Miory Regional Executive Committee

Beginning seasonal preparations earlier has become the strategy chosen by Ushachy agrarians this year to ensure the spring sowing campaign is conducted promptly and to the highest quality standards. Even the state technical inspection in the district will now be held not in March, as was previously the case, but at the end of winter. The District Executive Committee has approved a schedule according to which the commission will commence inspections on February 20. One of this year's innovations is that complex repairs are carried out at specialized centers where machinery from across the region is concentrated. How this works in practice and where else time and funds are saved was examined at the Ushachy JSC "Ilyushinsky".

With the enterprise director Sergey Khalimonenko, we head to the machinery yard. Here they are restoring a mineral fertilizer spreader, and an "Amkodor" is also undergoing repair: this unit did not sit idle for a single day, so it became necessary to service its hydraulic system. High-power machinery is stored under a canopy that was repaired several years ago. Sergey Anatolyevich shows off a freshly painted seeder and asks us to estimate its age. We were unable to guess correctly, as it looks practically brand new.

— In fact, the wear and tear on this unit is around 100 percent, — the manager explains the nuances. — We sent it for major overhaul to the Vitebsk Motor Repair Plant, and as a result received practically a new unit. At the same time, they returned the old parts to us: we can sell them and fulfill the scrap metal collection plan. It is highly economical: buying a new one costs 160 thousand rubles, while a major overhaul costs around 120 thousand.

In addition to the motor repair plant, the farm also cooperates with JSC "Zapadno-Dvinskiy MRS" and "AMKODOR-Vitebsk", sending equipment for repair, including machinery with wear exceeding 80 percent. Chief Engineer of "Ilyushinsky" Andrey Pyatnitsa adds that, since the farm submitted applications among the first in the region, the major overhaul of their MTZ-3522 is already complete. Imported engines, which currently cost around 28 thousand rubles, are being replaced here with YMZ analogs priced at 12 thousand — more reliable and cost-effective. The enterprise also sent two engines from decommissioned KZS-1218 combines to the plant; they will be repaired and retrofitted for installation on high-power tractor. This service has appeared not so long ago and has attracted the interest of agrarians from many agricultural organizations in the region.

— Timely maintenance will allow us to start field work within optimal timeframes, — notes the young specialist. — At the beginning of the season, we usually organize two-shift operations. We attract employees of the Ushachy Forestry Enterprise for assistance. Overall, a solid core of machine operators has been formed. We try to schedule vacations between the completion of autumn field work and the end of January. Last year, two individuals under our supervision obtained new categories for working as machine operators at the Ushachy Educational Complex.

Taking this opportunity, I ask the young man what conditions were provided to him at his first workplace. It turns out he is very satisfied: the agricultural enterprise allocated a separate house. Overall, last year 15 young specialists joined the enterprise, including a lawyer, an economist, and an energy engineer.

The farm's plans for spring are serious. And foremost — to sow more corn: not 330, but 400 hectares. For the first time, they plan to allocate up to 100 hectares to alfalfa to ensure livestock receives high-quality forage crops.

Yulia Ladnova, First Deputy Chairman and Head of the Department of Agriculture and Food of the Ushachy District Executive Committee, notes that preparations for spring field work in the district are being taken seriously. From the district budget, approximately 500 thousand rubles have been allocated overall for the needs of agrarians (for repairs, purchase of compound feed for calves, and molasses). Agrarians in the district have sent 14 units of equipment to JSC "Zapadno-Dvinsky MRS", the Vitebsk Motor Repair Plant, and JSC "AMKODOR-Vitebsk". Of 77 tractors, 70 are already operational, which is 91 percent of the total. High-power machinery — 12 out of 15 are in service, the rest are undergoing repairs. Of 19 plows, 15 are fully ready for spring.

— We started work a month earlier than in 2023, which is why the results are quite good, — evaluates Yulia Mikhailovna. — About 30 percent are repaired at designated repair sites in Vitebsk, tillage implements — 70 percent. Funds are distributed evenly among agricultural organizations, and we assist everyone. We hope to get into the field on time. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has set the task to ensure 100 perreadiness of machinery by the second half of March.

FIGURE

By the spring season, it is planned to repair approximately 1,500 tractors, 254 loaders, and more than a thousand fertilizer spreaders, sprayers, tillage, and seeding units in farms across the Vitebsk region.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by