Regional Agricultural Production Committee: The results of the Vitebsk region's agro-industrial complex for the past year were summarized at the board meeting
Director of OJSC "Khotily-Agro" Vyacheslav Krishtafovich, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee Boris Efremov, and First Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture and Food Committee of the Regional Executive Committee Vladimir Mashero discuss the advantages of the new MTC.— The best result in terms of gross output growth rate for 2021 was achieved by the Rossony district – 112 percent. Its share in the region was slightly over one percent, while livestock production showed 125 percent compared to the 2020 level. This indicates good livestock preservation, adherence to agricultural production technology, discipline, and order. There is something to be proud of, — emphasized the First Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture and Food Committee of the Regional Executive Committee, Vladimir Mashero.
The same words can rightfully be addressed to the farms of the Dokshitsy district, where they managed to maintain milk production in the positive, and also achieved good weight gains in young cattle. As a result, the growth rate of gross livestock production was 113 percent.
— Seven districts showed a figure above last year's level. As for the Orsha district, 105 percent is not the desired result. The district has many reserves; more attention should be paid to the development of pig farming and dairy herds, — emphasized Vladimir Alexandrovich. — The Vitebsk and Tolochin districts maintained their performance at the 2020 level.>
One of the main indicators that allowed the region's farms to maintain high positions is, perhaps, the production (cultivation) of cattle. Among the lagging ones are Dubrovensky, Beshenkovichi, and Miory districts. In contrast, farms in Vitebsk, Sharkovshchina, Glubokoe, Gorodok, Ushachi, and Tolochin districts achieved over 110 percent compared to the 2020 level. The final figure for the region was 107.1 percent.
In terms of average daily weight gain of cattle, the regional indicator increased by 42 grams. Overall, many worked with a surplus. The best result was achieved by agricultural enterprises in the Vitebsk district – 102 grams. Unfortunately, weight gains below 500 grams are observed in 35 farms in eight districts. The situation needs to be changed as soon as possible, and the emerging problematic issues must be resolved – this is a task of paramount importance.
In milk production, the region ranks second in the country's rating table, but not from the top, but from the bottom – 98.9 percent compared to the 2020 level. It's regrettable. Farms are being built and reconstructed, and livestock is being updated. What is the reason? Specialists note that approaches to work need to be changed, more attention should be paid to compliance with feeding and cultivation technology, and requirements for the work of livestock breeders and machine milking operators should be increased.
By the way, the average milk yield per cow in the Vitebsk region is 4025 kilograms. Let's look at the leaders: Vitebsk district – 6277, Orsha district – 5498 kilograms. Verkhnedvinsk district, despite a slight decrease compared to 2020, ranks third in milk yield in the region.
Postavy increased by 137 kilograms compared to 2020 and achieved an average yield of 4312 kilograms. This indicator has been growing for the past few years. This was the reason for holding the board meeting here. Who else was praised by the board members? For example, livestock breeders of the Dokshitsy district. To obtain 4082 kilograms, they had to increase their yield by 717. At the same time, agricultural enterprises in Miory, Ushachi, and Shumilino districts could not reach the mark of 3 thousand.
The main volume of milk in the region was obtained from dairy farms equipped with milking parlors and robots. For example, at the "Mazolovo-2" farm of the "Mazolovo" PSU branch, the milk yield per cow is 12,352 kilograms, and at the MTF "Shu«Gailovo» SPK «Larinovka» — 12,080. It turns out that such high results are achievable in the Vitebsk region, but unfortunately, there are milking parlors where, for a number of reasons, they are much lower.
In terms of cattle population, agricultural enterprises in the region surpassed the 2020 figure, with Dubrovensky, Gorodoksky, Orshansky, Vitebsky, and Rossonsky districts increasing their cow numbers.
The collegium discussed the need to maintain the quality of grass forage preparation (incidentally, poor-quality feed is one of the main reasons for the culling of the dairy herd), the organization of balanced livestock feeding, and the mandatory registration of animals in the identification system. The indicator must be exactly 100 percent; any deviation upwards or downwards indicates shortcomings in the work.
Sergey Boboed, Head of the Veterinary Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Agriculture and Food Committee, summarized the work of the veterinary service.for 2021. He noted that no outbreaks of particularly dangerous diseases, or mass spread of bacterial and viral infections in cattle were allowed in the region. He spoke about the measures being taken to improve the survival rate of young cattle and prevent limb diseases in cattle. Incidentally, they were detected in 22 percent of the cows examined last year, and the effectiveness of the treatment carried out exceeded 73 percent. This is for the region as a whole. At the same time, in the farms of the Verkhnedvinsk district, it was slightly more than 30 percent, and in the Dokshitsky district – 54.
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46 orthopedic groups, including 36 in APO, should pay more attention to the prevention and treatment of this disease. In turn, 44 gynecological groups, 26 of which are created in APO, should work more actively on reproduction, prevention and treatment of gynecological diseases, and effective artificial insemination of livestock.
Livestock production is the main source of income for agricultural enterprises. The collegium discussed the main issues related to the industry, focusing on the work of specific enterprises and even farms.
In a conversation with a correspondent of "SG", Boris Efremov emphasized the significance of agro-industrial associations (APOs) in the development of agriculture. In total, seven associations own 111 agricultural enterprises.
— The success of associations largely depends on the order established in the raw material zone. It is necessary to concentrate all attention here. The formation of large livestock complexes, accumulating a large number of animals, where conditions for proper care and balanced feeding of livestock are created, is the future of agriculture. And such facilities are present in almost every district. In the next three to four years, we will try to pay even closer attention to this issue, — noted Boris Sergeyevich.
A vivid example of successful development is OJSC "Khotily-Agro", which in the middle of last year completed the reconstruction of a dairy farm into a dairy-cattle complex near the village of Volokhi, Postavy district. The farm is part of the agro-industrial association created on the basis of the Postavy dairy plant.
— We have over 5.8 thousand head of cattle, including 1816 cows, — noted its head Vyacheslav Krishtafovich in a conversation with the participants of the collegium. — In 2021, we threshed about 10 thousand tons of grain, prepared 31 thousand tons of haylage, 15 thousand tons of silage, and baled 6 thousand tons of straw into rolls. In other words, we obtained 10 tons of high-quality products from each hectare. The farm employs 200 people. The average salary for last year was about 1.4 thousand rubles, with specialists, machine operators, milking machine operators, and calf-keepers receiving more.
As for the "Volokhi" farm, it was commissioned in two stages. First, four buildings, then two more. In total, the premises are designed to accommodate up to 1.2 thousand head of cattle.
Last year, the average milk yield per cow in the farm was 8089 kilograms, and here it was 8400. The initial cost of the facility was estimated at 16 million, but with an emphasis on performing work by own efforts, about 12 million was spent.
— Today, the cost of milk on this farm is 620 rubles, and we sell it at a higher price. If things continue like this, the invested funds will pay off not in six years, as planned before, but in four years.
During the visit to the farm, the participants of the board paid special attention to the technology of keeping and feeding cows, and raising calves during the milk period.