Head of the farm "Bugagroinvest" Yuri Fedkovich - about difficult decisions and sustainability of business

15 years ago Yuri Fedkovich founded the farm "Bugagroinvest" and engaged in the cultivation of apples. Today, he has a modern intensive garden in the Kamenetsky district, where up to 60 tons of fruits per hectare are obtained, and young cherry plantations are gaining strength nearby. The plans are to build a fruit storage with a regulated gas environment and master new berry crops. They learned how the former officer came to agriculture, why the first landings had to be uprooted and what qualities the leader values in people above professionalism.

Head of the economy Yuri Fedkovich. From officers to gardeners, Yuri Fedkovich grew up in the city village of Logishin of the Pinsk district. After school he entered the Minsk Higher Military-Political Combined Arms School. From 1987 to 1992 he served in the army in officer positions. Admittedly, if not for the collapse of the Soviet Union, probably would have continued a military career — the service developed well.

But in the early 1990s, life had to be rebuilt.

- Imagine 1992, my wife is out of work, two children. Yesterday you were an officer, and today you are a completely free person and practically no one needs you. There was no choice to sit still, recalls Yuri Ivanovich.

He went into the furniture business. It was this case that subsequently allowed to accumulate funds for a new direction. The idea to connect life with work on the land arose not by chance: Yuri Fedkovich comes from rural areas and has always been interested in agriculture. Finally, the example of a friend who, in parallel with the main activity, laid his own garden helped to determine.

In 2011, the Bugagroinvest farm was registered. At that time, his main activity was the cultivation of fruits, nuts and other crops.

- I found gardening really interesting. The topic of agriculture has always been close to me. So we decided to plant a garden, says the head.

The site, which eventually received Bugagroinvest, was difficult to call fertile. The land was estimated at about 24 points, it met sand, clay, thickets and irregularities. The territory had to be cleared, tidyed up and put in order.

The first apple trees were planted in 2012. For eight hectares, seedlings were purchased. However, a few years later it became clear that the expected returns, unfortunately, they will not provide.

- Five years later, these trees produced about five tons of apples per hectare. Imported seedlings in the third year showed about 30 tons. I had to make a decision. Of course, it was a pity: eight hectares of land, five years of labor, considerable investments. But holding on to inefficient landings just because money has already been spent on them is wrong. We uprooted the trees and built a new garden. Never regretted it, says Yuri Fedkovich.

To understand the intricacies of gardening had at the same time in books and in practice. Representatives of the farm traveled a lot, learned from Belarusian specialists, communicated with European scientists and practitioners. Some of them eventually became friends of Yuri Ivanovich.

There is a weather station in the garden. It monitors the state of the environment around the clock, and transmits the information received to specialists. Based on these data, the farm receives information about the risks of disease spread and recommendations for plant protection.

- Of course, there were my own mistakes. Without them, there is no experience. The main thing is to recognize in time that the decision does not work, correct it and move on, the head argues. The advantage of modern garden Yuri Fedkovich explains simple arithmetic. In traditional plantings on a hectare, about 1,600 apple trees were placed, in intensive ones - about 2,500. At the same time, the cost of processing the territory does not differ as much as the potential yield. - The sprayer still passes one hectare. In one case alone, it handles 1,600 trees and in the other, 2,500. The cost of protection from diseases, pests and fertilizers is comparable, while fruit-bearing trees are 50 percent higher. An effective garden is, first of all, the effective use of land, the interlocutor emphasizes. Today in the apple orchard grow varieties of different ripening periods. Among the early - "pyros", and among the later - "honey Crisp", "Golden Delicious", "ligol", "red chief", "gloster", "aidared" and others.

Cleaning of early apples begins in the early days of August, late - about mid-September. They are trying to finish the season by November. During the mass harvest in the garden involved from 60 to 70 people. There are eight platforms: half helps to remove apples from the upper tiers, the rest are used to harvest fruits from below.

The crop is sorted straight away. Smaller apples are sent for industrial processing - for the production of juices, purees, jam and baby food. Quality commercial fruits are sent for storage and subsequent sale.

According to Yuri Fedkovich, an intensive garden with an area of 60 hectares at full capacity can produce about 3 thousand tons of apples. But gardening does not tolerate accurate forecasts, since the final result depends not only on human labor. For all the time of work, Yuri Fedkovich will not remember two identical seasons. Every year brings a new challenge: frost, hail, plant diseases. Last season was particularly difficult. Spring frosts almost destroyed the flowers. If a year earlier, the farm collected about a thousand tons of apples, then after frost - only 60 tons.

At the same time, garden care cannot be stopped even in the absence of a harvest. Trees still need to be protected from pests and diseases and fertilizers. It is necessary to fill the equipment and pay salaries to employees. Monthly expenses of the farm, according to the head, are at least 100 thousand rubles.

This spring, the frosts returned, but were weaker. Workers prepared tractors and trailers, bred controlled sources of smoke and moved around the garden, trying to raise the temperature around the trees.

- Last year, two nights were about minus ten. At such a temperature on an area of more than 100 hectares, almost nothing can be done. The garden is not a greenhouse. This time it was about minus four. We used equipment, fumigated landings. Better to do something than just watch. And this time it worked, notes Yuri Ivanovich.

