The farm «Shevchenko», in the village Uhryniv, Horokhiv Region, Volyn, created a closed cycle of milk production — from growing food and healthy cattle to clean dairy products. The last link of the chain — its own processing plant — uhrynivtsi recently shipped the first batch of products to consumers. All of these efforts — not to depend on the whims of processors. People ordered in Israel the mini-plant, which has no analogues in Ukraine. Andrii Turak manages farm for several decades.

- I came to work at a local farm in 1986 — says Andrii Antonovich. - Since then the farm changed its ownership, name and organizational form. Profile has changed too — now we have only dairy cattle. We rent 2,860 hectares of farmland, where grow feed. At 360 hectares we grow rape — this our additional specialization gives us a good profit. German processors take all harvest of rape. But the our real pride is a farm, where are all the links of a single chain: calf, heifer and cow.

No matter whose the bull is, but the calf is ours

We are practicing modern technology of growing youngstock for three consecutive years. Almost all for repairing their own herds they grow independently and only part of heifers purchased from the population.

- We start caring about our heifers’ health since its birth, because it depends on what kind of cow it will be, - says Oleg Turak, the son of Deputy and right hand of Andrei Antonovich. - In the first hour of life the calves are drunk colostrum from healthy cows (not less than three liters) with the probe. We have bank of colostrum, which is stored in the freezer. From the first days of life we also give water and concentrated feed. First calves live in individual cages, and when strengthened, moved to group maintenance. To become a high-productive cows, calves should be given a good start.

In the 15-16 month heifers are ready for mating. Then they weigh on average 380 kg and height at withers is 127 cm. For inseminating we use the semen of Holsteins. Each year, one hundred cows give 85 healthy calves. Among them 43% of heifers. The productivity of fresh cows is not less than 20 liters, some give to 30-35 liters.

More information can be found in the magazine «Milk and Farm» № 2 (9), April 2012