Rudakovo's grain growers bet on winter wheat and did not lose
A strong chain from the field to financial and personnel stability is being built by farmers in the northern region.
The sun is setting beyond the horizon, and work is in full swing on the field behind the agro-town of Novka, Vitebsk region. Combine operators of UP "Rudakovo", one of the largest farms not only in the Vitebsk region but also in the country, are working until dark. They have to harvest 7.6 thousand hectares. The field is pleasing, so they need to hurry.
— Last year we increased our land by 2 thousand hectares, — says **Andrei Benko, the farm's director**. — And we sowed almost twice as much winter wheat. As it turned out, we didn't miscalculate. Here, in the Bykova Gora tract, the yield is about 45 centners. But 30-40 percent of the seed plots are ready to yield 60 or even 70 centners per hectare.
Rudakovo has every chance to achieve a gross harvest of 35 thousand tons, compared to 19.6 thousand in 2021. This will be enough to meet its own needs, sell over 3 thousand tons of elite seeds to other enterprises, and fulfill the state order of 2.3 thousand tons.
The expansion of land has made it possible to increase the cattle population by a thousand head at once. Now the herd numbers 14 thousand cows, heifers, and bulls.
All employees of the farm, including young people, understand the importance of quality work in the fields. For **Vladislav Artemyev**, this is his first season.
— Everything is great, — jokes the former agricultural college graduate. — I'm 25 years old, and the combine is 20. We've become friends! Despite its age, the equipment is in good condition. I worked on chemical weeding. So I had to hurry with the repairs. I got the combine back in service in three days. My father is a combine operator in the Senno district. I often went to the field with him, so harvesting is not new to me. And here, of course, older colleagues help. Look, my mentor is driving behind.
The mentor is **Mikhail Frichkov**. He is 65. He retired in the spring but is now back at the helm.
— I'm working under a contract, for the duration of the harvest. My "Mega" has also turned 20 years old., whom shall I leave it to?" he worries. —
Thanks to a well-thought-out development strategy, people are committed to working at the farm, and young people are eager to join "Rudakovo". By the way, for material incentives for combine operators, an excellent approach has been devised here: all machine operators working on "aged" equipment receive additional bonuses. A hundred percent compensation is provided for an absent assistant. And after threshing the first thousand tons, the rates for each of the 24 combine operators immediately increase by 50 percent.
"SB"
The sun is setting beyond the horizon, and work is in full swing on the field behind the agro-town of Novka, Vitebsk region. Combine operators of UP "Rudakovo", one of the largest farms not only in the Vitebsk region but also in the country, are working until dark. They have to harvest 7.6 thousand hectares. The field is pleasing, so they need to hurry.
— Last year we increased our land by 2 thousand hectares, — says **Andrei Benko, the farm's director**. — And we sowed almost twice as much winter wheat. As it turned out, we didn't miscalculate. Here, in the Bykova Gora tract, the yield is about 45 centners. But 30-40 percent of the seed plots are ready to yield 60 or even 70 centners per hectare.
Rudakovo has every chance to achieve a gross harvest of 35 thousand tons, compared to 19.6 thousand in 2021. This will be enough to meet its own needs, sell over 3 thousand tons of elite seeds to other enterprises, and fulfill the state order of 2.3 thousand tons.
The expansion of land has made it possible to increase the cattle population by a thousand head at once. Now the herd numbers 14 thousand cows, heifers, and bulls.
All employees of the farm, including young people, understand the importance of quality work in the fields. For **Vladislav Artemyev**, this is his first season.
— Everything is great, — jokes the former agricultural college graduate. — I'm 25 years old, and the combine is 20. We've become friends! Despite its age, the equipment is in good condition. I worked on chemical weeding. So I had to hurry with the repairs. I got the combine back in service in three days. My father is a combine operator in the Senno district. I often went to the field with him, so harvesting is not new to me. And here, of course, older colleagues help. Look, my mentor is driving behind.
The mentor is **Mikhail Frichkov**. He is 65. He retired in the spring but is now back at the helm.
— I'm working under a contract, for the duration of the harvest. My "Mega" has also turned 20 years old., whom shall I leave it to?" he worries. —
"What can be more important in Belarus today than the harvest? It is our food security, a guarantee of independence. Let the Europeans fight for bread there, but we have our own. Those who work eat.""In total, the farm has 24 combine harvesters," explains Andrey Benko. — "It so happened that the youngest and the most experienced harvesters work on the oldest machines and side by side. They work excellently, by the way. For transportation, there are 26 MAZ trucks and tractors. The drying facility is quite powerful — 600 tons per day."
Thanks to a well-thought-out development strategy, people are committed to working at the farm, and young people are eager to join "Rudakovo". By the way, for material incentives for combine operators, an excellent approach has been devised here: all machine operators working on "aged" equipment receive additional bonuses. A hundred percent compensation is provided for an absent assistant. And after threshing the first thousand tons, the rates for each of the 24 combine operators immediately increase by 50 percent.
"SB"