The first combine harvester operator to reach a thousand-tonne milestone was honoured in the Vitebsk region.
The first combine harvester operator to reach a thousand-tonne milestone was honoured in the Vitebsk region.
Andrei Belyaev, a tractor driver-machinist of JSC "Vitebsky Meat Packing Plant", threshed over 1,000 tonnes of rapeseed in three farms in the Sennensky district. The mechaniser was congratulated on the first significant milestone of the current harvest by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Sherstnev, and representatives of the district executive committee, the trade union organisation, and the enterprise.
"In recent years, crop growers have been showing excellent results in harvesting not only on the best lands but also in weaker agricultural regions. For the first time, we have a thousand tonnes, not of grain, but of rapeseed, here in the Sennensky district. Such a result does not come by itself: it is the result of technology, the work of the agronomist, the mechaniser, and the local authorities," emphasised Nikolai Sherstnev.
The head of the regional executive committee noted the difficult conditions under which the farmers have to work. "The grain harvesting has started everywhere in the region, but due to the weather, it has not yet unfolded on a large scale: combines go out to the fields for a week, but in some regions, they return empty-handed due to rain. During this time, only 5% of the areas have been harvested – the same amount that is harvested in our fields in a day with good weather. Of course, this is worrying. There are many grain areas that are already lying down and overgrown. On some fields, grain is sprouting in the ear. Losses are already inevitable. At the same time, the forecast for next week is encouraging, so we need to use every hour, every minute as effectively as possible," stressed the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee.
Nikolai Sherstnev has no doubts about the latter: in the afternoon, the second thousand-tonne crew appeared in the fields of the Orsha agro-union, and next week the region should see the first crew that has threshed over 1,000 tonnes of grain.