For already harvested varieties, the yield in some quarters reached about 60 tons per hectare. Therefore, the farm expects to exceed the result of a thousand tons, although they are in no hurry with final forecasts.

Alexandra Kovalchuk, gardener. Agriculture is always associated with risk: the harvest will not grow, then there are difficulties with implementation. You need to constantly adapt to the circumstances and look for a solution, the farmer believes. To focus on one culture in “Bugagroinvest” do not intend. Diversification allows you to evenly distribute the load on employees and equipment.

The season begins with cherry harvesting, which ripens already in June. In August comes the time of early apples, since September, late and winter varieties are harvested. This allows the team to work for most of the year.

About 40 hectares of cherry are laid in the farm, some of the young plantations have already given the first result. The next stage may be the cultivation of black currants and blueberries. The final decision has not yet been made, but there are free spaces for further development.

The earth has not been idle until now. On the plots that are not yet occupied by gardens and buttocks, corn is grown - about 135 hectares. The farm independently processes the fields, and the neighboring agricultural enterprise helps to remove the crop, since the farmer does not have his own harvester.

- The land should not be empty. If we are not ready to lay a garden or buttock on the site, it should still work. But our main direction is gardening, so we will gradually move in this direction, explains Yuri Fedkovich.

The calculations confirm this choice. According to the manager, the return from berry crops can be much higher than from corn. However, serious investments are also required: new plantations need technique, sprayers, watering and protection. The main project of Bugagroinvest today was the construction of its own fruit storage with a regulated gas environment. It will allow you to save apples until late spring, without losing their commercial qualities. While part of the harvest is placed in the storage of OAO Ostromechevo. Between the farms formed not only business, but also long-standing friendly relations. Agricultural enterprises help each other with equipment and solve common production issues.

However, the further development of the garden without its own storage facility, Yuri Fedkovich considers it impossible: The technological chain must be completed in everything. When there is only a garden, after cleaning, you are forced to sell the apple immediately - exactly when the offer is maximum and the price is minimal. The vault allows you to safely wait for winter or spring. Only when you have both a garden and a modern fruit storage facility can you truly call it a sustainable business. At the beginning, the task seemed easier. The farmer planted the first 30 hectares and was already mentally calculating future profits. In practice, the road to its own storage stretched for almost 15 years. Construction began only at the end of 2023. The project requires significant investment. A credit line of 11.4 million rubles was allocated to the economy, although the final cost of the facility is still being specified.

- When you start, everything looks great on the calculator. Multiply the estimated crop by the price, and you already feel rich. Then it turns out how much machinery, fuel, protective equipment, workers and infrastructure is behind each kilogram of apples. There are a lot of nuances in gardening, Yuri Ivanovich smiles. The approach of Yuri Fedkovich to the formation of the team is based primarily on human qualities. The main criterion for hiring is not education or even professional experience:

- I select people according to three qualities: decency, honesty and professionalism. And that's exactly the sequence. I hold to a simple principle: if a bear is taught to ride a bicycle in a circus, a person can be taught almost anything. You cannot only teach honesty and honesty. It is laid in childhood, depends on parents and upbringing. If a person is decent and honest, he can become a specialist. And with a professional who behaves dishonestly, we are not in the way.

Some employees have been working at Bugagroinvest since 2012. During this time, the team, of course, changed: not everyone was ready to accept the requirements of the head and the specifics of seasonal work.

Yuri Ivanovich calls himself a fairly democratic leader. He tries to talk to employees calmly and trustingly, but warns that kindness cannot be perceived as weakness.

- Sometimes people start to see how far they can go. These experiments usually end quickly. The leader must hear the person, but at the same time must demand the result, he said.

15 years in gardening taught the former officer the main thing – ready-made recipes do not happen here. You can study the experience of colleagues, install a modern weather station, purchase equipment and accurately observe the technology, but the last word often remains with the weather. But that's no reason to stop. After the completion of the construction of the fruit storage, it will be possible not only to increase production, but also to choose the most suitable time for the implementation of the harvest.

Yuri Fedkovich associates his formula for success with responsibility, the ability to learn and the willingness to act in a difficult situation:

- On my way there were people who did not take my hand and did not lead to the finished result, but simply showed where to go. Then I had to do everything myself. Perhaps the army taught not to sit still and not give up. And the garden taught patience: planting a tree is not enough - you need to take care of it for years, correct mistakes and wait for the result. Sometimes you think how much trouble there is. But then you see the harvest and you know what you're working for.

DOSYE

Yuri Fedkovich was born on March 2, 1966, grew up in the town of Logishin, Pinsk district. He graduated from the Minsk Higher Military-Political Combined Arms School. From 1987 to 1992 he served in the army in officer positions. After completing the service, he started entrepreneurship, developed the furniture business. In 2011 he founded the farm "Bugagroinvest". The main direction of the economy is the cultivation of fruits and berries. Yuri Fedkovich is also a deputy of the Brest City Council of Deputies of the 29th convocation.

bogdan@sb.by