SMOLEVICHI DISTRICT, 21 February (BelTA) - This year and the new five-year period are not just about quality. They are about iron performance discipline, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during a visiting seminar on agriculture on 21 February, BelTA has learned.
The cattle wintering period is underway, the head of state said. In order to consider all wintering issues, the decision was taken to hold a visiting seminar for the presidential aides and authorized representatives in regions. “We are ‘market people’, deeply advanced. We have forgotten that milk and meat, including in winter, com from here. We often neglect problems and issues related to the wintering process,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The current winter period is the most acute one in comparison with December and January, the head of state said. He added, however, that frosts will not last long and spring will come in a couple of weeks.
“Wintering is underway. Today we will review this process and discuss how to organize this most acute period of winter, with fodder being already in small supply. We will discuss every issue related to today’s topic and listen to our scientists. They have the latest data. These are advanced people. They know how cattle should winter and how to ensure farms approach spring field work ready. They will provide the aides and authorized representatives with all necessary information. You, in turn, will monitor the organization of work in your regions and districts to see whether everything corresponds to what we have here [in the agricultural enterprise Shipyany-ASK which is hosting the seminar],” the Belarusian leader said.
“Today you need to listen and take notes. You need to conduct similar events in your regions. You also need to have governors and local authorities report to you. After that you will summarize everything you have learnt and report to me on the results of the cattle wintering period. We will see then who will get orders and medals, and who will get punished,” the head of state said.
The president said that not every aide or authorized representative of his was deeply immersed in agricultural issues. “Let us refresh our memory and start working. This year and the five-year period are not just about quality (this is our final result), but more about iron performance discipline. If there is no discipline, everything is in vain,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The agricultural enterprise Shipyany-ASK was founded by the Scientific and Practical Center on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. The main activities of the enterprise include milk production, cattle growing, grain, leguminous crops and rapeseed cultivation, seed production, and the development of fodder base for cattle breeding. In 2011 the enterprise launched the production of a variety of elite seeds.
The Alesino commercial dairy farm was commissioned in 2014. Its construction cost Br18 million. The farm includes two 400-head cowsheds, a maternity barn with a dry period area, a dairy milking block, and an administration building. There is also an area to grow calves and young stock.
The head of state was first briefed on the production activities of the enterprise and its development prospects. Then the participants of the event heard out the information from the Scientific and Practical Center on Animal Husbandry of the National Academy of Sciences on cattle keeping during the winter stall feeding period.
The president asked to report objectively and substantively on all existing problems. In particular, he mentioned the cases when directors of some agricultural enterprises were prohibited to sell cows that are no longer producing milk to a meat processing plant for the sake of preserving the number of dairy herds. Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that such an approach was absolutely unacceptable.
The head of state paid special attention to cattle keeping in terms of ensuring the maximum productive lifespan of cows. He noted that a cow should not be milked for a year or two only. For example, the productive lifespan of cows at the presidential farmstead lasts for at least 9-12 years. The cows produce up to 47 liters of milk per day, while farms have 15 liters per cow at the best.
In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the need for strict compliance with veterinary and sanitary rules of keeping and breeding cattle at livestock farms.
The Alesino commercial dairy farm, which the head of state inspected together with the seminar participants, keep Danish Red breed as part of the herd. Scientists started breeding them several years ago at the Ustye enterprise in Orsha District. However, the results of the experiment are still controversial. Aleksandr Lukashenko asked about the progress achieved in the work.
“The issue is of high importance as the Academy of Sciences has promised to do miracles in cattle breeding. Let us see how we progress here. We selected the best cows in Denmark and paid money for them. We bring them here and start rejecting. There should be minimum rejection here,” the president emphasized.
The Alesino commercial dairy farm includes two 400-head cowsheds, a maternity barn with a dry period area, a dairy milking block, and an administration building. There is also an area to grow calves and young stock.
The farm features an advanced system of animal housing, a special layout of premises and intensive resource-saving science-intensive technologies.
According to the head of the farm, the red cows show good results, and their milk is of high quality. It is the best for cheese production. “If it is for cheese, we should sell it to cheese-making enterprises,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Summing up the visit to the farm, the president tasked the participants of the seminar to monitor cattle keeping technologies at all the enterprises of the country: “It is very important. The main thing is discipline. It enhances technological discipline. If there is no technology, there is no milk and no cattle. All dairy cattle ration regulations should be met in full.”
The head of state emphasized that control should be exercised throughout the entire vertical of power, from the head of the region to the head of every farm and zootechnicians.
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