The volume of harvest in the farms of the management company "August-Agro" is expected at the level of 500 thousand tons
The projected harvest volume of farms in the Republic of Tatarstan by the end of the season should be over 490 thousand tons, including 150 thousand tons of winter wheat, 130 thousand tons of spring wheat, 120 thousand tons of sunflower, 100 thousand tons of rapeseed. That is an estimate of experts of the management company "August-Agro''. In total, this is four times more than a year earlier. Harvest volumes should increase due to the expansion of arable land (from 125 thousand hectares in 2021 to almost 190 thousand hectares in 2022), as well as due to an increase in productivity. Last year, a severe drought impacted the indicators, while now the weather conditions and the accumulated experience contribute to the achievement of the result. The yield per hectare may be three times higher than last year.
The peculiarity of the No-Till technology used in the agricultural firms of August is that with the so-called zero tillage, the topsoil does not loosen. Thanks to this, it does not suffer from erosion, while maintaining fertility. At the same time, the number of necessary passages of equipment through the fields is reduced: thus, fuels and lubricants are saved. Today, August-Agro farms operate 56 seeders and 129 combines suitable for No-Till: the sowing complexes are adapted for sowing on the stubble residues of the predecessor crop and the simultaneous application of fertilizers, and the combines immediately crush the stubble residues during harvesting, and the resulting mulch is distributed across the field with a harrow. In addition, the agricultural equipment fleet includes 49 self-propelled sprayers, 56 tractors and 42 reloading bunkers (thanks to them, trucks do not drive into farm fields for grain and do not overcompact the soil). All the work of the equipment can be tracked in the Cropwise agricultural production management information system.
Approximately a quarter of the sown area of the management company "August-Agro" falls on winter grains, spring grains, sunflower and rapeseed. As part of the crop rotation, narrow-leaved and broad-leaved crops alternate, rapeseed is placed on the same field no more than once every four years, and pairs are not provided at all: in this way, farmers do not lose part of the crop, and “resting” lands are not occupied by weeds. Which varieties and hybrids are best suited for cultivation in the Republic of Tatarstan, the agronomists of "August-Agro" identify in the experimental fields. It should be noted that the yield when using No-Till increases gradually, from year to year, as plant residues accumulate and soil fertility increases. In addition, crops in "unplowed" fields are better protected from droughts, which are not a rare occurrence in the region.
According to Aidar Galyautdinov, general director of the management company "August-Agro", a high harvest can be expected, among other things, due to the timely preparation for the current season in terms of providing agricultural machinery with spare parts. As for the prospects, dealers of specialized equipment, including imported ones, promise to provide agricultural firms with everything they need in 2023 as well. At the same time, the search for additional channels for the supply of the required components is being carried out. Possible risks are also reduced by the novelty of machines used on farms.
“We are implementing the No-Till method on all our lands in the Republic of Tatarstan and we believe that it is great for the region. So, in the Menzelinsky and Muslyumovsky districts, no-till farming technologies have been used for the fifth year now, and the benefits are becoming more noticeable over time, - Aidar Galyautdinov notes. - The current agricultural season, in our opinion, is generally going well, the situation in the fields was favorable in terms of temperature and moisture. If rain does not interfere during the harvest, we hope to harvest in accordance with our forecasts or even more.