Gorodok poultry farm released a trial batch of turkey meat

Already next week, Gorodok Poultry Farm OJSC will supply a trial batch of turkey meat to the region's stores, which is famous for its excellent taste qualities. This was announced by the enterprise's director, Alexander Kolodich, during a recent international poultry farmers' forum in Novopolotsk.

– Residents of the Vitebsk region will be able to purchase our first products for their festive table, – said Alexander Grigoryevich. – Next year, we plan to produce 1000 tons of meat in live weight. We consider this new activity promising. In France and other European countries, they are already abandoning the consumption of broiler chickens in favor of turkeys, as well as waterfowl – ducks, geese. We will follow this path as well.

– Targeted work is being carried out in the region to develop this area in poultry farming, – noted Vladimir Mashero, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Regional Executive Committee.

He drew attention to the special value of turkey meat, which has dietary and anti-allergic properties. Today, people gladly buy it in stores. But the price is still quite high. This is due to the fact that there are only two producers in the country: in the Minsk and Grodno regions. If there are more of them, then, accordingly, the cost of this healthy product will be lower.

The cultivation of turkeys in Gorodok began on the instructions of the head of the region. The republic's market is currently oversaturated with broiler chicken meat, and the times demand the development of new types of products. The close proximity to a major competitor – Vitebsk Broiler Poultry Farm OJSC, which has great opportunities for cost reduction, also prompted the change in profile.

The purchased equipment was placed in the old premises where broiler chickens were previously fattened. Day-old turkey poults are delivered from Poland by specialized transport. Suppliers also share information on feeding and housing methods for poultry.

Initially, according to Chief Technologist Svetlana Ezerskaya, 15,000 turkeys were delivered to the poultry farm, and a second batch of 11,000 birds was brought in recently. The growing period for turkeys is 105 days for females and 140 days for males. This is three times longer than for broiler chickens. Such meat is considered mature and suitable for healthy eating.

It is not for nothing that turkey farming is rapidly developing in Russia, and while in Poland, representatives of Gorodok noticed that more expensive turkey meat is bought in stores 4 times more often than chicken.

The weight of one turkey carcass is 10-20 kg, while a chicken weighs an average of 2.5 kg. From a commercial perspective, the production promises to be profitable. There are also all grounds to count on consumer demand, since Belarus produces 600,000 tons of chicken meat per year, and only 2,000 tons of turkey.

In addition to retail chains, the children's food workshop of the Orsha meat-canning plant, which currently purchases turkey from outside the region, is planned to be supplied with this dietary product. Deliveries of 240 tons of fillet for next year have already been agreed upon. By the way, a kilogram of our homegrown turkey meat should cost around 70,000 rubles.

In addition to turkey meat, the Gorodok poultry farm continues to produce chicken and quail eggs, the latter having repeatedly received gold medals at international exhibitions.

Larisa Malashenya, "Vitebskiye Vesti".