The NGO “Peasant Council” together with the “Rural Newspaper” continued the practice of seminars on the study of new technologies and best practices in Russian agriculture — this time the way lay to St. Petersburg
Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting on rural development and improving the efficiency of the agricultural sector on April 16 this year: “In general, farmers have something to be proud of. Belarus fully provides itself with basic types of food. Significantly surpasses other CIS countries in the production of such products and consumption per capita… Today, the task is to move on, to make the work of the agricultural sector more sustainable, and its development progressive.” The successes of our agro-industrial complex are well known. Many agricultural enterprises have reached the world level of development. But in order to become even more successful, it is important not to get tired of adopting best practices. In particular, the best farms in Russia. To this end, the NGO “Peasant Council”, together with the “Rural Newspaper”, constantly organizes field seminars in the fraternal country. The next one took place at the end of May in St. Petersburg. Its theme is “New technologies and best practices in agriculture in Russia”. Sergey Fedchenko, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food, provided support in organizing and conducting the seminar.
The Belarusian delegation consists of 40 people from various regions. Farm managers, animal technicians, veterinarians, accountants, economists, farm managers, operators of artificial insemination of animals. They all had something to see, including something useful for themselves.
The first address of the seminar is the Detskoselsky concern, which includes leading agricultural enterprises of the Leningrad and Voronezh regions, as well as two Belarusian farms in Gorodok and Myadel districts. The concern is headed by our countryman, Yuri Braginets, a native of the village of Sorochi in the Lyuban district. He often visits his native places, provides sponsorship to various institutions.
Yuri Braginets received the heads of agricultural enterprises that are part of the Belarusian delegation, and specialists communicated with his deputies in the relevant areas. The concern has 12 thousand cows, 300 tons of milk are produced daily. The average yield from a cow per year is 10 thousand kilograms.
It is clear that the participants of the seminar from the Belarusian side, first of all, noted for themselves something new, worthy of study and implementation.
— During Yuri Braginets’ story about his concern, I drew attention to one important detail, — Tatyana Tolochko, manager of the Progress-Vertelishki dairy complex of the Grodno region, shared her impressions. — In their cow diets, the ratio of silage and haylage is 40 to 60 percent. In our farms, sometimes the opposite happens. Therefore, they cannot always achieve the desired productivity.
Nikolay Markevich, the chief veterinarian of JSC Dostoevo of the Ivanovo district, added:
— Reducing corn in diets and increasing herbs also improve animal health. As a result, the number of lactation in cows increases.
Director of KSUP “Khanchitsy-Neman” of the Svislochsky district Yuri Kostolomov drew attention to the cost accounting system in animal husbandry:
— The economy of milk and meat production of cattle is considered separately in our country. Therefore, almost everywhere the first position is highly profitable, the second is unprofitable. Detskoselsky takes costs for the entire cattle industry, because it is very difficult to divide them into milk and beef production. As a result, there are no losses and the counting process is simplified. We also need to switch to this method.
Then the Belarusian delegation went to St. Petersburg State Agrarian University. Rector Vitaly Morozov introduced the university. A curious detail: over the past five years, the number of students has grown from 3,000 to 6,000.
— They took such a step because of the lack of specialists in agriculture, – said Valery Pavlyukevich, director of the Russian State Unitary Enterprise “Olekshitsy” in the Berestovitsky district. — There is also such a problem in Belarus. Therefore, the experience of Russians is useful to us. We need to think about how to attract young people to the industry. The university was impressed by the classrooms equipped with the most modern equipment. There are even tractors there, including MTZ. Electronic simulators allow you to master the management of various techniques.
The university has its own production base — 1200 hectares of land, 280 cows. There is an opportunity to receive products, thereby earning money, and to teach students in production conditions.
The St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine, which is more than 200 years old, also warmly welcomed the participants of the seminar. Several museums were impressed there, the expositions of which tell about food products, their quality, animal anatomy, their diseases and much more. In Russia, 2024 is the Year of the family. Within its framework, a concert for young student families was held at the university. It is curious that it was supposed to take place a day later, but the schedule was adjusted specifically for the sake of the Belarusian delegation.
— In general, wherever you were, you saw a cordial attitude everywhere, — said Leonid Matusevich, chairman of the NGO “Peasant Council”. — For example, in a St. Petersburg pharmacy, when an employee found out that we were from Belarus, she was very happy, said that her sister lived in the Pruzhansky district. And I made a small but pleasant gift. I ordered the medicine online and quickly released it to us for 50 percent cheaper. The supermarket asked if there was a discount card. We said no, because we came from Belarus. Immediately there were several people who willingly offered their cards to make purchases cheaper.
At the Village cheese farm, we got acquainted with the peculiarities of the business and marketing of a private company in the field of production and agrotourism. There are usually up to 50 visitors on weekdays and 400 on weekends. What is the attraction of the site? There you can relax in modern cottages for a few days. There are cows, goats, and sheep on the farm.
— This is both business and career guidance, — said Kazimir Vorobey, director of KSUP Neverovichi in the Volkovysk district.
— Not only adults, but also children milk animals there, they feel what an exciting activity it is to take care of them. I saw how teenagers were happy when they made cheese themselves, and then took it with them to show their relatives and friends what they had made with their own hands.
All this is not in words, but in fact popularizes work in agriculture and processing.
The members of the Belarusian delegation tasted 20 types of cheeses, as well as meat products. Nearby in the store you could buy everything you liked.
Next was the Sputnik Agro stud farm, which is engaged in the cultivation of beef cattle of the Aberdeen Angus breed. The peculiarity is that the animals are outdoors all year round, there are only small canopies.
— This is a huge saving, — Vladislav Adamchenko, Director of JSC “Urechansky” Slavgorodsky district, shared his impressions. — There are no costs for premises, electricity, manure cleaning and much more. We haven’t dealt with beef cattle yet, but after what we saw, there was a desire to try.
The participants of the seminar not only got acquainted with the peculiarities of the work of Russian colleagues. Often, including during the bus ride, they discussed what they saw.
— There were even discussions, — Valery Pavlyukevich noted. — We were arguing about how best to apply what we saw at home. We paid attention to how to reduce costs and increase the profitability of various types of products. As a result, there was a double benefit from meetings with Russian colleagues.
The importance of such seminars is evidenced by the following fact. After a trip to St. Petersburg by three specialists of JSC Ostromechevo of the Brest region, an application for six people headed by a supervisor was received from this farm for the next seminar.
And of course, you can’t visit St. Petersburg and not get acquainted with its sights – the Winter Palace, the Hermitage, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and many other outstanding cultural and architectural monuments.
— We also visited the Orthodox church, the construction of which was financed by Yuri Braginets from his own funds, — said Leonid Matusevich. — We visited the monument to the defenders of Leningrad and the Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery, where we laid flowers and paid tribute to the soldiers and civilians who died during the blockade.
The next seminar will be held on June 18-22 this year in Moscow. The participants will visit the international exhibition “Grain, animal feed, veterinary medicine”, EkoNiva holding of the Kaluga region — one of the largest milk producers in Russia. The seminar will also be held at his new livestock complex “Bortnikovo” for 3 thousand cows and 5 thousand heifers in the Moscow region.
