We explain how Belarusian science is raising the country's livestock production achievements in global rankings.

Belarus is one of the world 's leading per capita consumers of whole MILK products and butter. Here, we are ahead of the EU, CANADA, and the United States . Moreover, our country is the largest exporter of all types of dairy products. Such figures would hardly have been achieved without the robust scientific support of the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The publication's journalists visited the center and learned about the steps scientists have taken to ensure our farmers' breakthroughs in dairy farming and other livestock sectors, how they envision the future of Belarus's diversified agriculture, and the impact they are having on its development.

Reaching a New Level
– Our center is a major association of zootechnical and veterinary science in the Republic of Belarus. We conduct research in the fields of breeding, reproduction, husbandry technology, and effective feeding rations for farm animals. The success of our research has a strictly applied focus and the goal: to take domestic livestock farming to a new level! "This is the main strategic direction," says Alexander Portnoy, General DIRECTOR of the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus," and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences. "We have certainly already achieved much: the center's experience is well known and has been positively evaluated not only in the country but also abroad. But much remains to be done.

Regarding dairy farming, Belarusian scientific work in this area has been ongoing throughout the years of Belarus's sovereignty. And the center's scientists' work on developing new, highly productive cow breeds has played a key role here. This work was carried out in stages. Initially, scientists worked on improving the Belarusian Black-and-White breed, the "passport" for which was officially approved in 2003. Then, the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus began implementing a large-scale project to develop a Belarusian Holsteinized breed of cows."

"Using the achievements of global science and practice, we were able to significantly increase the genetic potential of the Belarusian dairy herd through Holstein bulls, which we both sourced ourselves and purchased abroad," says Ivan Sheiko, First Deputy Director General for Research at the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. "As a result of a successfully implemented nationwide project for the selection, feeding, and management of dairy cattle, a new Belarusian Holsteinized breed was approved in 2020. it can be

used for stall housing, herringbone, parallel, and carousel systems."
This is a European-level breed, the specialist notes. Its genetic potential is 11,000-12,000 kg of milk per lactation. In practice, dozens of farms are already milking 10,000-12,000 kg of milk per cow.

"Note, this isn't just the 10-15 cows of a single farm: entire farms milk that much per cow, on average!" notes Ivan Sheiko, adding: "Others are following in the footsteps of the leaders. We believe that by the end of this year, the Brest and Grodno regions will surpass the 7,000 kg per cow mark. The MINSK region is also approaching that level. In other words, we've increased the milk yield per cow by 2.5 times.

Previously, a Black-and-White cow averaged 3,500-4,000 kg per year.

"At one time, the goal for the most advanced farms was 4,000 kg of milk per cow per year," Ivan Pavlovich recalls with a smile.

The development of the Belarusian Holsteinized breed was significantly cheaper for our country than for our neighbors. While the Russians purchased heifers and young cows, we only purchased stud bulls, which are required at a rate of one per 1,000 or more cows. Furthermore, thanks to the introduction of new approaches to housing, feeding, and milking, Belarus developed the new Holsteinized breed earlier than the Russians.

With up to a thousand dairy cows on a single farm, we abandoned grazing, which is suitable for small farms with up to 200 cows, and switched to stall-based herd management. We implemented automated milking using three types of systems. The "Carousel" is a rotating platform on which cows are placed in stalls, and operators are located in the center or outside the platform, receiving the cows as they rotate. The "Herringbone" is a stationary milking parlor where the cows are positioned at an angle to the operator. In a "Parallel" milking parlor, the cows are positioned parallel to each other, with their backs to the milking pit. Now, instead of milkmaids with milk pails, there are machine milking operators in the milking parlors. And the milk flows not into buckets, but automatically into the milk pipeline system.

Belarusian Red – from Great-Grandfathers and Danes.

The Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is working on creating a new Belarusian Red breed. Why is its development so important to us?

"Belarus, like global livestock production, is beginning to transition to more resilient red breeds," explains Ivan Sheiko, DOCTOR of Agricultural Sciences, explaining the new approaches. "We have been developing our Belarusian Red breed since 2019, based on the Danish Red cattle breed , which is known for its high milk yield. When the President gave the go-ahead for its creation, the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, with the support of the Council of Ministers, purchased 200 heifers from Denmark."

Belarus didn't start from scratch: the indigenous Belarusian Red breed, bred during the time of landowners, has been growing and milking its milk on our lands for hundreds of years. Its milk is of excellent quality, with high fat and protein content. This breed, for example, is kept at the Novy Dvor farm in the Grodno region. Scientists took a similar genotype and color pattern to the European breed, which has 4.5-5% fat and 3.5-3.85% protein per liter of milk, and began reviving our Belarusian Red, only with more sophisticated selection.

We are interested in what progress this selection has made so far.

The milk yield of Red cows at our ZhodinoAgroPlemElita Center, located in the village of Barsuki in the Smolevichi District, is approximately 9,000 kg per year. A herd at another breeding farm of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Ustye, in the village of..., demonstrates high productivity of the Red breed. Ustye, Orsha District, Vitebsk Region. Expanded reproduction has also been established there. Each cow in both herds has already calved four to five times. Overall, the red cattle have proven to be more robust than the Holsteinized Belarusian cattle, notes Ivan Sheiko.

