Sowing of spring crops in the Vitebsk region is planned to be completed by May 20

May 17, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Sowing of spring crops in the Vitebsk region is planned to be completed by May 20, the Agriculture and Food Committee of the regional executive committee informed a BELTA correspondent. As of the morning of May 17, spring crops have been sown on an area of over 300 thousand hectares, which is about 78% of the plan. A number of districts have already completed sowing. This year, unfavorable weather conditions have made adjustments to the sowing schedule. For the first time in the last 4 years, the region's farmers are working in such difficult conditions, mainly due to soil over-moistening, specialists noted. Nevertheless, today the focus is shifting to fodder preparation and soil preparation for sowing winter crops and rapeseed for the 2011 harvest. The region's farms have been tasked to switch to preparing fodder harvesting equipment and fodder storage facilities as much as possible, in order to start mass fodder harvesting at the end of May - beginning of June, the committee emphasized. This year, the region needs to procure at least 1 million 250 thousand tons of fodder units of green fodder, which is 10% more than last year. For example, silage harvesting is planned at the level of at least 2.2 million tons, and haylage - 2 million tons. Per conventional head of the public herd, it is necessary to procure at least 26 centners of fodder units, which will allow for optimal wintering and ensure the fulfillment of forecast indicators for the growth of key types of livestock products. At the same time, soil moisture, which created the main difficulties during sowing, should contribute to the growth of the vegetative mass of grasses, specialists added. -0-