11 September, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Farms in the Vitebsk region have begun the mass harvesting of corn, the Agriculture and Food Committee of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent. As of 11 September, a total of 8.2 thousand hectares of corn have been harvested in the region, or 8.6% of the planned area. The gross yield of green mass, including that used for fodder, has reached 212.7 thousand tonnes with an average yield of 259.5 centners per hectare. The most active harvesting of this crop is being carried out by farmers in the Rossony (36% of the area harvested), Dokshytsy (28.2%), and Braslav (23.3%) districts. Recently, farms in the Dubrovno, Liozno, Orsha, Postavy, Senno, and Tolochin districts have joined this work. Agricultural workers in the Beshenkovichi district have not yet started harvesting corn, as their efforts are currently focused on sowing winter grain crops. In the districts of the region, fodder preparation for livestock for the off-season continues. To date, farmers have collected 174.5 thousand tonnes of hay, 2.3 million tonnes of silage, 235.2 thousand tonnes of silage, including 142.8 thousand tonnes from corn. In total, 776.24 thousand tonnes of fodder units have been prepared, or 53.7% of the target. There are 16.68 centners of fodder units per conventional head of cattle, including 16.26 centners of fodder units for public livestock. The main agricultural work in the region is planned to be completed by 20 September.-0-

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