In the Shchuchin district, OAO “Vasilishki” is in the midst of a meticulously orchestrated autumn campaign. A standout success is the onion harvest, where the farm has dedicated 16 hectares—an expansion of 6 hectares from the previous season. Leveraging four different varieties, the farm is achieving impressive yields. While last year’s harvest reached 56 tonnes per hectare, the current harvest is tracking strongly at 50 tonnes per hectare. A key to this efficiency is technological adaptation: the farm uses a modern potato harvester fitted with a specialized onion attachment, which speeds up the process, reduces labor costs, and minimizes damage to the bulbs, allowing the team to harvest approximately one hectare per day.
However, the onion harvest is just one component of a vast operational puzzle running in parallel. The farm is simultaneously executing three other critical tasks:
- Sowing Winter Grains: The farm is well ahead on its plan to sow 5,400 hectares of winter grains, with over 66% of the area already completed.
- Harvesting Industrial Crops: The harvest of 600 hectares of sugar beet is 48% complete, and 250 hectares of sunflower are being gathered, with yields outperforming last year’s results.
- Securing Fodder: To feed its substantial livestock population of over 17,000 cattle and 82,000 pigs, the farm is utilizing 8 forage harvesters to secure 73,000 tonnes of silage and 65,000 tonnes of haylage.
This integrated model creates synergistic efficiencies. For instance, fields cleared of sugar beet are immediately replanted with winter grains, utilizing the beet’s value as a excellent precursor crop. The farm is also innovating within its fodder program, experimenting with 500 hectares of green-cut rye for haylage to provide early-spring feed.
The operational landscape at OAO “Vasilishki” is a powerful case study in managing agricultural complexity. Its success is not rooted in excelling at a single task, but in the seamless integration of multiple, simultaneous workflows. The key takeaways for large-scale producers are the critical importance of strategic machinery investment (like the customized onion harvester), the efficiency gains from a diversified, integrated crop-livestock system, and the value of continuous agronomic experimentation. This holistic approach allows the farm to mitigate risks, capitalize on synergies between different branches of its operation, and ultimately navigate the immense pressures of the autumn season with confidence.
