October dictates tough deadlines for farmers: how rural workers cope with this challenge

October for farmers is a month when the hands of the clock seem to accelerate the course in anticipation of the cold season. Large-scale two-vector work has now been launched on the Khoynik fields: while some crews are laying seeds in the soil for next year’s harvest, others are actively harvesting corn. The correspondent “R” went to the advanced farms of the district to see the autumn production processes with her own eyes.

Autumn pleases farmers with weathery days: the generous sun allows the technique to work at full strength, not to get stuck in the ground and clearly withstand technology. However, good weather is not a reason to relax, because the daylight is shorter.

The account of this valuable time is now conducted in the KSUP named after I. P. Melezh. The farm faces the task of sowing 1,530 hectares of winter wedge. The director of the enterprise Svetlana Kuzmenko clearly lays out the structure of the areas: 320 hectares are allocated under triticale, 420 - under winter barley, 20 hectares will occupy rye, and the main strategic bet here is made on winter wheat, under which 770 hectares are given.

- Weather contributes to our work, – said the head. The team has a task to complete the sowing in the optimal time. I am sure that the team will successfully cope with this so that the grain has time to reliably cling to the soil before the first frosts. Today or tomorrow we will put an end to the plan.

The agricultural calendar of the economy is painted far ahead. Winter sowing is only the first stage of a large complex of works. Next, the preparation of chicks for winter, the removal of organic matter to the fields and large-scale repair of equipment will begin, so that in the spring the cars enter the field without delay.

The mechanizer Vasily Pobydinsky is laying the foundation for the future crop in the fields, and he sows winter wheat while driving his MTZ-1221.

“I like working on the ground, so long as the technique does not fail,” the mechanizer smiles. The tractor works faultlessly, but the six-meter seeder we have “with character”, sometimes capricious, breaking the usual working rhythm. But time decides everything: the weather does not wait, you need to have time to fix the seeds in the soil while moisture is kept. We work on conscience, this sowing is a reserve for the whole next year.

The mechanizer wears his sonorous name with pride and admits that it helps him tune in to the result:

- Every day in the field is like a small battle for future bread, a rivalry with bad weather or the whims of metal. And when, by the end of the shift, the norm is fulfilled, and the seeds have fallen into the ground as expected, you understand: today you won. So I keep the Pobedinsky brand, I go only forward. On the lands of OJSC Veletin Agro, the work on creating fodder reserves is in full swing - a green sea of corn with an area of 2500 hectares has unfolded here. Director of the farm Alexander Kravchenko keeps under control the entire harvesting conveyor:

- We have already covered 81 percent of the area. Now all the forces are thrown to harvest juicy silo, because well-fed wintering of livestock is the basis of our economy. As soon as we close the trenches, we will proceed to the final stage - threshing of corn for grain, under which 100 hectares are allocated.

Valentin Kardash works on the transportation of crushed green mass from powerful combine harvesters. In the farm, he has been working without interruption since 2014, so the whole cycle knows to the smallest detail.

- Field weekdays are arranged as: first was on the harvest of haying, then made organic, then sowed corn, now here is a valuable green mass leader, and tomorrow again all in a new circle, says the driver.

While the corn silo comes directly into the body, Valentin admits that he sincerely loves his working days. On the best days, he managed to deliver a record 290 tons of green mass per shift to the trench.

The driver works from dawn to dawn, returning to the garage, when the last rays of the sun are already setting over the horizon. And after a working day in the fields, Valentin Kardash also brings order to his own farmstead, where pigs and chickens are waiting for him. While the wife is busy with the troubles in the house, all the hard men's work remains for the head of the family, who is not at all burdened with either fresh flour to grind, or potatoes in the yard to steam.

- You come from the shift tired, hug your beloved wife - and here it is, my simple happiness.

The driver discusses the state significance of his case without excessive pathos:

- Someone has to work on the ground. And since I took responsibility, it is impossible to let people and the country down. Only with this attitude will Belarus meet winter with a reliable food foundation, and people will always have milk, fresh meat, and fragrant bread on their tables.

KSTATI

According to the Committee on Agriculture and Food of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee, winter crops in the region were sown on an area of 208 thousand hectares, which is 84 percent of the planned volume. The leader in the pace of work was the Mozyr district, which fully completed the campaign.

At the same time, in the Gomel region, the plan for sowing winter barley was closed - more than 50 thousand hectares were allocated under it.

In parallel, farmers are actively harvesting corn. At the moment, 156.7 thousand hectares have been cut, which is 70 percent of the plan. 11.6 thousand hectares (or 18 percent) were threshed for grain, the gross harvest amounted to 54.2 thousand tons.

Special attention in the region is paid to seed corn - farms of raw areas have removed 62 percent of profile areas. In the account of the state order is uninterrupted shipment of cobs. Of the planned 14 thousand tons, 8 thousand tons of raw materials have already been delivered, which is 58 percent.

vaschenko@sb.by