Procurement of fodder for livestock continues in Dagestan

More than 1.5 million tons of hay is harvested annually in Dagestan. Crops of perennial forage grasses in the republic occupy about 80 thousand hectares, annual - within 50 thousand hectares. More than 160 thousand hectares are natural hayfields. These are reserves, thanks to which animal husbandry is one of the most important sectors of the agro-industrial complex of the republic, the basis for the well-being of thousands of Dagestan families.
According to operational data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Dagestan, at the end of the first ten days of July, more than 684 thousand tons of feed for livestock were harvested in Dagestan, including 655 thousand tons of hay. The most successful harvesting of hay is carried out in the farms of the Kizlyar, Khasavyurt, Babayurt and Tarumovsky regions. The creation of stocks for wintering continues. The spring and early summer of this year turned out to be less dry compared to previous years, this circumstance had a beneficial effect on the quality of the grass stand in the places of hay harvesting.
Forage procurement issues are also given priority in the Serkerov farm, located in the village of Rechnoye, Kizlyar district. This is a livestock dairy farm, where they keep a large herd of cattle of red-steppe and black-and-white breeds. it is important for a farmer to be sure that his pets will be full and healthy all year round, because the quality of the products depends on it. Part of the MILK received is processed at its own facilities, a significant proportion of milk yields are purchased by milk processing enterprises.
During the summer, cattle graze on the pasture, figuratively speaking, "is self-supporting." The warm season is fleeting, and therefore, by the period of stall keeping of livestock, it is necessary to stock up on a sufficient amount of hay. The farm has sufficient areas of hayfields. Here they began to mow grass in the first days of June. Basically, fodder is harvested in natural meadows, some of the hay is obtained from crops of perennial grasses. Three dozen workers and the capacity of three self-propelled mowers, five balers and several trucks are involved in forage harvesting.
About 2,000 bales of hay are harvested every day, which is also quite a laborious task, given that the weight of one bale varies in the range of 20-23 kg.
According to the farmer, about 42,000 bales of hay have already been stored, and this amount of feed is enough to meet the needs of the livestock farm. In previous years, forage harvesting was carried out until the end of September, hay was harvested even in two cuts and the surplus was sold to other livestock breeders. The price situation in the hay market this year does not encourage such costs, so the forage harvesting season in this farm is scheduled to be completed in the near future.