Evgeny Tyustin, representative of GRIMME-RUS in the Ural Federal District
The Sverdlovsk Region is located at the junction of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. The region is dominated by a sharply continental climate, which is characterized by long cold winters, a large amount of precipitation and sharp temperature changes. All these factors do not have the best effect on the results of agricultural activities: the region belongs to the zone of risky farming.
Despite the climatic conditions, most of the farms specializing in growing potatoes in the Sverdlovsk region are profitable and successfully developing, although in the late 90s - early 2000s this crop was not distinguished by high yields, and the potato direction in the region was considered unprofitable and unpromising.
Today in the Middle Urals there is an obvious trend towards rapid growth both in the field of technological equipment of agricultural enterprises and in production volumes.
In the Sverdlovsk region, there are about 40 enterprises, including private farms that purposefully produce potatoes at a high professional level, in compliance with the full cycle of the technological process. At the same time, most peasant farms are practically inferior in equipping large producers with modern equipment, which is a necessary component of success: in our time, the manufacturability of the enterprise is one of the prerequisites for high-quality planting, processing and harvesting of potatoes, which directly affects productivity and profitability.
BELOYARSK DISTRICT
AO AIC "Belorechensky" is one of the leading agricultural enterprises in the Sverdlovsk region. Since 1992, it has been headed by Vitaly Alexandrovich Dunin.
The main activity of the farm is the production of vegetables, food and seed potatoes.
In 1993, the Belorechensky state farm was transformed into an agricultural limited liability partnership STOO Belorechensky. At the same time, the farm began to cooperate with Dutch companies for the production and cultivation of vegetable seeds; purchase of new equipment for cultivating land and harvesting.
The potato cultivation area on the farm for a relatively short time increased from 150 to 1100 hectares, the volume of cultivated products increased significantly.
Today, about 3 thousand tons of potatoes are planted at JSC Belorechensky AO, of which 700 tons are purchased annually from foreign breeders in the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland.
The company grows 12 varieties of potatoes of different reproductions and ripening dates. Seed and ware potatoes are of high quality and are in great demand among buyers.
In 2017, on the basis of ZAO APK "Belorechensky", an innovative selection and seed-growing center "Ural Potato" was opened. The center's task is to produce promising varieties of the Ural selection “from test tube to field”, to ensure import substitution for potato seeds in the Ural region.
BOGDANOVICH DISTRICT
Speaking about the cultivation of potatoes in the Sverdlovsk region, one cannot ignore the private farms of the Bogdanovichi region: together they produce about 1/3 of the total potato in the region.
Over the past 10 years, a number of enterprises in this region have gone from small farms engaged in the sale of potatoes “from the field” to modern companies equipped with the latest technology.
Among them, IP KFH Popova Anna Alexandrovna. The farm began work in 2008 with small volumes of production. Today, the farm grows potatoes on an area of 600 hectares.
Over the past five years, the fleet of equipment for potato production has been updated and increased, which made it possible to plant and harvest potatoes in the short agronomic time frame. With significantly increased production volumes, the farm began to need a modern warehouse, in 2017 a vegetable store was built, a new warehouse line for the production of GRIMME was purchased to equip it.
Not far from IP KFH Popova Anna Alexandrovna, in the village of Baraba, IP KFH Bessedniy Gennady Grigoryevich is located.
The head of the farm began its activities more than 10 years ago and is currently one of the most successful agricultural producers in the region. In 2013, the first GRIMME SE 260 harvester in Russia was delivered to the peasant farm, which significantly accelerated the process of high-quality potato harvesting.
TUGULIMSKİY district
LLC "Raduga" of the Tugulym region is located on the border of the Sverdlovsk and Tyumen regions. Its history began more than 10 years ago, with 150 hectares of arable land, three tractors and a minimum set of agricultural implements for growing potatoes. From real estate, the farm owned a small trailer, which is now a memorable relic of the enterprise. Today the farm specializes in growing potatoes, vegetables, grain crops on an area of more than 4000 hectares.
Since the foundation of the enterprise, its permanent director has been Nikolai Fedorovich Parygin, Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. Under the leadership of Nikolai Fedorovich, advanced technologies are being successfully introduced in the economy. The enterprise’s arsenal includes high-performance planters GRIMME GL-430, potato harvesters SE 150-60, SE 260. A modern vegetable storehouse with a capacity of 4 tons, equipped with refrigeration and ventilation equipment, has been built.
Ural Polesie LLC, Tugulymsky district
The company was established in 1999. Specializes in growing crops and potatoes. High quality products can be achieved thanks to the scientific approach to agriculture practiced on the farm. Every year, Ural Polesie buys elite potato seeds for variety renewal. Specialists of the economy constantly analyze the soil and develop schemes to improve the quality of the land. So, on the fields intended for growing potatoes, complex fertilizers are necessarily applied; land cultivation is carried out by chisel plows.
Another important secret of the success of the "Ural Polesye" is the constant renewal of the equipment fleet. Recently, the farm has purchased grading complexes and potato harvesters produced by GRIMME, which significantly increased labor productivity and reduced the time for harvesting potatoes.
The company has modern potato storages with a capacity of 10 tons, which allows to maintain high-quality products throughout the year.
Potatoes grown on the fields of the Ural Woodland are sold in all regions of the country, including Moscow, Tyumen, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, Nadym and others.
Summing up, I cannot but note the current trend, which can be traced on the example of many farms in the region: agricultural enterprises are increasingly working on the quality of the final product, in our case, potatoes, without focusing on quantity. Thus, even with relatively small volumes of agricultural production, farms in the Sverdlovsk region have the opportunity to receive maximum profit.