses of 40 people.

Tour operators recommend that we develop a program in which one part of the arriving group, for example, attends a tasting, while the other part is doing something active at this time. Now, together with local travel agencies and young designers, we are designing a zone where we will receive such excursions.

Partnership and synergy

The locals are curious about what we are doing. Some were so interested in us that they became our partners. We take our neighbors in Nikitskaya Sloboda on some trips that we organize at our own expense, for example, to small Lithuanian hotels, to Latvian snail farms, to agritourism farms. They see a completely different experience, how people live without huge fences.

For example, we have only two houses for tourists, each with three places. But we teamed up with neighbors, literally across the path, who also want to develop in this area, and as a result, a second site appeared: six more houses for three or four people each.

Our neighbors go kitesurfing on the lake and also attract tourists. We are close in ideology, we love nature and this region. Now, when we are thinking about what to do with large groups that tour operators plan to bring to us, we assume that we can teach them the basics of kitesurfing.

Another attractive tourist site is next to us - the Nikitsky Monastery, we are literally wall to wall with it. There are sometimes five tourist buses at the same time. And along with historical sites, tourists can visit our farm, try something that is not offered anywhere else.

“I would like to replicate a good attitude”

We are learning to work with a minimum number of people, and we attract assistants only for the summer. The position of lawyer is performed by our son, he is also the driver and cleaner; my wife Galina is responsible for the kitchen, she cooks very well. The main thing that I would like to replicate is a kind attitude towards each other and the land that feeds us.

Galina says that she took the classic dish, Burgundy snail, as the basis of her cuisine. But every cook has his own subtleties. AT classic recipe, for example, only parsley is used from herbs, and Galya adds thyme and sage. And another secret: she cuts snails a little differently.

We also make snail kebabs with fresh vegetables from our garden. The snails themselves are small, so we string cherry tomatoes, small squash, etc. on skewers with them, and serve with a creamy garlic sauce.

The menu that Galina came up with is Russian cuisine with some exotic Italian traditional ingredients. Or vice versa - Italian dishes with traditional Russian products. For example, pasta with dill. In Italy, this weed is not known, its name is not even translated. Or pasta with porcini mushrooms. The Italians who try it see a big difference with what they eat in their homeland, they take with them a new experience and mushrooms picked with their own hands.

Our friend Santio Mafessoni, who often visits us and with whom we exchange culinary experiences, said that visiting us he was able to take a fresh look not only at Russia, but also at Italy. It is very nice.

P.S.

Yes, I want to warn you: do not collect and eat wild snails. Before eating, they must be transferred to special treatment nutrition, then - on hard flour, and in the end - on a diet. After that, the snail must be cooked very carefully and properly cut. So, as they say in extreme commercials, don't try again. And come visit us!

Five years ago, Vladimir Rabkov decided to breed snails in Belarus. For knowledge on the topic, he even went to France and Spain. But the "European" snails for cultivation did not suit him. The first snail herd - 100 kg - he collected on his site. But soon about half of them died. Despite the mistakes, lack of information and the surprised eyes of officials, Vladimir launched his own business. Now on farm Ratov- more than 2.5 tons of juicy Burgundy snails. What it cost him - says Vladimir himself.

- The first time I tried snails eight years ago in Spain - I liked it. Then back in France ... And safely forgot about them. I remembered when I came to visit my parents in the new country house. There, after the rain, I saw a snail. Crawls so all fleshy, juicy. Here the idea was born to grow gastropods and promote this product in Belarus. I already had experience in business in neighboring countries, worked in sales and even rose to the position of branch manager, but I wanted to give 200% to my business.

Running a snail farm

I studied the information on snails. In Europe, as it turned out, they are very much appreciated. To find out how they are grown, he even visited two farms - in France and in Spain. In total, about € 6,000 was spent on training with a flight and accommodation. But then it turned out that these varieties of mollusks and the technology of their cultivation did not suit me, at least at first. I had to experience, by trial and error, to gain new knowledge.

The most difficult, perhaps, was just the same to find information on growing. In Europe, Helix Aspersa and Helix Aspersa Muller are mainly bred. The only edible variety of snails living in Belarus is Helix Pomatia, so I decided to deal with it. The first herd - 100 kg of snails - I collected in my area. All varieties of snails have their own characteristics. "European", for example, in the heat hide under the established shelters, and mine boldly sit and fry the shells. This, by the way, is their big drawback. So on one very sweltering day I lost almost half of my first herd. Today I have more than 2.5 tons of snails and the loss is no more than 5%.

