A strong chain from the field to financial and personnel stability is being forged by the agrarians of the northern region.

The sun is setting beyond the horizon, and work is in full swing in the field behind the agro-town of Novka, Vitebsk District. Combine operators of UP "Rudakovo", one of the largest farms not only in the Vitebsk region but also in the country, are working until dark. They have 7.6 thousand hectares to harvest. The wheat field is pleasing, so they need to hurry.

—Last year, we increased our land area by 2 thousand hectares, — says **the farm's director, Andrei Benko**. — And we sowed almost twice as much winter wheat. As it turned out, we didn't miscalculate. Here, in the Bykova Gora tract, the yield is about 45 centners. But 30-40 percent of the seed plots are ready to yield 60 or even 70 centners per hectare.

Rudakovo has every chance to achieve a gross harvest of 35 thousand tons, compared to 19.6 thousand in 2021. This will be quite enough to meet its own needs, sell over 3 thousand tons of elite seeds to other enterprises, and fulfill the state order of 2.3 thousand tons.

The expansion of land has made it possible to increase the cattle population by a thousand head at once. Now, the total herd numbers 14 thousand cows, heifers, and calves.

All farm workers, including young people, understand the importance of quality work in the fields. For **Vladislav Artemyev**, this is his first season.

— Everything is great, — jokes the former agricultural college graduate. — I'm 25 years old, and the combine is 20. We've become friends! Despite its age, the equipment is in good condition. I worked on chemical weeding. So, I had to hurry with the repairs. I got the combine back in service in three days. My father is a combine operator in the Senno District. I often went out to the field with him, so harvesting is not new to me. And here, of course, my senior colleagues are helping. Look, my mentor is driving behind me.

The mentor is **Mikhail Frichkov**. He is 65. He retired in the spring but is now back at the helm.

— I'm working under a contract, for the duration of the harvest. My "Mega" has also turned 20, who else would I leave it to? — he worries. —
What could be more important in Belarus today than the harvest? It's our food security, the guarantee of independence. Let the Europeans fight for bread, but we have everything of our own. Those who work, eat.
— In total, the farm has 24 combines, — explains Andrei Benko. — It so happened that the youngest and most experienced grain growers are working on the oldest...old units and side by side. They work excellently, by the way. 26 MAZ trucks and tractors are used for haulage. The drying facilities are quite powerful – 600 tons per day.

Thanks to a well-thought-out development strategy, both employees stay with the farm and young people strive to join "Rudakovo". By the way, an excellent incentive has been devised here for combine operators: all machine operators working on "aged" equipment receive additional bonuses. A hundred percent compensation is provided for an absent assistant. And after harvesting the first thousand tons, the rates for each of the 24 combine operators increase by 50 percent.