Farms in the Vitebsk region plan to complete the first mowing of fodder by July 1

June 23, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Farms in the Vitebsk region have harvested perennial grasses of the first cutting on an area of almost 197 thousand hectares, which is about 72% of the plan. It is planned to complete the first cutting forage harvesting in the region by July 1, Ivan Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Regional Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. As of June 23, agricultural producers in the Orsha district have practically completed mowing, having harvested more than 99% of the areas. Farms in the Dubrovno (90.4%), Sharkovshchina (82.2%), and Polotsk (81.4%) districts are close to completing the first cutting. The most difficult situation in forage harvesting, related to soil over-moistening, is observed in the Vitebsk and Senno districts, where grasses have been mowed on an area of about 57%. In total, the region has harvested almost 364 thousand tons of feed units (more than 45% of the target from the first cutting). In terms of the pace of first cutting grass harvesting, farms are 15% ahead of the 2009 level, Ivan Fedorov noted. Almost 8 centners of feed units per conventional head of cattle have been harvested. The farms of the Dubrovno, Lepel, Polotsk, Orsha, Liozno, and Verkhnedvinsk districts lead in this indicator, where feed availability is already from 10 centners of feed units and above. In general, in the region, it is planned to harvest about 13 centners of feed units per conventional head of cattle from the first cutting. Taking into account the weather conditions, agricultural producers are focusing on silage harvesting, laying down more than 70 thousand tons daily and compacting it around the clock to improve its quality characteristics. To date, more than 1 million 240 thousand tons of this type of feed have been harvested, or almost 64% of the planned target. About 40 thousand tons of haylage and more than 20 thousand tons of hay have been harvested. Farms in the region are to harvest at least 1 million 250 thousand tons of feed units of green fodder this year, which is 10% more than in 2009. It is necessary to harvest at least 26 centners of feed units per conventional head of the public herd. In addition, in agricultural enterprises, preparations for the harvesting campaign are gaining momentum, including repair work on grain drying complexes and readiness of storage complexes for receiving the new harvest. Today, it can be said that the region's grain drying facilities will allow for timely and loss-free drying of grain, Ivan Fedorov noted. -0-