In terms of taste, all snails are good, it all depends on the recipe and, of course, on the hands that cook them. I plan to import Helix Aspersa and Helix Aspersa Muller from Italy within two years. These snails grow faster, one and a half and a year respectively, and are somewhat easier to manage. Mine is three years old. They are usually kept in wide enclosures and allowed to breed by gravity, as they are quite picky about environmental conditions.

Since the snail farm is a new type of activity for our country, at first I had problems with paperwork. At the Ministry Agriculture and food all at first were surprised and rounded their eyes, but in the end they helped with the necessary information and documents.

To open such a farm and start normally, you will need from $ 15 thousand. Money is needed to buy or rent land, improve the territory, build enclosures and organize irrigation, build a warehouse and other utility rooms - everything is like on any other farm. I invested money smoothly, in parts, since at the initial stage there was a financial cushion. Then I had to get into small debts, but I have already closed this issue. My wife and I had to save on everything. All the work was done by two people, no workers were involved.

I confess that before the launch of the project, I practically did not study the market. I had enough information that this product is valued and popular, it is dietary and hypoallergenic, it has an excellent composition - 90% protein, no cholesterol, many vitamins and amino acids. I didn’t think about sales at all, because how can you sell what you don’t have: “Hello! I started growing snails here, I’ll just bring them to you in three years, ok?”. Somehow it turns out funny ... Therefore, for the first three years I was engaged only in growing snails and stuffing cones. I thought this: when there is a product, then there will be a client. First of all, I had a goal - to create a business that would be 100% useful to society, and that the quality of the product was on top.

Our team and promotion strategy

Initially, everything on the farm, as I said, we did together with my wife. Yes, and now too :) True, now we are looking for an intelligent worker who will help us take care of the farm and the territory. I hope you're lucky! We distribute work fairly, always on the sidelines of each other. The wife closes the issue of cleaning and feeding, I close the “male” issues - the organization of irrigation, landscaping, technological issues, I prepare feed without chemical additives, growth accelerators and antibiotics. We are for an eco-product! We cook dishes from snails together, we try, we consult what to change in the recipe, what to add.

Vladimir Rabkov with his wife. Photo provided by the author

The main part of clients learns about us through festivals and outbound sales. We also accept orders through social networks. I note that individuals we sell only cooked snails to exclude the moment when a person spoils the product and thus the impression of it. The cost of one serving (7 pieces) is 10 Belarusian rubles ($ 5).

In setting the price, I rely on the cost of maintaining the farm, taxation, rent and additional expenses. I don’t jump above my head, I don’t break the price tag, I start from real numbers.

As such, we do not have any promotional strategies for the project: we post information on social networks, cooperate with print and online media, channels and radio, communicate directly with customers, chefs, organizers of street food festivals, and more. We manage all the accounts ourselves, my wife does this, we try to respond in time and post more often. So far, the most active and effective channel for us is Instagram. The only negative is the poor internet in our village, and therefore it is not always possible to answer quickly.

Our clients are usually young people under 35, brave and active, who like to try something new, read labels in stores and are addicted to healthy eating. I myself actively promote the idea of ​​natural clean products. I have long abandoned "junk" food: I think it's better to eat less of what nature gives than to fill your stomach with factory "chemistry".

This year, based on our technology, five mini-farms were opened in Minsk, Vitebsk, Brest and Gomel regions.

About plans

I do not set specific goals, but ideas, of course, are available. Some of them are already being implemented. In the near future I plan to:

• Open a small stationary point of Slow Food (an international movement opposing the fast food system - approx. "About business") opposite the Mir Castle, where tourists can taste snails
• Find a place for the same point in Minsk
• Develop documentation and deliver our product to hypermarkets
• Create jobs for local people
• Expand business to Russian market(already have partners)
• Build guest houses for farm visitors

And, of course, work to ensure that our product is appreciated by as many people as possible, and not only gourmets.

The grape snail, whose cultivation began 40 years ago, from a small object has become the subject of large-scale agro-industrial production.

"Green" farm

For many years in Europe, this was collected in its natural habitat. This led to a decrease in the population of wild snails, so their collection was banned.

With the adoption of strict sanitary quality requirements food products nowadays they are no longer considered as a food source. This is due to requirements to protect consumers from toxic plants or hazardous chemicals.

After several years of experimentation and testing in Italy, a method was developed to breed snails in open "pastures" that proved to be less labor intensive and more cost effective than growing them indoors or in greenhouses.

