Harvest season tolerates no delays. While the combine is moving across the field, there must already be a vehicle ready to receive the grain and deliver it to the drying complex. Any delay here is measured not in minutes, but in losses.

In this campaign, first place in the district competition for achieving high results in the harvesting of grain and legume crops among drivers transporting grain from combines was taken by Alexey Kolotov, a driver of the agricultural cooperative 'Ovsyanka named after I. I. Melnik'.

He has over four decades of experience. Alexey Mikhailovich joined the farm after school, in 1985. Before the army he worked as a tractor driver, and he mastered the driver's profession during his service. Returning home, he received a vehicle from the farm chairman and has remained behind the wheel ever since.

His constant helper during harvest is a ZIL-554, a reliable dump truck familiar to every rural driver. Alexey Kolotov personally maintains the equipment: he checks it on time, repairs it, and prepares it for the intense season.

"The reliability of the machine during harvest is crucial at 100 percent. Everything must be in order," says Alexey Mikhailovich.

During the harvest period, the workday began at seven in the morning. First – delivering grain from the drying complex, then – to the field. On hot days, the number of trips depended on distance, yield, and the combine's work pace: sometimes up to twelve trips could be made, sometimes only a few. The main point, emphasizes the driver, is to arrive at the combine on time to avoid its downtime.

During this harvest campaign, Alexey Kolotov transported about 1,785 tons of grain. There were also unforeseen situations – for example, wheel damage. But there was no time to lose: he repaired it on site and then set out again on a run.

For Alexey Mikhailovich, winning first place in the district competition can be called a tradition – he has been among the leaders for the