"It's Labor Day—that's why we work." How farmers in the Grodno region are working on May Day.

May 1, Grodno District. Farmers from the Progress-Vertelishki agricultural cooperative are harvesting haylage, BelTA reports.

Agricultural work, without breaks for holidays and the usual weekends, is the responsibility of those who toil the land. But this fact, the farmers themselves say, doesn't upset them – each worker understands that much depends on how productive and timely their work is. For example, young Yegor Strukov, who is harvesting haylage, says that as long as the weather permits, the work goes on . "That's why it's May 1st and Labor Day, so we work. But generally, every day is a holiday for us ," the farmer notes with a smile. "The mood is great. We try to work so that there's MILK on the farm."
He added that spring days are packed with tasks. "We'll work until nine in the evening. And in the morning, we'll be back in the field, waiting for the command to get to work, and preparing the equipment," he said. Yegor Strukov has been working on the farm for seven years, driving a tractor for five years and operating a combine for two years. "There's no such thing as unimportant work in agriculture; everyone has a role to play," he noted, adding that he's familiar with rural labor firsthand: "My father drives a tractor and was once a combine operator, and my mother works in the garden."

Meanwhile, the collective farm is sowing corn for grain and silage, with 682 hectares and 1,083 hectares of land devoted to these crops, respectively, nearing completion. In a neighboring village, those sowing the queen of the fields aren't wasting time: after refueling, they get straight to work. Driver Yuriy Goyd, with 37 years of experience at the agricultural cooperative, who delivered fuel and immediately headed off to another location, notes, "The way the machine operators work, so do those who fuel them. It's like on a farm, isn't it? If we don't sow, we won't reap, which means we'll go hungry, so we work. This is the time to work." Progress-Vertelishki also carries out chemical treatments on crops.
"Spring is coming—and that means one fine day feeds the year. That's why people work today, too. But everyone understands: it's to ensure a good harvest in the future. People are in good spirits, because everyone in agriculture understands the need, and everyone responds quickly and responsively. Overall, we always celebrate May Day as expected—with work," noted Vladimir Romanovich, Deputy Chairman of Production at Progress-Vertelishki.

On May Day, the main work on the farm began with forage harvesting. "We began harvesting winter rye for haylage, 340 hectares on our farm, and 120 hectares of winter triticale, which we will harvest a little later. Of course, we were expecting a slightly different result, but the frosts made their own adjustments. It's difficult to make any predictions now; we will see how the plants react and how quickly they recover from the frost," Vladimir Romanovich noted, adding that other crops were also affected. "For three days, there were night frosts ranging from minus three to six degrees Celsius. Therefore, winter barley, winter wheat, as well as spring crops (triticale and wheat), alfalfa and perennial grasses, suffered, and SUGAR beets were damaged locally in low-lying areas." Photo by Leonid Shcheglov