New breeds of cows and robotic milking. How milk production is improving in Belarus

July 28, MINSK. Vladimir Timoshenko, First Deputy DIRECTOR General for Research at the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences, spoke about new breeds of cows, robotic milking and the development of feed for livestock at a press conference, BelTA has learned.

"The main achievement of the institute in the field of breeding is the creation of the Belarusian dairy Holstein breed of cows. Its number is more than 1 million, and 80% of MILK is produced in the republic by these cows. This breed differs from the black-and-white traditionally bred in Belarus in the first place by the fact that it is a specialized dairy breed.The productivity potential of the Holstein breed is estimated at 10-12 thousand kg of milk per lactation, while the limit of the black-and-white breed is 8-9 thousand kg of milk.And most importantly, the Holstein breed is adapted to industrial technologies, according to which produces most of the milk in the country.In addition to this breed, we are also working on the creation of the Belarusian breed of red specialized dairy cattle," said Vladimir Timoshenko.

Speaking about the production of milk, the expert paid attention to the process of robotic milking. Thus, on one of the farms included in the National Academy of Sciences, a robotic milking machine "carousel" for 40 places is used, where all milking operations are completely performed by a robot, and a person only controls the process.

The scientist noted that in the process of improving technological methods, it is important to pay attention both to ensuring comfortable conditions for keeping animals, and to reducing human manual labor due to the complex mechanization of such technological processes as feeding, microclimate control, and more. “It is important to improve feeding systems, develop standards, include new nutrients, production waste and local mineral raw materials. In the future, this will significantly affect the quality, cost and competitiveness of the products,” Vladimir Tymoshenko added.