The economic benefits are realized after the initial installation of the perimeter and internal fencing. Financial return is expected not earlier than in 12-14 months.

The running costs of this method (compared to greenhouse or indoor production) are lower, and the main costs are only for seeds, soil preparation and sowing. vegetable crops.

The price of which we have ranges from 3 to 3.7 euros per kilogram, is a profitable breeding object.

Site selection and soil structure

A snail farm is organized on open pastures with suitable plants grown on them, which serve as food and shelter for mollusks. Shading cover is not used. When choosing a place where the snail farm will be located, the prevailing wind direction is taken into account, since strong winds dry out the soil.

Soil analysis and decontamination is underway to ensure suitable conditions for growing leafy green vegetables and eradicating carnivorous insects and pests. Recommended loose soil with an acidity of 5.8-7.5 pH. Too acidic soil for the production of snails is unsuitable. The calcium content in it should be about 3-4%. The soil texture is medium to light. Clay soil unsuitable for laying eggs, as it is too difficult for snails to dig it, and it becomes waterlogged easily.

It is important that plants and shellfish are kept moist by dew, rain or controlled fog. The snail (photo shown in the article) moves more easily when the leaves and the ground are wet. They eat more and grow faster under the right environmental conditions.

Rain and controlled irrigation are essential for snail production.

Good soil drainage is essential to keep water from pooling on the ground in puddles.

The breeding site should be free of large trees as they attract birds of prey, shade plants and prevent dew formation.

Where to buy grape snails for breeding? Farmers who purchase shellfish from snail collectors or the market should expect high mortality due to poor adaptation to other foods. The most reliable source of breeding material are well-known manufacturers or agricultural institutions. Such a grape snail (its price will be higher) is better and safer, since it received from birth proper nutrition and was not damaged during collection and storage.

Plot size

Snail farms vary in size, depending on who runs them. Fans who grow shellfish in small quantities use an area of ​​10 to 20 acres. Farmers who do this as an alternative to other activities occupy an average of 30 acres to 1 hectare. Large commercial growers usually start with 2 ha and can use 30 ha as the business grows. Additional cultivated areas outside of those reserved for snails are occupied by secondary crops such as sunflowers.

Site preparation

The area is cleared of grass and weeds by using a contact herbicide. The soil is then cultivated with a rotary cultivator, with a fence erected around the perimeter. Fertilizers are introduced into the soil, chemical pest control is carried out from insects and animals. The site is then subdivided into sections for the first year's production, and wooden poles are installed to support the interior railings.

The soil is again prepared by subsequent rotary loosening and, if required, the addition of lime, and irrigation is established. Sowing is carried out after the surface is leveled and internal fences are erected. Finally, the lanes are again treated with a contact herbicide to facilitate maintenance.

Feed

What to feed grape snails? Since these mollusks are vegetarians, they love a variety of vegetables and grains. However, feeding in "producing pasture" systems typically only includes plants with fleshy green leaves that contain shell-promoting mineral salts, nitrates, sulfates, and carbonates.

AT efficient production snail plants perform two functions. They are food and protect from the sun, rainstorms and hail. Such plants are, for example, burdock, plantain, sorrel, chervil and sunflower. In Italy, beets, field cabbage, chicory, artichokes, radishes and sunflowers are planted.

It is sown by hand to ensure a dense soil cover, and the type of planting depends on the season (winter and summer crops). Sowing time is of great importance - there should be enough vegetation to constantly have something to feed the snails. Rotation of acreage is important to achieve maximum yield and production of shellfish.

After the appearance of plants, a snail is selected (photo is given in the article) for brood and placed behind the fence at the rate of 25 Helix aspera or 20 Helix pomatia per square meter.

The planting time of summer and winter crops may differ, as well as their type.

External fence

The outer perimeter is fenced with sheets. They are buried to a depth of 30-40 cm and strengthened with supporting wooden or iron posts. The main purpose of the perimeter is to prevent the entry of predators, especially those capable of burrowing. There must be a cleared area between the perimeter and the inner fence. If any of the snails make it past the inner railings, the walkway and outer fence will prevent them from going any further.

Adding wire mesh and electrified wire over galvanized sheets provides better safety for shellfish production.

Internal fences

Internal fences are used to separate breeding and fattening areas. The fences are made of durable black Helitex polyethylene. It has two downward facing flaps at 40 cm and 70 cm from the ground to prevent snails from spreading. Wooden posts to support polyethylene are installed at a distance of 3-4 meters. They are buried at least 10 cm deep in the ground. The zone is usually 20-45 m long and 2-4 m wide.

