At the «Zabolotye 2010» Agricultural Enterprise, the regional holiday for rural workers, «Dazhynki-2026», is being met with enthusiasm and good spirits. The farm's collective, which is part of the raw material zone of the Rogachev Dairy and Canning Combine, is working at full capacity, introducing modern technologies, bringing new facilities into operation, and ensuring the country's food security.

A new dairy farm in Luchin has strategic importance for the development of dairy production

Agricultural arithmetic

The farm cultivates over 11,400 hectares of land, including 8,825 hectares of arable land. This year, they harvested 8,272.7 tons of grain with a yield of 24.7 centners per hectare, and 777.3 tons of rapeseed with an average yield of 20 centners per hectare. Seven combines were involved in the harvesting. Now begins a no less responsible campaign – the large-scale harvesting of corn for grain and silage. Simultaneously, soil preparation and the sowing of winter grain crops are underway – securing the harvest for the next year.

The farm has 7,382 head of cattle, including 2,620 cows. Every day, over 30 tons of milk are shipped from all four livestock facilities (two dairy complexes and two dairy farms) to the canning combine. Half of the product is of extra grade, the rest is first grade. The local livestock farmers strictly adhere to technological standards, which ensures good milk yields and weight gains.

The strategic facility – the new complex in Luchin

In May of this year, a modern dairy farm with tie-free housing and comfortable conditions for 600 head of cattle was put into operation near the agro-town of Luchin. For the «Zabolotye 2010» Enterprise, the commissioning of this facility is of strategic importance: most of the production facilities were built decades ago and no longer fully exploit the possibilities of modern animal husbandry.

The launch of the new dairy complex is clear evidence of the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus aimed at developing the dairy industry. The realization of such a large-scale project was made possible by the support of the regional and district leadership, as well as the Rogachev Dairy and Canning Combine.

The complex includes two spacious cowsheds with tie-free housing, a "Christmas tree" type milking and milk block for 32 places with rapid exit, a calving ward and a nursery for calves, modern feed storage facilities, and an amenity block. Importantly, the new farm was built next to the old one, which is being modernized using internal funds – in the near future, 200 head of young stock will be housed there.

Today, the new complex houses 490 head, including 294 milking cows and 196 heifers. Staffing is ongoing. One cow is already producing 20.4 kg of milk. And this is just the beginning – the potential for growth is enormous.

Gradually, with the help of the Rogachev MCC, other facilities are being modernized. Plans are underway to convert the remaining three dairy farms to tie-free housing technology – less manual labor, more comfort for the animals. Experience shows that cows in good conditions produce several times more milk. In September, two calf nurseries with a capacity of 150 and 200 head were put into operation. Active preparation for the winter-stall period is currently underway.

The raw material zone of the Rogachev MCC includes over 100 agricultural organizations in the Gomel region, and SUP "Zabolotye 2010" is rightly considered one of the major milk suppliers. The farm specializes in the production of milk and beef cattle, as well as the cultivation of grain crops and rapeseed. The concern is interested in increasing the volume of high-quality raw materials, so it provides the necessary assistance and support to its subsidiary enterprise, investing in the modernization of old and the construction of new livestock facilities, as well as the acquisition of machinery and equipment.

People are the farm's greatest asset

Even the most modern complexes and powerful machinery remain a pile of scrap metal without human involvement. Behind every statistic stand the operators of milking machines, livestock breeders, machine operators, drivers, zootechnicians, veterinarians, agronomists, and engineers. We will tell you about some of them ahead of the holiday.

26 years on the job

Elena Glushakova has been working as a team leader on a dairy farm for 26 years.

Elena Glushakova is a team leader on a dairy farm near the village of Minkov. She has held this position for 26 years. By the way, she has been retired for two years, but she cannot imagine life without her cows and the team she has grown close to. As Elena Ivanovna admitted, she finds it hard to believe that a day will come when she won't need to get up at four in the morning, drive 15 kilometers, and be at her post by five.

SUP "Zabolotye 2010" is not the first workplace for the heroine. A native of the village of Strenki, she worked for ten years at the "Diaproektor" factory, but those were difficult times, transport was poor, which forced her to radically change her line of work.

– To say that I regret, that's not true, – replies Elena Ivanova. – I love the farm, even if it's hard and troublesome – we have a great deal of manual labor here, cows on old-fashioned feed. At modern complexes, of course, things are easier, more comfortable for both animals and people, but here it's more soulful. With each group of cows there's a dedicated milking team, which explains why responsibilities are greater. Attention can be paid to each one, after all, all living beings need affection and love.

The farm in Minchev has always been distinguished by high indicators. It houses 800 heads of cattle, including 440 dairy cows. This large black-and-white enterprise is serviced by 28 people under the caring leadership of Elena Glushakova. Her husband also works as an animal farmer, with over forty years in the agricultural sector. Elena Ivanova's parents also worked in agriculture: her father was a mechanizer, her mother worked in a crop cultivation brigade. Elena Ivanova's daughter works at the milk cooperative, and her granddaughter, who is only 13 years old, just like her grandmother, also longs for the farm.

– All summer I couldn't get away from it, – says the MTF foreman without any bitterness. – I brought water, swept floors, washed the equipment. There's no scolding for her, she simply can't stop helping her grandmother. She doesn't fear the animals. All my energy went into her!

A livestock farmer by trade...

(Note: The last sentence appears to be cut off mid-word in the source, likely "Животновод по призванию..." meaning "Livestock farmer by vocation..." or similar.)