Despite a number of difficulties, all agricultural organizations in the district have started the harvest.
Despite a number of difficulties, all agricultural organizations in the district have started the harvest. Almost all have finished with winter rapeseed, and the combines are gradually moving on to rye and wheat fields. There was only one snag – traditionally, the official start of the harvest needed to be held, but the reason for the delay of the event, as for the agricultural workers of Lepel region in general, was one – unfavorable weather. Every day, rain prevented the combines from going out into the fields. It seemed that in the morning the weather was setting in, the sky was clearing, the sun was peeking from behind the clouds, but at noon the clouds turned into storm clouds, the sun hid behind them, and downpours poured onto the earth. Finally, a fine day was found to gather together in the field and give a solemn start to the 2019 harvest campaign. This year, the official district harvest start ceremony was held at the agricultural unitary enterprise “Prazhektor-Agro”, and a rye field near the village of Stalyugi was chosen as the location.
Six combines lined up at the edge of the field, next to them were a MAZ truck and a tractor with a trailer, ready to receive tons of grain of the new harvest. For the occasion, the machine operators put on new work suits, everyone was in high spirits – it was a celebration! The combine operators had already repaired their machines and tested them on rapeseed and the first hectares of grain crops; everything was working properly. Although the agricultural machinery is quite old, from five to fifteen years old, it still works well in reliable and experienced hands. Vladimir Polovtsev, the chief agronomist of the farm, spoke about the start of the sowing campaign:
-- We started, as it should be, with winter rapeseed. We harvested it all in a few days and moved on to grain crops. Here we had to choose what to harvest first, wheat or rye? We tried both. Rye yielded 25-26 centners per hectare, in some places up to 30, while winter wheat yields up to 35 c/ha. As we can see, wheat is more productive, so we switched to harvesting it first; good harvests cannot be left in the field for too long.
The rye field was chosen for the solemn harvest start ceremony for the following reason – excessive moisture. Winter wheat at “Prazhektor-Agro” is mainly sown near Sloboda and the nearby villages, and the soils there are clayey, oversaturated with recent rains. The lands of the former collective farm “Radzima”, which includes the village of Stalyugi, are sandy and absorb excess water well. Combines and other equipment will not get stuck in such soil, and there will be no need to tow them.
The zazhynki (start of harvest) was attended by Igor Moroz, Head of the District Agricultural Department, and Igor Urban, Chairman of the District Council of Deputies. The honour of cutting the first sheaf was entrusted to the elder residents of the village of Stai: Halina Fokina, Valentina Smazheuskaya, and Zinaida Kulesh. The women sang an ancient ritual song, which traditionally marked the beginning of the harvest:
Go away, God, the cloud to that side,
To that side, God grant us fair weather,
God grant us fair weather for this work,
So that the field is bountiful and the work is productive.
The first rye sheaf was presented to Igor Moroz. According to tradition, the sheaf is to be kept at home in the krasny kut (icon corner) under the icons until the next harvest. It is a symbol of the harvest, abundance, and prosperity, a living illustration of the folk wisdom: “There will be bread – there will be a song.”
Priest Ioann Vabishchevich recited a short prayer and blessed the machinery so that God's blessing and help would favour this sacred endeavour.
The ceremonial part was not prolonged. This is understandable, as the busy season naturally urges one to make the most of every fine moment. Alyaksandr Dzyamko, Director of UP “Prazhektar-Ahra”, briefly commanded:
“We have grown a decent harvest. Now the most important thing is to gather it with minimal losses. So that people can endure, so that the machinery does not fail. We have done all we could, now it is time to finish. Let’s go, with God!”
The powerful engines of the combine harvesters roared to life, and the machines calmly and smoothly entered the rye field. The headers cut the ears of grain, and the first kernels poured into the hoppers – it is always a pleasure to watch the hard work of the grain growers. This epic scene inspires a sense of thoroughness, confidence, and at the same time, charges with life-giving energy.
Meanwhile, a moment was found to talk with the reapers. Halina Savelyevna Fokina recalls:
“What happiness it is – powerful combine harvesters that harvest and thresh the grain at once. In my youth, I managed to scythe so much with this sickle! We reaped rye by hand, tied it into sheaves, which dried in the field, and then they were taken to the threshing floor. Our collective farm had a steam thresher, which was a great help to us at that time, as otherwise, we would have had to thresh with flails, again by hand. First, we threshed rye and winter wheat to obtain seeds for sowing winter crops. Then, we could postpone the threshing until a freer time. The sheaves lay under the roof in the barn, and their threshing could begin in mid-autumn and continue until mid-winter.”
Valentina Yakaŭleŭna adds:
-- It's easier to harvest when the ears of corn stand straight. If they are tangled, it was difficult. Even under Stalin, collective farms were given such a task: harvest your strip, then go over it again and pick up the fallen ears of corn. And God forbid you take even one ear of corn home – you'd be imprisoned! But now the combine harvester reaps and threshes everything at once – it's simply a song.
Combine operators, agronomists, and farm managers, in their conversations, unanimously expressed one wish above all: for prolonged warm dry weather to set in. Only in this case is there a guarantee that the harvest will be gathered within optimal deadlines and with minimal losses.
Vasily MATYRKA.
