Category: First persons
One of the leading potato and vegetable growing farms in the Saratov region is the peasant farm of P.Yu. Shcherenko. In addition to the “second bread”, everything that is included in the traditional “borscht set” is grown here: beets, onions, carrots, cabbage, as well as cucumbers and tomatoes. And they do it very successfully: in 2013, six thousand tons of vegetables and 1,8 thousand tons of potatoes were produced.
A bit of history
The farm (at first it was called “Sofia”) has been supplying residents of the Engels region, Engels and Saratov with vegetables for 16 years. In 1998, it was organized and headed by Pavel Yuryevich Shcherenko - immediately after receiving a diploma from the Saratov Institute of Mechanization named after. M.I. Kalinina. At first, the sown area of the farm was only 24 hectares. The peasant farm developed at a rapid pace: in order to achieve profitability, it was necessary to produce products in large volumes.
The turning point in the development of the economy was the acquisition of its own production base in the area of the village of Novopushkinsky.
Over time, the small farm grew to one of the largest in the region. The sown area in 2014 is 282 hectares. The number of permanent employees is 23 people; seasonal workers are hired for the period of field work. And the products are sold not only in the Saratov region, but also in the neighboring Penza and Samara regions, and are also supplied to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tatarstan.
Secrets of success
It is impossible to grow vegetables and potatoes in the arid conditions of the Volga region without irrigation, so the farm pays special attention to the technical equipment of irrigated areas. Over the past five years, a large-scale reconstruction has been systematically carried out on the farm: a pipeline is being laid, work is being done to replace the Fregat sprinkler machines with modern and more economical ones, sets of drip equipment are being used, which allows reducing the cost of water supply and increasing the yield of potatoes and vegetables and producing high quality products. This year, in order to effectively use the irrigated area and rational use of water, a sprinkler irrigated installation was purchased and installed on an area of 13 hectares. In total, 245 hectares of land are under irrigation.
In addition to technical modernization in irrigation, the farm’s fleet of agricultural machinery was completely updated: a high-performance precision seeding seeder, transplanting and sorting machines, universal energy-rich tractors and the necessary trailed equipment were purchased.
The farm uses advanced agricultural practices in cultivating and preparing the soil for sowing, integrates the application of mineral fertilizers, uses highly effective plant protection products, introduces elements of resource-saving technology into production, and strictly observes crop rotation. Starting this year, cabbage growing technology has completely switched to the cassette method. Now planting is carried out in several stages. First, cabbage seeds are manually placed in special cassette stands filled with peat soil. Then the seeding and planting machine makes holes at a certain distance (strictly after 33 centimeters, without gaps), lowers the seedlings into the ground and digs in the plant. The productivity of such machines is two to three hectares per working day, so planting can be carried out in a short time. This progressive method ensures high yields (100 tons per hectare versus 70 tons per hectare with direct sowing). And the cabbage grows to the optimal size for sale (average weight - 3,5 kg).
Every year, work is carried out on variety change and variety renewal of seed material, and high-quality seeds from global vegetable producers are purchased. The farm occupies 60 hectares of potatoes; the yield with the existing technology in some areas reaches 400 c/ha.
On the basis of the enterprise, seminars and meetings are regularly held with the participation of managers and specialists of agricultural enterprises, heads of peasant farms on the transfer of best practices in the industry and the introduction of effective technologies.
Important step: storage
The farm has two vegetable storage facilities with a total capacity of 4,8 thousand tons. Vegetables are stored in two ways: bulk and container.
The issues of technical and technological equipment of storage premises are being actively resolved: ventilation systems have been installed, which has significantly reduced losses and improved the quality of products sold in the winter; warehouses are insulated; the flooring, gates, and roofing are being replaced; a site has been equipped for pre-sale preparation and temporary storage of finished products.
TsKP: cooperative present
In 2014, on the territory of the farm, in the premises of one of the warehouse complexes, a unique enterprise for the agro-industrial complex was opened - a center for collective use of high-tech equipment.
It must be said that collective use centers most often refer to laboratories or research centers that are equipped with funds from the federal budget, and various scientists and research teams receive the right to use expensive equipment.
However, in agriculture, technology also requires considerable funds, and the development of agricultural enterprises is impossible without it. Understanding this, the head of the peasant farm Shcherenko P.Yu. submitted a proposal to create a training center in the Engels region to the regional Ministry of Economics. He explained the need to implement the project as follows: “Now almost all retail chains require modern packaging and want vegetables to be sorted. And farmers do not have extra money to buy packaging lines and equipment for cleaning and washing; all funds are invested in the production of vegetables.”
The project was appreciated by both representatives of the ministry and local agricultural producers. In order to receive government assistance, the six largest farms in the region united into a “cooperative”. The seventh member of the group was the Pokrovsky cannery, which is supplied with so-called “substandard” goods (for example, broken carrots, broken beets, etc.) from the central processing facility for processing into canned vegetables.
The warehouse space allocated by Pavel Shcherenko was equipped with modern automated lines for washing, cleaning and packaging of grown products.
One warehouse room is allocated for a refrigeration chamber, two more for temporary reception chambers, two for the installation of cleaning lines (one uses the wet cleaning method - washing potatoes, carrots, etc., the second carries out dry processing - onions, the third line - cabbage processing.
The throughput capacity of these lines will be 21 thousand tons of products per year.
The costs of creating the CCP amounted to about 114 million rubles (56,4 million rubles - funds from the federal budget, 14,1 million rubles - the share of the regional treasury and 43 million - from extra-budgetary sources (funds from farmers)).
Now the supply of products to the collective use center can be carried out by both members of the cooperative and other agricultural producers (who are not members of the cooperative) on the basis of agreements for the provision of services for pre-sale preparation of products.
Main quality!
Products grown on the farm’s fields are in great demand among residents of the Engels region and beyond. Every year, the enterprise is awarded a diploma for participation in the All-Russian Agro-Industrial Exhibition “Golden Autumn”. Based on the results of the activities of the agro-industrial complex, IP Head of Peasant Farming Enterprise P.Yu. was repeatedly recognized as the winner of the regional competition for workers in the agro-industrial complex and took prizes among small enterprises, peasant (farm) farms and individual entrepreneurs who received the largest volume of gross output and achieved the highest agricultural yields.
The enterprise has created all social and living conditions for workers: a canteen, a shower, and a rest room are available. Employees are transported to their place of work by farm vehicles.
Farm specialists are constantly working to improve their professional level, regularly participate in specialized seminars, and study global and domestic experience in conducting production in a market economy.
Focus and perseverance in achieving set goals, discipline and a high degree of responsibility, and the ability to quickly make the right decisions allow management to maintain the farm at a high technological level and achieve high production results.