The workers of the V.I. Kremko PC can do everything: grow excellent grain, marvelous gardens and produce natural sausages

it is the working people who are the greatest wealth of the agricultural enterprise named after V.I. Kremko. They can do everything. Grow excellent grain and wonderful orchards, produce natural sausages and pickle delicious vegetables.

Today, in the fields of the economy, work is in full swing on all fronts. Here work is well organized, and everyone knows their job perfectly. Therefore, Kvass farmers show good results throughout the country from year to year.

The vagaries of the weather

This March has presented the Grodno region with many surprises. On some days the thermometer scale reached +25. Even the old-timers were surprised at the vagaries of nature.

Farm agronomists say that the unusual weather for this time disrupted the growing season of crops - both winter and perennial grasses. Sowing this year had to start two weeks earlier than usual. And the timing of all field work is shifted by about 10-15 days. If earlier, for example, at the end of May they just started collecting fodder, now by this time they have already finished cutting the perennial grasses.

The phases, or stages of development, of agricultural crops have also shifted significantly. Even experienced specialists do not remember that the same flag leaf of winter triticale sprouted at the end of April.

Frosts for the most part spared the farm. But the fields really need rain, and there hasn’t been any here for almost a month. Only 4 millimeters of precipitation fell in early May, and another 5-6 millimeters in the middle, but this is extremely insufficient for the normal development of plants. The relief of the economy is heterogeneous. In elevated areas, where soil fertility is slightly less, “burning” and a significant lack of moisture are already felt.

Harvest forecasts

Last year, the V.I. Kremko PC was the first in the Grodno region to complete the harvesting campaign. We achieved unprecedented indicators for rapeseed and grain crops. 28,752 tons of grain were harvested with a yield of 117.1 c/ha, rapeseed - 5,162 tons (64.5 c/ha).

“Today, the ear has formed well, and therefore if there is precipitation now and the grain is poured, the harvest will be good,” says Sergei Kremko, chairman of the board of the cooperative. – The critical phase of moisture consumption for grain filling has arrived, and it is important how the mass of thousands of grains is formed. Moreover, this applies to all crops – grains and rapeseed.

Taking into account many years of practice, this year the farm has sown 2,030 hectares of winter grain, which is about 200 - 250 hectares more than last year. 865 hectares are occupied by winter rapeseed, 415 by spring barley, and 15 hectares by oats. Soybeans were planted on 50 hectares more than last year: 560 hectares. Corn and SUGAR beets were sown at the same level as last year. (2052 hectares).

The harvesting campaign will also shift due to weather somersaults - it will start much earlier. If traditionally winter crops and barley were harvested at the beginning of July, then this year work will begin on the 15th-20th of June.

Under the brand name "Svezhedar"

For more than ten years, the cooperative has opened a workshop for processing fruit, vegetable and berry raw materials. The fame of the delicious natural juices produced in Kvasovka is spreading throughout the country. The assortment includes APPLE juice and so-called juice mixes: apple-carrot, apple-cherry, apple-strawberry and apple-raspberry. Cabbage is also fermented within these walls, cucumbers are pickled in barrels, and peeled vegetables are vacuum-sealed.

– Lately we have been receiving a lot of calls from buyers who are interested in our sauerkraut. They ask where they can buy it and ask for a recipe,” explains Deputy Chairman for Economics Yulia Baranovskaya. – Of course, we cannot reveal the recipe, this is a trade secret, but hearing such good reviews about our products is very flattering for us.

According to her, success largely depends on the initiative of the heads of business units. Young and talented personnel are joining the cooperative today. The MEAT processing shop, for example, is headed by Veronica Kurilo, and the HEAD of the fruit, vegetable and berry raw materials processing shop is Anastasia Popova.

– Our girls are very creative. And everything works out for them. Interesting ideas are constantly born in my head, they offer new types of products and new recipes. We see that the girls are trying very hard. And what is important: they themselves look for markets and promote their products. It's nice to work with young people. “They infect everyone around them with their enthusiasm, enthusiasm and love of life,” the interlocutor sums up.

In conversations, cooperative workers involuntarily come across the identity of the leader himself - Sergei Kremko. Residents of Kvasovka emphasize that his whole life is an example of how intelligence, initiative and hard work bring a person success and well-deserved respect. They also value his inherent professionalism and responsibility, and the ability to foresee the long-term consequences of decisions made. Their chairman believes that the earth will feed and water, just don’t be lazy. He teaches this to everyone who is next to him, those who are called that way - Kremkovites.

And apple trees, and cherries, and cherry plums

Once upon a time, the farm allocated as many as 327 hectares for gardens. But gradually their area decreased, because today it is important to take not so much in quantity as to obtain a consistently high yield. This can be done through denser, super-intensive gardens.

At the end of 2016, a new garden was founded - about 40 hectares to replace the one that had been abandoned. The area allocated for stone fruit crops is 7.5 hectares for cherries, 2.5 hectares for cherries and half a hectare for large-fruited plums and cherry plums. Strawberries, currants, raspberries and blueberries are also grown here. Last year we received 7.2 thousand tons of apples along with litter. And this is one of the largest harvests of any farm in the country.

The garden overwintered well, according to agronomists. The current drought is not so terrible for him, because almost the entire fruit-bearing garden is drip-irrigated. Reservoirs and fertigation stations for adding mineral nutrients to the soil allow plants not to languish in the heat and receive the necessary portions of nutrition at different phases of their development. And the gardeners here are experienced, some have more than 30 years of experience! Therefore, apparently, the harvest should be no less than last year.

Work and earn

The farm employs 648 people. The balance was optimal - approximately half men and half women.

– Last year, the average salary in a household was 2,339 rubles. In rural areas it is slightly higher – 2545 rubles, in trade – 1512 rubles. Such figures were formed because, in addition to purely agricultural activities, we also have a developed network of retail facilities. Three branded stores have been opened - in Grodno, in the central estate of the economy and in MINSK on Yana Chechota Street, 23, explains Deputy Chairman for Economics Yulia Baranovskaya. – We constantly analyze salaries, monitor the dynamics of what is happening in our field, so as not to lose our guidelines. The main goal is to retain the employee, interest, motivate. And salary is the main instrument of personnel policy.

Last year, the farm, on the initiative of its manager, began a global project - the reconstruction of three dairy complexes.

– Over the past two decades, cows have become not only more productive, they are physiologically larger. Therefore, the stalls have to be adjusted. Due to the increase in the average annual temperature in our region, we are increasing air exchange, watering, streamlining feeding, and overall living conditions for animals,” explained Sergei Kremko.

The territory adjacent to the complexes is being put in order, two dispensaries for calves have been built, and equipment has been purchased to mechanize production processes. The reconstruction is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

– And this is a very important project for us. After all, the largest percentage of profit from all components of livestock farming is the sale of MILK, clarifies Yulia Baranovskaya. – Last year its profitability was 65.9%.

Elena NIKOLAEVA, photo - Leonid SHCHEGLOV