When newborn snails hatch in the reproductive area, the fences can be moved.

Pests

Animals and insects that can cause problems with snail production are numerous.

These include carnivorous beetles such as carabidi, calosomidi, lampiridi and especially stafilinids which attack and kill the young. Beetles live in the soil and love moist environments just like snails. Stafilinids pose the greatest threat. During site preparation, chemical pest control is mainly used to eradicate these pests.

Crows and magpies are birds whose diet also includes the grape snail. The shell is broken by the beak and the contents are eaten. Thrushes beat mollusks on stones until they are freed from the shell.

For lizards, snakes and toads, snails are a delicacy, especially when young, so the outer fence must be sunk into the ground to prevent these predators from entering. Rats also eat snails, especially in winter period when food sources are limited. Rabbits, hares and moles are also a problem because they eat the crop and damage the snails by trampling them.

Grape snail: breeding

In early spring, breeding snails are selected for reproduction and placed in a new environment. They are selected by size and quality and transferred to a sector allocated for reproduction with grown leaves.

In the first year, no more than 25 Helix aspersa per square meter are placed in breeding areas. Overcrowding will cause dwarfism, low weight and mortality due to slime on the ground.

For the first few days, selected snails are closely monitored as they will attempt to escape and may suffer from environmental stress.

Crops grown in the reproduction zone should not be taller than 50 cm. They are trimmed with a scythe to encourage the growth of new leaves and improve air circulation. In the second year, the density drops to 15 snails per square meter as the mortality rate drops. Shellfish are locally bred, so they acclimatize better to the environment and experience less stress.

Grape snail: care, maintenance

After birth, young snails are allowed to grow for about three months before they are placed in nursery areas with a fresh crop. It is important that the crops grow densely and provide protection from the summer sun. Crops should not rise more than 25 cm and are also pruned to encourage new leaf growth and air circulation. During the growing season, when plantings are depleted, it is necessary to supplement the diet with cut plants and dry food.

Hibernation

In December and January, the activity of the snails ceases, and they are sealed in the shell for hibernation. In cold climates, in autumn, shellfish are covered with a thin film of material that protects them from hypothermia. Due to this, the soil temperature rises by 5-10 degrees. At the end of autumn, the hedge is removed, the remaining plantings are plowed in and the soil is prepared for a new summer crop.

Production problems

Failures are often caused by:

• Bad management.
• Problems of reproduction due to the complex biology of snails.
• Insufficient funding.
• bad
• Incorrect choice cultures.
• Insufficient rotation.
• Overproduction.
• The presence of predators and the lack of sufficient water for plants and molluscs.

Collection and preparation for sale

Snails are harvested after they reach maturity. This happens when the edge of the sole becomes hard - the clams are ripe and will not grow again. The snails are harvested weekly or at the farmer's convenience, usually in the fall and spring, and transferred to cages for 7 days to digestive system got rid of soil and food debris. Mollusks are placed in a cool place without food and water in cages made of mesh or wire. During the cleansing period, the snails lose 20% of their weight and hide in the shell, but can remain in this state for two months if kept in a cool place with a temperature of about 4-6 ° C.

Then comes the time to sell. Snails are packed in mesh bags (like onions), waxed cardboard boxes or, if there are many, in wooden boxes.

Shellfish are sold in grocery stores and purchased by restaurants. In Italy, for example, food festivals are held regularly, and the use of snails is often their hallmark. 60% of live snails are distributed through the fish section of stores.

Summary

Research on snail breeding methods over the past 40 years has made it possible to rationalize and better structure all methods. The need to streamline this fishery arose with the growing consumption of this type of molluscs throughout the world. Better organization led to more effective way growing snails - "open production".

Outdoor-farmed snails produce a lot of high-quality meat, are larger and taste better than shellfish grown indoors or in greenhouses.

Success depends on the potential farmer's ability to apply this production method to local climatic and natural conditions. Studies conducted in Italy have shown that the number of marketable snails that each individual selected for breeding produces is on average 20. Mollusks need 10 to 12 months to reach the required size. Mass production of snails is possible as long as there are no major problems during fattening or there is sufficient space.

The snail, which requires a suitable environment, specific crops, continuous crop rotation and low concentration of mollusks, will reward with abundant offspring and rapid growth. Combined with providing proper care and protection from predators snails only benefit from the completion of a complete biological cycle in natural conditions, which should lead to their high quality.