"The cleaning room is just a dress rehearsal." What are the Nesvizh Islands preparing for?

In the Minsk region, according to a long-established tradition, the Nesvizh district is always in the lead in the harvesting campaign. The local farmers know and love their work well, demonstrating high production rates from year to year. A significant contribution to the regional loaf is made by the labor collective of OAO "Nesvizhskiye Ostrovki" under the leadership of Vasily Kholopitsa, who has been successfully managing the agricultural enterprise for more than six years. How they manage to keep the bar, they learned personally, having visited one of the leading farms in the central region of the country.

An experienced director calls the harvesting for the team only a dress rehearsal before the start of large-scale autumn work. And she went through normally. Six crews worked on the fields day by day, four of which threshed over a thousand tons, two more - more than two thousand tons of grain. The seventh crew joined in the middle of the harvest, when the farm received a brand new GS12A1 grain harvester, however, its result is also worthy of praise - about 700 tons.

- When you need to work hard, it's in the fall, not missing a single day. We are preparing for plowing for winter crops - wheat, triticale, barley, of which there are a thousand in our Ostrov branch alone. We are literally on the threshold of sugar beet harvesting. You need special control of the sugar content of the root crop in order to start digging. Plus, harvesting corn silage, and then grain, - the manager lists the work to be done by his team in the near future. - Absolutely everything can be programmed, provided that the equipment works without breakdowns and the weather will not let us down, but will only help us.

In spring and summer, the heavenly office was not on the side of the villagers. The spring drought stood in the district for more than 45 days. As a result, burnt areas now and then loomed in the fields. True, the farm, anticipating possible vagaries of the weather, carried out a maximum of agrotechnical measures in due time. Due to this, a greater percentage of crops gave a good result - the grain yield at Nesvizhskiye Ostrovki this year amounted to 76.3 centners per hectare.

- Compared to last year, we were a little short on grain. However, this is not critical: it is more than enough for livestock, and to lay in the seed fund, and even sell it on occasion, - notes Vasily Nikolaevich. - All thanks to the people who did their best. Everyone tried: from the combine operator in the field to the cook in the canteen. Here is the result! True, there is no time to relax, there are much more serious tasks ahead, including ensuring a good start for next year.

At the time of our arrival, mowing was in full swing on the Ostrov fields. Alfalfa this year has ugly like never before: it is all in bloom and knee-deep in height. OJSC has long learned a simple, but perhaps the most important truth: the result of the livestock industry in the winter depends on how machine operators now work in the fields. No wonder they say that cow's milk is on the tongue.

- What are the types of fodder preparation? - we are interested, inhaling the aroma of freshly cut grass.

- Creating a forage base is a strategically important direction. It can be said, the annual safety for animal husbandry. So harvesting alfalfa is a priority. Yes, and look what it is, I haven’t seen such a yield for a long time. Even if we didn’t get enough grain, but in terms of succulent fodder, haylage, I think we will reach good indicators. This is the third mowing done - and so chic! - proudly says the director. - According to the plan - to reach 30 feed units per conditional head. Already now we have about 10-11 fodder units, and after all, not only haylage, but also corn silage is ahead.

By the way, the queen of fields in the farm covers an area of ​​650 hectares. As soon as the machine operators complete the grass mowing, they will start re-equipping the combines for harvesting corn for silage. According to the forecasts of the head of the economy, the start will be given no later than the first days of September. It is not enough just to prepare, it is important that the corn lay for a month or two, preserved, only then the silage will be considered a complete feed for livestock.

What else this year will be remembered by the team of "Nesvizhskiye Ostrovki" is the accession of the neighboring farm - JSC "Gorodeya". Agree, the event in the history of both agricultural enterprises is very important.

- The act of accession has already been signed, it remains to deal with accounts and other documents. The main thing is that we got a living economy: personnel are in their places, production is established. Animal husbandry is in good standing, on the farm the milk yield per cow is about 24 liters of milk. The yield this year is 62 centners per hectare, - says Vasily Nikolaevich and immediately calculates how much farmland will increase after the merger. - More than 6,500 hectares of arable land and over 13,000 heads of livestock, of which more than 3,000 are dairy herds.

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Already today we can say that the team led by Vasily Kholopitsa has increased significantly - up to 500 people. According to the director, it is important to unite people into one team, set them up for a common cause, a single result and success. In both farms, people know how, and most importantly, they want to work on the land, especially when it comes to specialists.

- We will also teach and guide the youth. Moreover, we have young cadres both in animal husbandry, agronomy, and in mechanization. In particular, all vacancies of specialists are 100% closed. Unless I would take smart guys as an alternative, because there are those who work in our pensions, who are already of pre-retirement age. We need to raise personnel, - the director smiles and talks about why today many people want to work and live in their countryside: - We have a salary at the proper level, good working conditions: well-maintained farms, one of which was the very first robotized in the Nesvizh region. As necessary, we renew the machine and tractor fleet: we buy new, modern ones to replace the old combines and tractors.

What else worries young people is housing. But there are no particular problems with this in Ostrovki: the agricultural enterprise is actively building new houses on the site of old, empty buildings, thereby ennobling the countryside. And the places here are so picturesque: next to Mir, the lands of the Stolbtsovsky and Korelichsky districts, famous for their historical sights.

In 2010, Nesvizh Islands was the first in the region to launch the Makashi robotic farm. In 2022, the farm launched a new dairy complex "Prosti" for 800 heads with a milking unit. Today, the agricultural enterprise has managed to completely get away from the tethered keeping of cows.

After accession to the farm of OJSC "Gorodeya", the total area of ​​arable land will be 6.5 thousand hectares, and the livestock will increase to more than 13 thousand heads, including over 3 thousand - dairy herd.

Marina VALAKH

Photo by Tatiana MATUSEVICH