Another academic farm, ASK-Shipyany in the Smolevichi District, also breeds red cows. The Center and its ZhodinoAgroPlemElita farm also helped them get started. They sold elite cows to colleagues for breeding. Today, they have over 100 red cows. Importantly, first-calf heifers yielded 8,400 kg of milk in their first year of lactation.

"According to our estimates, the second calving will yield over 9,000 liters of milk. Moreover, as a reminder, red cows have a higher fat content: 4.5-5%, while Holsteins have 3.7-3.8%, and red cows also have 30% more protein in their milk . Yet, the main advantage of the Red breed is that its cows are stronger and more resilient.

The Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is beginning to assemble a breeding herd of Red cattle at a farm in the Kobrin District of the Brest Region. This herd will eventually become a breeding farm for Red Belarusian cattle.

"We intend to add at least 100 heifers and young cows there in 2025," said Ivan Sheiko, adding that in 2026, in agreement with Vladimir Karanik, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, a breeding herd of Red cattle is planned to be established in the Grodno Region.

The Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus plans to approve the dairy breed of Red cattle by 2030.

"We are working to ensure genealogical diversity among the animals, preventing inbreeding," Ivan Sheiko emphasized. Our

national treasure
: Belarus is a leader not only in milk but also in MEAT production per capita among the CIS countries. We consume 103 kg of meat per person annually. Moreover, pork is one of Belarusians' favorite meats.What role does the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Animal Husbandry play in the achievements of domestic pig breeders?

"The country has a strong breeding and selection base. Competitive animal breeds have been developed, including the Belarusian Large White and the Belarusian Meat Breed. The latter breed was approved in 2000 and included in the State Register of Scientific Achievements Constituting the National Heritage of the Republic of Belarus. Incidentally, its development was carried out within the framework of the Union State program," notes Ivan Sheiko. "These two breeds, along with a third—the Belarusian Black-and-White—are best suited for breeding conditions on domestic pig farms, of which there are approximately 105 in the country. Moreover, 95% of animals supplied to meat processing plants are based on hybrid three- or four-breed stock, which increases production efficiency: they yield higher average daily gains with less feed.

Strength is in the feed

. Belarusian breeders also work closely with domestic poultry farmers. Breeds that have survived since the Soviet era are constantly being improved." Two poultry crosses are used in the country – white and brown. Recently, a nationally recognized commission officially approved the white cross of Belarusian selection. "In terms of egg

production per laying hen, we strive to maintain the level of Western European standards, but, admittedly, we lag somewhat behind," admitted Ivan Sheiko, noting that our laying hens are more resilient than their Western European counterparts. "As for feed, we are fully supplied with sufficient quantities, and we are currently working to improve the quality. The Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus has already developed formulas for feed and mineral-vitamin supplements, premixes, and haylage required for each species and breed. If feed quality improves, farm productivity could increase by 25-30%, especially in dairy production, as well as beef and pig farming," the scientist is confident. A promising direction: Domestic scientists will soon be able to introduce a Belarusian goat. "There are two breeding enterprises in the country working on this topic." One of them was created at our center. It houses over 300 Saanen goats, a French dairy breed capable of producing up to a thousand liters of milk per year," notes Ivan Sheiko. The second herd of Saanen goats is maintained at the Mogilev State Breeding Enterprise, which originally began as a goat farm . "We plan to create a national Belarusian goat breed based on the Saanen dairy breed," Ivan Sheiko shared.












Belarusian science is also making a contribution to horse breeding. Working jointly with the Republican Center for Olympic Training, Equestrian Sports, and Horse Breeding in Ratomka, the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is expanding the herd of the Hanoverian, the most numerous half-blood breed in Europe. Scientists are also faced with the task of preserving the gene pool of the Belarusian draft horse breed, which was approved in 2003.

"Its use as a draft horse is practically nonexistent, but it is a matter of honor for Belarusians to preserve and not lose this breed of horse that has served our people for centuries," notes Ivan Sheiko.

Today, all structures of the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus actively utilize advances in genetic engineering and DNA technology in their breeding work. At the forefront of these processes are the center's two laboratories: the Laboratory of Reproduction, Embryo Transplantation, and Animal Transgenesis, as well as the Laboratory of Molecular Biotechnology and DNA Testing.

"Now, thanks to genetic engineering, we're obtaining genes that can improve meat quality in pig farming, as well as milk productivity in cattle, and combat and eliminate hereditary animal diseases," says Ivan Sheiko. "For example, using in vitro technology, we fertilize an egg from a cow producing 12,000-13,000 kg of milk with the sperm of a high-bred bull, and grow the embryo in vitro until 7-8 days. We then transplant the fertilized embryo into one of the heifers—any, even from a low-yielding breed. Since the embryo retains the genetic heritage of both mother and father, it doesn't matter that it's carried and nursed by a surrogate mother. The result is highly valuable, high-bred animals."

1. In embryo transplantation, the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus closely collaborates with the Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The practical result of this collaboration is the increased potential of Belarusian cattle, pig, and other animal breeds, which is then monetized through successes in the agricultural sector and increased food exports abroad.

2. The Institute of Fisheries of the Scientific and Practical Center for Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is largely responsible for the significant addition of fish dishes to the Belarusian diet in recent years. Scientists have, in particular, bred four breeds of Belarusian carp and begun working on reproducing sturgeon. They have also developed feed formulas for carp and sturgeon breeds.

Tamara MARKINA, photo by BELTA and from the company's archive.