Secrets of the agricultural complex near Logoysk, whose workers have developed a formula for high milk yields

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Black Japanese wagyu cows are the future miracle of IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" is a farm, whose office is located in the village with the speaking name Chudenichi. From dozens of cute short-legged cows and bulls that live on a breeding farm where the company traditionally breeds Aberdeen Angus cattle, it is still difficult to distinguish which of them is the future "Japanese" and which is pure Aberdeen. Only breeders know this.

Synonym for black caviar

“Japanese wagyu cows are a promising experiment for us so far,” Dmitry Logvinovich, director of Triple-Agro IC, Triple LLC, outlined the place of the “Japanese” in the company's strategy. - In 2021, the genetics of Japanese cows were brought in - and the first calves were born to mothers of the Aberdeen breed from Japanese black bulls. Today there are 26 of them. Outwardly, they practically do not differ from the Aberdeens, they are still a close genetic series with them. And we will get a purebred "Japanese" only in 2028!

Why did an enterprise that breeds tribal Aberdeens take on a breed that is rare in the world?

- It's simple. There is no good marbled beef in Belarus. Steaks from it, which compatriots who have traveled around the world already know a lot about, are Russian in our retail chains. Wagyu marbled beef is a synonym for black caviar. Meat for steaks from it costs $400-500 per kilogram, - said the interlocutor and explained why everything is so expensive: - The fact is that in the Land of the Rising Sun, where there is no place for walking, gobies are drunk with beer to improve digestion and massage against muscle atrophy. Our conditions for growing marbled beef are better and cheaper. Young animals will not need beer or massage - we have where to stretch their hooves. From May to October, the new elite of the "marble" animal husbandry grazes in the field, where a mother and a calf - half a hectare.

Unleash the potential of the dairy herd

Dmitry Logvinovich is sure that the livestock industry of Belarus as a whole has a great potential in increasing the volumes in the production of both beef and milk.

– Yes, today we sell agricultural products, mainly dairy and meat, for $8-9 billion, why not for $20 billion? It is time for us to stop being proud of our achievements in dairy farming and we should start looking for weaknesses, counting not only how much we sold, but also how much we spent. The genetic potential of the Belarusian dairy herd is at least 8 thousand! - noted the director of IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" and drew attention to the following fact: - If recently the Russians were surprised by our dairy industry, then a few years ago Russia was able to overtake us in terms of milk yield per cow! Neighbors have built complexes with technologies we can only dream of. They learned from the USA, Canada, Israel, who rely on large-scale, also more suitable for us, production. We went to Europe for experience - we copied their small-scale production, the technologists of which do not work very efficiently for us.

Milk taxi for babies

The average annual milk yield per cow in IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" is about 10 thousand kilograms. Everyone seems to know how to "interest" a cow in the growth of her milk potential. The formula for high milk yields is simple: you need to feed the cow correctly and on time, milk it and lay it on it - then it will be 10 and 15 liters per day. But such results may not be achieved immediately. Half of the cost of milk will go to the cost of reproducing the herd.

- The milk that we milk was actually created two years ago - in 2020. Today we are working on the milk of 2025,” says Dmitry Pavlovich. - If you want high milk yields, go to a calf barn and raise a good heifer. For errors in the reproduction of the herd, you will have to pay for the rest of the time.

...Today, the small calves of this agricultural cooperative live on the farm (not in houses on the street), each behind a high plastic fence, on a warm bed of sawdust.

“Notice that there is no sound in the calf-house. Nobody mumbles - so everything is fine. The kids are full, they are warm, - Lyubov Bend, a veterinarian, draws our attention. – To prevent morbidity, calves are vaccinated in order to prevent diseases. Any prevention is better than cure.

A step away from the houses - a modern kitchen. In a giant sterilizer there is milk heated to 60 degrees, next to it is a milk taxi. There is also a refrigerator in which colostrum is stored - for newborns.

We paid attention to the fact that the entire dairy herd is larger than in other farms.

- This is one of the signs of a high degree of Holsteinization of the Belarusian Black-and-White breed, the genetics of which are cultivated for milk, - said Dmitry Logvinovich.

When IT programs "talk"

The total herd of cattle from one dairy farm and two commercial farms of SK "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" is 2.5 thousand animals. For competent care of them, the company even purchased a special program, according to which, in particular, farmers in the United States work.

“Our production is digitized as much as possible,” says the director of the UK. – There are four programs on the farms, one of which is the main one. Programs control literally everything, "communicating" with each other. Exchange of information between them - at one in the morning. The program analyzes the state of the herd, shows in which direction we are moving, gives an economic assessment and a development forecast for a year or two (or more) ahead. At the same time, comparing the results of our work with the global ones.

