On July 22, Minsk /Nadezhda Radivon - BELTA/. A headquarters to monitor the progress of the harvesting campaign has been established under the Council of Ministers, as reported to BELTA by Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Valery Ivanov. In the coming days, members of the government, as part of working groups, will visit regions to familiarise themselves with the state of affairs and the organisation of agricultural work on site. Farmers have been set the task of minimising losses and harvesting grain within optimal deadlines and to a high standard. Every favourable moment must be used, while each field should be approached individually, as uneven ripening of the grain fields is observed. The main criterion when making decisions should be an objective assessment of possible risks. The choice should favour minimising losses. "It is important to choose the right tactics. Having visited the Vitebsk region, we became convinced that weather conditions were not always used effectively, and delays entail missed opportunities and losses," believes Valery Ivanov. Currently, some managers are waiting for the moment when the ear is fully filled and the moisture content of the raw material decreases. "It is a mistake to wait until everything is fully ripe and gluten formation occurs. Some farms, possessing a good material and technical base, delay harvesting when the grain moisture content is 20%, waiting for the grain to dry further. In our opinion, this is a mistake in the conditions of the republic. A large part of the grown crop may be lost," is confident the Deputy Prime Minister. According to him, Belarus is in a zone of risky agriculture; there have been practically no years when natural elements have not disrupted the plans of farmers. Sunny days are quickly replaced by rainy ones, and during the harvest, squally downpours with hail and strong winds are not uncommon. Harvesting the entire crop at once is difficult even with a high level of technical equipment in farms. "The task is to harvest all ripe grain; grain drying and cleaning complexes must operate at full capacity, as must the machinery. Special pressure falls on specialists," said Valery Ivanov. Belarus expects to receive 9 million tonnes of grain in barn weight this year, including corn grain – this is the harvest, according to preliminary estimates, that is currently in the fields. Valery Ivanov once again emphasised the need to minimise losses. The progress of the harvest will be monitored by the established working groups until the campaign is completed. Everyone must be interested in collecting the grown crop, even if it entails additional costs.-0-