The largest sown areas for grain crops in the district are allocated to the SFU "Zaazerye" – over two thousand hectares. We headed to one of the fields, located behind the village of Gorodets, together with the deputy director of the branch, Sergey Tsalyuk.
The largest sown areas for grain crops in the district are allocated to the SFU "Zaazerye" – over two thousand hectares. We headed to one of the fields, located behind the village of Gorodets, together with the deputy director of the branch, Sergey Tsalyuk. Upon arrival, we saw a wide field of almost 20 hectares, where the grain had already been harvested, with two combine harvesters finishing the last remnants. A MAZ truck with a trailer for grain transportation and a fire engine were parked at the edge.
Soon, the combine harvesters finished their rows and moved towards the trucks. The MAZ truck drove onto the field and stopped so that the combine harvesters could unload the grain into the truck beds simultaneously. Dark, ripe wheat grain poured from both sides. With a soft rustle, it filled the truck beds and the soul with confidence in the future, joy for a good harvest, and yield. Finally, the hoppers were unloaded, the field was completed, and it was time for a short break and a chat.
Vladimir Stadnik with his son Vladislav, and Ivan Buinitsky with Valeriy Lukin are working on the combine harvesters, and Nikolay Bolotnik is transporting the grain. The field covers 20 hectares.
This year is unusual, with almost all crops ripening simultaneously. Previously, winter rapeseed ripened first, and while it was being harvested, winter grains approached, followed by spring grains. This year, the ripening process has been compressed into one period. Both winter rapeseed and grains have ripened almost at the same time. We have to work hard now to harvest the crop with minimal losses.
The chief agronomist of SFU "Zaazerye", Vladimir Sudak, provided the following figures. In total, combine harvesters need to harvest grain on 2480 hectares this year. As of the morning of July 31, grain crops have been harvested on 250 hectares, which is 10 percent of the plan. One thousand tons of wheat grain have been threshed with an average yield of 28 centners per hectare.
Vasily MATYRKO.
Photos by the author.