Extension specialists' trip leads to tips for Russian farm operators
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 07/01/2010 9:11 AM
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FERGUS FALLS, Minn. —Regional Extension agronomist Doug Holen found similarities between Russian and U.S. agriculture on a recent trip to the Moscow area.
Holen, based in Fergus Falls, joined University of Minnesota dairy specialist Jeff Reneau, nutritionist Noah Litherland and reproduction specialist Jamie Larson on a week-long trip to a Russian dairy farm in early June.
Their stay, paid for by Russia, focused on the crops and dairy operation owned by Dimitri Matveev. The farm, located south of Moscow, is undergoing an expansion that will include increasing cow numbers, new free-stalls for cows plus housing for calves and dry animals. Existing stanchion barns will be converted to beef production.
Each U of M team member was paired with a farm manager. Holen toured the farm with the crop manager. Reneau went with the person responsible for herd health, Litherland went with the farm nutritionist and Larson with someone responsible for the breeding program. They toured their respective areas for the first three to four days then discussed the challenges, opportunities and good programs involving the farms.
Holen said the topography and growing season is similar to northern Minnesota and southern Canada. It snows about five months of the year and the growing season is seven months. Winter snows can get six-feet deep, but the temperature is mild, Holen said.
Matveev's operation, called Slaktis, has four farms. Each is in a different phase of construction. Some barns are complete and have cows milking while others are nearing completion.
Each farm will eventually milk 1,200 cows. The individual farms will have nine bunkers and three lagoons plus a double-24 milking parlor. All animals, from birth to milking, are raised on the farm. The milk is used to make cheese in operations also owned by Matveev.
Holen doesn't know the exact number of acres involved, but he says it's tens of thousands of hectares.
They have a good crop rotation, Holen said. They plant and harvest winter rye, barley and oats for forage, which is grown alone or in a mixture with peas. They have few fields of straight alfalfa. Pastures are a mix of red clover, orchardgrass and timothy.
They use herbicides and fertilizer but use little fungicide, he said.
The operation would like to grow corn for silage and add starch to the cow ration, but they've had little success with the crop due to pH levels. Holen discovered that some fields are sandier with a pH of 7. He told the field manager it will be good land for corn.
They have wrapped chopped hay but will be abandoning the practice. The bags have split either from equipment or rodents. Humid conditions in the region aren't good for wrapped hay.
The team suggested better bunker management. Some of the chopped hay was already spoiled.
The farms are doing many things right, Holen said. Suggestions from the team will be sent in a final report to be completed within a month. Some of the team's suggestions will be implemented in the short term with others offered as long-term goals.