In the Dokshitsy district, the areas of fodder crops have been increased

Usually, spring field work in the Dokshitsy district begins earlier than in most other districts of the Vitebsk region. This year, the deadlines have shifted even further. If last year sowing had not even started at this time, then as of yesterday, grain and leguminous seeds had been sown on 868 hectares, which is 12.3 percent of the plan. The largest areas are in OJSC "Torguny", "Dokshitsky Rayagorservice", "Barsuchanka". It is not surprising that these farms have sown more: from 15 to 23 percent.

During the sowing campaign, the district focuses on fodder. For example, corn plantings have been increased by 1000 hectares compared to last year and will occupy 5400 hectares. 180 thousand tons of organic fertilizers have been prepared for it, with a plan of 160 thousand, of which 115 thousand have already been applied to the soil and plowed in.
Convincing arguments regarding corn from one of the best farm managers in the district, director of OJSC "Barsuchanka" Sergey Moskalenko, who, by the way, took first place in grain yield last year:

— We have 1812 cows. Naturally, we need a lot of green fodder. Due to the unprecedented drought last year, we got almost nothing from the first mowing of grass. Corn saved us, with which we laid 15 thousand tons of silage. And this year we have allocated 800 hectares for it, increasing it by 40 hectares compared to last year. We had a normal wintering of livestock, and milk yields did not decrease. We add 1.2 kilograms of milk per cow daily. We sell 15 tons of milk, which is 2.5 tons more than at the same time last year. It is enough for workers' wages, as well as for electricity, taxes, and spare parts.

OJSC "Barsuchanka" was one of the first to start sowing grain and leguminous crops, for which 1029 hectares have been allocated. As of yesterday, 236 hectares were sown with them, which is 23 percent of the plan. Mechanizer Yuri Ponamarev, who has been entrusted with this responsible work for the third year in a row, sows 45-50 hectares of spring crops per day on an MTZ-3525 tractor with an APP-6 unit.

A feature of the sowing campaign in the Dokshitsy district is that the areas of alfalfa will be more than doubled, from 800 hectares to 1800. However, specialists emphasize that non-acidic soils are absolutely necessary, and groundwater should not be close to the surface.

Units with alfalfa seeds have been brought to the fields in OJSC"Torguny" and SE "Gnezdilovo-Agro".

However, at OJSC "Begomlskoye", the sowing of this crop has already been completed on the entire planned area of 270 hectares.

— We sowed it in a mixture with clover, — explains director Alexander Novitsky. — We should harvest this plot by autumn. We already had 100 hectares of alfalfa, and last dry year it yielded three full cuttings, and we even got a fourth cutting on 50 hectares.

In 2023, 2150 hectares of land of the disbanded enterprise "Zamostochanskoye" were cultivated here, sowing winter crops and thus doubling their area. The sowing of winter rapeseed was increased almost threefold, from 270 hectares to 770. As a result, 500 hectares of corn and oil radish, and only... 300 hectares of spring grains were left for the spring sowing campaign.

By the way, all 32 thousand tons of organic matter prepared this spring were applied and plowed in for corn. Plus, 8 thousand tons were incorporated in the autumn. The team of Andrey Ganus, working at "Amkodor", made an effort: they prepared the equipment well and did not count the time.

Over the past weekend, 50 hectares of peas were also sown at the farm.

All efforts in the fields are aimed at maximizing returns in animal husbandry. Daily, OJSC "Begomlskoye" milks 24 kilograms of milk per cow. Of course, livestock keeping and genetics have an influence, but one of the most important factors for high productivity is good feed supply.