One of the most important programs is feeding. She makes menu recommendations for each group of cows, from newborn calves: she analyzes the actual feeding and how it should be. So, thanks to her, the company abandoned the full-time livestock specialist. This function was taken over by the program, and the control over the execution - by the head of the enterprise.

- We make feed ourselves. The grain group of ingredients is our own: we grow rapeseed, even soybeans, we buy premixes. Moreover, from several sellers at once - with a prerequisite for accompaniment.

Every week, the seller of premixes must visit the office of SK "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" to check whether the premixes give the promised milk yield. If there is no predicted increase in milk, he must answer what is wrong, what is missing, and adjust the diet.

At the computer - weekly feed control, every two - their analysis. The director strictly monitors through the application what the feeder will distribute today, with which he has a connection via a synchronizer. If necessary, he changes the recipe, and then the next loading of feed by the machine operator is carried out according to the new program.

SW analyzer is a super-useful thing

- From bad feed - all the problems, - Dmitry Logvinovich is sure. – The amount of dry matter (DM) in the feed varies, but the cow needs the same amount every day.

To achieve the desired balance, the company purchased an analyzer - a sensor for measuring dry matter. The thing is also not cheap, but it's worth it. Before each feeding, the analyzer determines how much dry matter in the feed is missing. If necessary, the operator adds feed. The cow of each group receives a daily precisely dosed amount of dry matter in the feed. Now there are no losses at all.

By the way, the most highly productive cows, which give 40 liters of milk and more, consume over 60 kg of feed (25 kg of dry matter) per day, plus 40 - water. Each has its own, individual bed (rubberized carpet with a layer of sawdust), which are cleaned twice a day. Meat breeds eat at least half as much food and prefer walking in the fresh air. And what to them - work up your sides! Such cows are not milked at all.

Doubled in three years

So, counting every gram, every unit of dry matter in feed, taking care of the health and productivity of herds, Triple-Agro IC, Triple LLC, has achieved considerable success over the past three years. If this average by statistical standards enterprise, which has 3.5 thousand hectares of land, of which 3.2 thousand are arable land, four years ago did not provide itself with fodder, then it has been selling them for three years already. During this time, working on the same hectares of land (whose soils are not the richest), which has the status of a "risk farming zone", IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" doubled its gross production. At the same time, the enterprise does not have large profits: as the head noted, the cooperative's surplus is small, and, importantly, it does not fit into loans. The money goes into new projects, development, wages.

The self-sufficiency of this business entity is ensured by an appropriate personnel policy. There are no superfluous, unemployed people here: the entire team is 105 employees. Many specialists hold several positions at once.

Strong Middle Link

- We have a strong middle link of specialists, - says the director of IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple".

Dmitry Logvinovich has no deputies or a driver, his secretary is a lawyer and a personnel officer rolled into one, the chief accountant is also a storekeeper, an accountant is a storekeeper of a fuel and lubricants warehouse, the head of security - he is a supply manager, if necessary - mows the lawns. The work of the farms is organized by foremen. Of the "main" - only an engineer, an agronomist and a veterinarian. But what IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" does not save on is the health of animals. The enterprise has an optimal number of veterinarians, a cow gynecologist, a mammologist, a hoof specialist and a livestock breeder.

“Their task is not to treat, but to prevent diseases. It is not profitable to treat a cow, - the head of the enterprise believes.

Not everything is about money

The average salary for the enterprise is over two thousand.

“But it is not a determining factor. We have attractive working conditions, a social package, material support for production. There is a medical insurance, to which the company pays an additional 300 rubles a year for medications.

In addition to the production of milk, beef and crop products, the main purpose of which is to provide feed for their own herds, IC "Triple-Agro" LLC "Triple" has several other activities from areas one way or another connected with animal husbandry. The director of the enterprise calls these projects social projects. Two years ago, the UK took up sheep breeding: it bought 50 Suffolk sheep. Now is lambing time. More than 100 lambs have already been born. The enterprise also has small herds of ducks, geese and chickens. Every employee of the enterprise can count on a Christmas goose and a duck. SK "Triple-Agro" also maintains a small rabbit farm. The UK also has its own garden: washed apples today stand right in the boxes - on every farm, whose life, by the way, is maximally equipped.

But what exactly for the soul is the equestrian club SK. There are 18 horses here. Some of them are rental, club, the second group belongs to people who bought a horse for themselves, but do not have stables. The maintenance, care and nutrition of one horse for its owner here costs 600 rubles a month. The club plans to build an equestrian arena.

Tamara MARKINA, photo - Pavel ORLOVSKY