At the dairy and product complex of JSC “Iskra‑Vetka” in the agrarian town of Prisno, 17 people work. Under their care are 711 heads of livestock, including 315 milking cows. Across the entire enterprise, the herd exceeds five thousand. It is here, in this section, that two of our heroines work.

Team leader Elena Popchenko has been in animal husbandry for more than 25 years, six of which have been at the complex. Her day starts at 4:30 a.m. with a walk of the calves: she needs to check whether the young ones are fed and whether their bedding is fresh. Elena treats the animals with care and notices any changes in their behavior immediately. Moreover, she is the “conductor” of the shift: she assigns tasks, monitors indicators, and if necessary, takes on any job without hesitation. For her, the farm is a living organism that requires constant oversight.

Livestock keeper and machine milking operator Lyubov Voronaya entered the profession deliberately — her mother was also a milker, and her father was a livestock keeper. In 2025, for her conscientious work, Lyubov Ivanovna’s portrait was placed on the district Hall of Fame

Her workday begins at four in the morning. Distributing milk, warming milk, feeding calves, and handing out feed are scheduled down to the minute. She trusts no one with her foster women. The foreman recalls that once Lyubov Ivanovna worked for a month almost without days off, arriving at the farm three times a day to feed the animals on time. If a calf falls ill, she cries, caring for it like a child: she brews chamomile and watches its treatment. In her memory forever remain the favorites: Petya, born weighing ten kilograms, and Marusya – an unusual calf with three ears.

Lyubov Ivanovna’s own children chose city life. But the working dynasty at JSC “Iskra‑Vetka” continues through relatives: her niece and daughter‑in‑law work as machine milking operators, and her nephew is a tractor driver. Her husband also worked on the farm as a waterman,