One name, one enterprise, one drive to win. Young machine operators from the Druzhba poultry farm, Dmitry Gomza and Dmitry Savenok, know how to work quickly and with quality. During the harvest season, the two namesakes proved themselves from the best side both among the agrarians of the Baranavichy District and throughout the Brest Region. In the regional competition among young crews, Dmitry Gomza took first place, while Dmitry Savenok took second. A very worthy result!

Married to his work

We find Dmitry Gomza in the field, where the young man is busy sowing alfalfa: on the Belarus-3522 tractor, he confidently works hectare after hectare. It's immediately obvious that the machine operator is completely at home with the equipment. Dmitry dreamed of linking his life to agriculture since childhood: it is no surprise that after finishing secondary school in Kroshin, the young man enrolled in the Zhirovichi State Agricultural and Technical College.

"I've always wanted to work with machinery—after all, in the village where I grew up, tractors and combine harvesters were an ordinary sight. So I decided to become a mechanical engineer and I received that specialty at the educational institution. I returned to Kroshin, worked for two years as an engineer at the local farm. Then the Shchara-Agro closed joint-stock company offered me a job as chief engineer, but I didn't last long in that position—just a year. Dealing with organizational and technical issues quickly grew tiresome. It became clear that this kind of work was not for me, because I was always drawn to the field, I wanted to sit at the wheel of a combine or tractor myself and work the land," says Dmitry Gomza.

The young man's wish came true: five years ago he joined the ranks of machine operators. And now he is happy with this change in his life's path. Moreover, after the farm was joined to the Druzhba poultry farm, Dmitry received a new GS12A1 PRO combine, on which he has been harvesting grain for three years now. The machine performs admirably; this season it worked without breakdowns.

"Of course, I prepared it well for the harvest and tried it out during the winter barley harvesting," the machine operator recalls. "Then, as they say, I started picking up speed. I harvested rapeseed, wheat, triticale... By the way, rapeseed is harder to harvest than other crops: the oilseeds are small and you need to be attentive and careful to avoid losses. As for the cereal crops, there was no lodging, and the harvest went without problems. Only the spring wheat was a bit scorched, but overall the yield turned out to be decent. I managed to thresh 80–90 tons of grain per day, and once I even set a record—120 tons.

For Dmitry, his fifth harvest in his career turned out to be a fortunate one. He became the first young combine operator to reach the thousand-ton mark in the Baranavichy district. His total threshing amounted to approximately 2,586 tonnes of grain. This earned him a well-deserved first place in the region among youth crews.

The machine operator has to work a great deal, leaving virtually no time for personal life. But, as Dmitry Gomza jokes, he is married to his work. The young man admits that there's no need to rush things — everything comes gradually in life.

"About a year ago, I resolved my housing issue: I bought an apartment in Baranavichy. The management of the poultry farm also provides support — they never leave us without bonuses and awards. Many young people work at our enterprise. Probably, it's due to the proximity to the city and the good attitude toward workers. Senior colleagues are always ready to help and offer advice, and I'm also prepared to support anyone who comes to me for counsel. My own brother Viktor works here too — he's also a machine operator. Young people shouldn't be afraid of difficulties; the main thing is the desire to work, and the results will definitely come. We earn good wages: money can be made not only during the harvest, but also during sowing, plowing, cultivating... If you approach your work conscientiously, there won't be any problems. I'm not planning to rest on my laurels either: in the next season, I intend to improve my performance. I'll strive to put three thousand tonnes in the granaries," Dmitry Gomza sets his goal.

Best friend — the combine harvester

Another young machine operator, Dmitry Savenok, is also accustomed to working tirelessly. He works at the Staiki branch, but before ending up there, Dmitry had to overcome a long path.

The machine operator comes from the neighboring Ivatsevichi District, from the agro-town of Vulka-Obrovskaya. His parents worked at the local farm: his father Nikolai Alexandrovich as a machine operator and his mother Elena Ivanovna in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, his father passed away early, but he managed to instill a love of machinery in his son. So after school, Dmitry enrolled in the Ivatsevichi State Agricultural College without hesitation. There he acquired the specialties of welder and truck driver. After finishing his studies, he returned to his roots and worked for three years at the open joint-stock company "Pobeda." Then he worked as a log-truck driver and again as a machine operator, but this time in the Grodno Region — at the agricultural enterprise "Luki-Agro." It was there, in the Korelichi District, that he met his wife. But he still felt the pull of working in his home region, and finally, in 2023, Dmitry Savenok joined the ranks of machine operators at the "Druzhba" poultry farm. Moreover, he arrived just on the eve of the harvesting campaign. Since then, he has not missed a single one.

"For me, this is already my fourth harvest. Previously I worked as a combine harvester's assistant, but this year I took the wheel myself. My wife wanted to become an assistant, but things didn't quite work out — I had to work alone," says the machine operator. "In principle, the harvesting campaign went normally: there were few scorched areas, but there was plenty of lodging, especially among spring crops. Wheat was harvested best of all; it showed good yields."

Based on the results of the harvest, Dmitry managed to thresh 2,241 tons of grain. Such numbers don't surprise him. In previous years he also managed to surpass the two-thousand mark. Among the success factors, the machine operator cites good weather conditions and the readiness of the equipment. Dmitry speaks only positively about his GS12A1 combine harvester.

"He is my very best friend. Even though he's in his seventh year, he has never let me down. This season there were only a few minor breakdowns that we managed to fix quickly. Our combine is a domestic one, manufactured by 'Gomselmash.' It has a wide range of functions, and it's comfortable to work with. Excellent visibility from the workplace, video monitoring of the main components, an on-board computer, air conditioning, a refrigerator... In short, there is everything you need to achieve good results," the machine operator explains.

Interestingly, Dmitry Savenok lives in the Korelichi District, and getting to work is quite a distance. But the young man has no intention of leaving the enterprise that has become his home.

– The working conditions and salary suit me, there's a good psychological climate in the team, so I'm not planning to leave. I'll continue to gain experience and benefit the enterprise, – the machine operator summarized.

As noted by Yulia Sidorchuk, a youth engagement specialist at the Druzhba poultry farm, more than thirty young machine operators and drivers took part in this year's harvesting campaign at the enterprise's branches.

– Combine operators Dmitry Gomza and Dmitry Savenok worked on equal footing with their experienced colleagues and demonstrated their best qualities. These young people always work with great enthusiasm and zeal. They serve as a positive example for others, – Yulia Sidorchuk characterized the workers.

Nikolay YARMOSHUK

Photo by Aleksandr SHULGACH