The current agricultural season has once again proven that the north of Belarus is a zone of risky farming. This time, heavy rains, saturating the soil with excess moisture, presented challenges to the farmers. Precipitation significantly shifted the start dates of the harvest and subsequently affected the pace of harvesting. Machine operators nervously watched the sky, which clouded over every other day. Heavy machinery was on standby to pull combine harvesters out of the sticky soil if necessary. Some fields had to be entered multiple times, first threshing the higher areas and leaving the lower ones to dry. Nevertheless, 1005 thousand tons of grain and oilseed rape were threshed (888 thousand tons of grain and over 117 thousand tons of oilseed rape).
On the eve of the regional festival-fair of agricultural workers, "Vitebskiye Vesti" asked the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, to summarize the results of the harvesting campaign.
– Alexander Mikhailovich, how seriously did the weather affect the grain production plans?
– This year, we planned to reach the level of 1 million tons of grain, for which a large set of preparatory works was carried out. The necessary volume of own quality seeds has been procured. Issues of providing machine operators and diesel fuel were resolved in a timely manner. Sowing was carried out within the established deadlines. For the 2025 harvest, 118.4 thousand tons of active substance of mineral fertilizers were accumulated and applied, which is 141% compared to last year. The readiness of agricultural machinery was maintained at the proper level. By the way, within the framework of implementing programs for equipping agricultural enterprises of the Vitebsk region with machinery, over 1 thousand modern high-performance machines were purchased this year for a total amount of almost 204 million rubles. To date, 757 units have been received, including 128 grain harvesting combine harvesters that participated in the 2025 harvest.
With a plan of 100 thousand tons, we harvested 117.5 thousand tons of oilseed rape (the 100 thousand ton mark was overcome for the first time since 2020). The average yield was also record-breaking – 18.1 centners per hectare, with the previous maximum of 16.8 centners per hectare in 2023.
I believe that the results achieved were the maximum possible under extreme weather conditions, when from mid-May to the first decade of August – practically the entire growing season – heavy rains occurred in the region, especially in the western areas.
The agricultural workers of the Vitebsk region have made a worthy contribution to the republican harvest, primarily ensuring the country's food security and providing feed for the livestock industry, which generates the main income for agricultural enterprises.
– This year, we received assistance from other regions of Belarus…
– Yes, that's correct. We were shared the most valuable resources – machinery and the best machine operators – by the Mogilev, Grodno, Minsk, and Gomel regions, for which we are immensely grateful. For almost two weeks, with breaks between rains, over thirty grain harvesting combines operated in the Vitebsk, Sharkovshchyna, Braslav, Lepel, and Glubokoye districts. In total, the crews engaged from other regions harvested over 3.6 thousand hectares, yielding more than 9.5 thousand tonnes of grain.
It should be noted that this year, more than ever before, inter-farm and inter-district transfer of machinery was utilized. Thus, thanks to high organisation and understanding of the situation's complexity, we collectively gathered the harvest.
– However, there are farms that set a high standard even in difficult conditions.
– Among those who achieve consistently high results year after year are SPC "Larinovka" (gross harvest 11.6 thousand tonnes, yield 82.9 c/ha) and JSC "Agrokombinat "Yubileiny" (40.6 thousand tonnes, 63.1 c/ha) of the Orsha district, SHP "Mazolovo-gaz" of PRUP "Vitebskoblgaz" (5.4 thousand tonnes, 56.3 c/ha) of the Vitebsk district, SHF "Klevtsy" of KUP "Vitebskobldorstroy" (4.9 thousand tonnes, 46.3 c/ha) of the Liozno district, and JSC "Khotily-Agro" (11.5 thousand tonnes, 59.4 c/ha) and "Novoselki-Luchai" (16.3 thousand tonnes, 46 c/ha) of the Postavy district.
The result of JSC "Vitebsk Broiler Poultry Factory" deserves special mention, with a gross harvest of 61 thousand tonnes (previously the maximum was 54.5 thousand tonnes in 2022) at an average yield of 49.1 c/ha. In terms of grain yield, one enterprise surpassed the results of 17 districts (!). Every fifteenth tonne of the regional harvest comes from Vitebsk Broiler Poultry Factory. The enterprise also has the best performance in rapeseed harvesting, yielding 9.1 thousand tonnes at a yield of 24.6 c/ha.
Over a thousand combine crews worked on the harvest. The absolute leader is Maksim Sernov from JSC "Agrokombinat "Yubileiny" of the Orsha district, who harvested 4.5 thousand tonnes of grain and rapeseed on his KZS-2124 "Polesie" combine, exceeding his previous year's performance by 900 tonnes.
– How significant was the assistance from city dwellers?
– No matter how high-performance modern machinery is, humans are indispensable in the fields. Representatives of enterprises, organizations, and educational institutions traditionally assist rural residents during the most crucial periods: sowing, fodder harvesting, and crop gathering. They work as machine operators, drivers, and mechanics. Over 600 people were involved in the current harvest, and more than 250 units of machinery were deployed to farms.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the heads of industrial enterprises, organizations, and educational institutions that provided assistance to rural residents. Special gratitude goes to those specialists who worked directly in the fields.
– Alexander Mikhailovich, what will you remember about this agricultural season?
– First and foremost, for the high degree of professionalism, competent organization, labour, and technological discipline demonstrated at all levels – from machine operators and specialists to industry leaders. We achieved this result through collective effort.
– What are your wishes for the grain growers on the eve of "Dazhynki"?
– Dear field workers! You are united by your work on the land for the sake of the country's food security. Your successes are of great importance for the economic development of the Vitebsk region and social stability in the region. You have passed a difficult test with dignity! May your homes be filled with warmth, abundance, comfort, and coziness! May the weather always be favourable, and may the land respond to your care with generous gifts and rich harvests!
vitebsk-region.gov.by
