Trials of new-generation agricultural machinery were held in the fields of the Orsha district

In a field near the village of Stavry, 15 tractors with trailed units (cultivators, seeders, plows, rollers) were lined up – the best examples of domestic and imported production, which have already proven themselves in practice. They were provided for testing by farms in the Orsha and Dubrovno districts.

The high assessment of the governor was received by deep ripper cultivators from the German firms Horsch, Kockerling, Amazone. As the practice of the Orsha agricultural enterprises SGC "Zadneprovsky", OJSC "Mayak-Vysokoe" showed, they are distinguished by reliability, soil cultivation quality, multi-purpose use, and economical fuel consumption. This was also revealed by test drives of the machines in conjunction with "Belarus-3522".

Nikolai Sherstnev drew the attention of those present to the seeders of the Vitebsk MRZ, which are successfully used in OJSC "Orsha Poultry Farm" and the branch of OMKK "Brazdetchino".

— Tractors of model 1221, which we have enough of, are ideally suited for them, – noted the head of the region. – And we will be able to use "Belarus-3022" for soil cultivation.

The highest marks were received by the Amazone 12 seeder, used in the fields of IP "Shtotz-Agro-Service Mitkovschina".

– It is the best in the world, – summarized Nikolai Sherstnev after its testing. – This includes seed placement and fertilizer application simultaneously. Study this high-performance unit. Especially since the future involves a transition to complex fertilizers, and we are not ready for this with the existing equipment.

However, the governor called the roller the agricultural machine No. 1 in every farm.

– It perfectly levels the soil both before and after sowing, – noted Nikolai

Nikolaevich. – A roller must be available at all agricultural enterprises.

Having discussed the capabilities of modern equipment, they concluded that each district should determine its own set of units, taking into account the specifics of climate and soils.

– Only a few days are left until the end of winter sowing, – Nikolai Sherstnev addressed the seminar participants. – We plow 1.6% of the plan per day, and sow 2%. As of this morning, only 60% of winter cereals have been sown. This is an unacceptably low pace of work.

Our task is to put the grain into the ground qualitatively and as quickly as possible, to apply modern technologies; otherwise, we will not meet the deadlines. If we do not sow the planned volume of winter crops, the region will be left without grain. I want you to know what needs to be done specifically in the conditions of the Vitebsk region. This primarily means a short growing season and overlapping of tasks. No other region has such a workload as ours.

In July, the southern regions of the country harvest grain, in August they perform stubble plowing, smoothly transition to winter sowing, and can afford to complete it in November. We, however, may face frost in October. Therefore, we must determine the set of agricultural machinery that will ensure the highest quality of work with minimal costs. Only then will we achieve success.

The governor noted that in the future, the region will switch to grain harvesters with headers of at least 10 meters.

– One machine operator should cultivate a thousand hectares of land, – emphasized Nikolai Sherstnev. – And this is realistic; the main thing is to aim for this result, weigh everything, and set goals. Moreover, competent and responsible people should operate such equipment, and they should receive appropriate wages for their work. I hope that by spring we will have full technical readiness, and technologists will make the right selection of agricultural machinery for field work. We will move forward with confidence.

Olga Lebedeva, photos by the author. "Vitebskiye vesti".