On the site of the agricultural company "August-Muslyum" with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan and the administration of the Muslyumovsky district July 10 there will be a field day. The event is organized by a large Russian manufacturer of plant protection products JSC Firm "August" and the management company (UK) "August-Agro", created to develop its own agricultural business "Augusta". Field Day will focus on the use of no-till farming technology in a crop rotation saturated with high-margin crops. For participants, a demonstration of industrial crops of sunflower, rape, winter and spring wheat, barley, an experimental field (127 plots), as well as an inspection of elements of production infrastructure, agricultural machinery and equipment will be organized. No-Till is a resource-saving farming system without loosening the topsoil, helping to prevent wind and water erosion and improve land fertility.
The field day at the site of the August-Muslyum agricultural company will be visited by the Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Zyabbarov, the head of the Muslyumovsky municipal district of the republic Albert Khuzin, the general director of JSC Firma "August" Mikhail Danilov, the general director of the management company "August-Agro" Aidar Galyautdinov, owners and managers of agricultural holdings, managers and specialists of agricultural enterprises of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg regions.
The history of the company "August" in the Republic of Tatarstan has been going on for more than two decades. Thus, the representative office of "August", which provides farmers in the region with domestic preparations for plant protection, has been operating in the republic for 23 years: among its clients are both large agricultural holdings and small farms. In the agricultural season of 2021, the area of application of pesticides "Augusta" in the Republic of Tatarstan in terms of a single treatment amounted to almost 2,2 million hectares, that is, 70% of the sown area in the region was treated with the company's products at least once. Compared to 2020, the area of application of plant protection products "Augusta" in terms of a single treatment increased by 38%. In 2019, on the territory of the SEZ "Alabuga" in Tatarstan, the most modern production site of the company "August" was launched - the plant "August-Alabuga", specializing in the manufacture of modern liquid formulations of large-tonnage pesticides. And in 2018, during the construction of the plant, August acquired its first farm in the Republic of Tatarstan in the Muslyumovsky district. Its fields were originally supposed to be used as a demonstration platform for popularization among farmers of the no-till farming technology and crop protection systems based on this technology based on Augusta preparations. Today it is the agricultural firm "August-Muslyum".
With "August-Muslyum" began building up the land bank of the company "August" on the territory of the republic, and today the management company "August-Agro" is one of the largest agricultural producers in Tatarstan. Under her management, a group of enterprises operates in Aznakaevsky, Bugulminsky, Verkhneuslonsky, Kaibitsky, Kamsko-Ustyinsky, Leninogorsky, Menzelinsky, Muslyumovsky, Tyulyachinsky districts of the republic. Grain, legumes, sunflower, rapeseed, corn, etc. are cultivated on the fields of the company's agricultural firms. The total area of the land bank of August-Agro in Tatarstan is 228 hectares, including 190 hectares of arable land. In addition to crop production, August-Agro is developing dairy farming: today the total number of cattle on all farms exceeds 9 thousand cows.
In all its crop farms, Avgust-Agro Management Company continues to introduce No-Till zero tillage technology. Its choice was due to the fact that during mechanical cultivation, the soil is actively destroyed with the release of carbon dioxide and decay processes, the microflora of the fertile layer is destroyed, wind and water erosion are triggered, while zero tillage technology helps to preserve the fertility of the fields. An important role in no-till farming technology, especially in hot conditions, is played by mulch, which covers the surface of the soil: it prevents it from heating, reflecting the sun's rays, and slows down the evaporation of moisture. The introduction of No-Till requires the use of specialized equipment, special methods of soil preparation and fertilization (mainly liquid), the use of specially developed schemes for plant protection against pathogens accumulating in the soil, the selection of optimal crop varieties - and all this, taking into account regional specifics, in particular, soil and climate characteristics. At the same time, reducing the passage of machinery during no-till tillage helps to reduce the consumption of fuel and lubricants: in the farms of "Avgusta", savings in this area compared to classical plowing reach 40%; in addition, the amount of emissions into the atmosphere is thus reduced. Grain yields from “unplowed” fields can be two times higher than the results of neighboring crop farms using classical farming technology, especially in years with a lack of rainfall.
Agrofirm "August-Muslyum" began the introduction of many progressive agricultural technologies and became the first farm of the "August" company, where No-Till was applied. At the moment, the benefits of the technology are best represented here, as no-till yields increase gradually as soil fertility increases. During the tour, guests of the Field Day will be shown both production crops of winter and spring wheat, barley, rapeseed and sunflower, as well as experimental plots.
“Own experimental field in the agricultural company “August-Muslyum” appeared in 2019,” says Mikhail Surovtsev, Deputy General Director for Production of the Management Company “August-Agro”. - With the help of this format of work, we gain experience in order to understand how promising certain varieties or hybrids, plant nutrition schemes, and so on: this is the first stage of selection. If this or that hybrid shows itself well, we start its production on the territory of 1-2 thousand hectares. If the advantages remain, then we begin to replicate the experience to other areas on an industrial scale. Thus, we have already managed to select, for example, the most productive hybrids of rapeseed and sunflower in our conditions.”
The area of arable land in "August-Muslyum" is 54 thousand hectares. 17 modern sowing complexes, optimally adapted for zero tillage, operate on the fields of the agricultural enterprise. Sunflower and corn are sown with two Väderstad L-series Tempo precision seed drills with 16 row units. The rest of the crops are planted with Bourgault disc and anchor planters equipped with the MRB system, which allows you to apply a full rate of seeds and two types of fertilizer separately from each other in one pass.
The agricultural company has its own stationary solution unit (mini-plant) for the production of liquid complex fertilizers and urea-ammonium nitrate. In addition, for every 10 hectares on the farms of "Augusta" there is one stationary solution dosing unit for plant protection products, which makes it possible to obtain high-quality working solutions of preparations with optimal parameters of hardness, acidity and purity of the water used. The absence of impurities and contaminants in the solutions helps to maintain the productivity of agricultural machinery.
There are two grain cleaning complexes with dryers "Altai-65" and "Altai-85" with a capacity of 65 t/h and 85 t/h, respectively, at the own grain-receiving enterprise "August-Muslyum". Thanks to the presence of such an infrastructure, the farm produces high-quality grain suitable for long-term storage.
In addition, a modern robotic livestock farm, the Urazmetyevo dairy complex, is operating as part of August-Muslum, designed for 2400 forage cows. At the moment, the first stage of the complex is fully operational - a monoblock housing with robotic milking for 1200 cows, the second stage is being prepared for launch.
Field Day guests during the tour will also be able to visit the exhibition area and communicate with suppliers of agricultural machinery, equipment and materials, such as Amazone, Bourgault, Väderstad, Pöttinger, Claas, Liliani, Jacto, Versatile, Rapool, Pioneer, Syngenta, KWS, German Seed Alliance.
“This is the first time we are holding such a large event for our partner farmers. After the removal of pandemic restrictions and against the backdrop of geopolitical and economic changes, our site should become a convenient place to exchange experience, establish and strengthen ties within the agricultural industry, as well as search for new effective solutions,” says Konstantin Berezin, head of the August office in the Republic of Tatarstan. – In a difficult period, when it is necessary to maintain and strengthen the country's food security, "August" continues to help farmers realize their potential to the fullest extent possible using resource-saving technologies and modern plant protection products."