During the beginning of the war, a decade-old operation was front and center for milk yield.
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Oleg Balagura for 27 years heads the Shevchenkivske Research Farm. The company’s history dates back to 1927. Today, it produces and sells seeds of grain crops. They have over 700 thousand head of pigs and cows. Under Oleg Viktorovych’s management, Shevchenkivske became one of the frontrunners in Kyiv region in terms of milk yield.
“Our farm was once known as the Shevchenkivske elite seed enterprise. We focused on growing super elite sugar beet seeds. We have always had a well-developed livestock farm, and we continue this tradition until today. We raise domestic breeds of pigs and cattle.”
The farm breeds domestic breeds of livestock. The main pig breed is the Large White, which is artificially inseminated with the Landrace breed and then with Country meat breeds. Such breeding results in the production of meat pigs highly demanded on the market and with good weight gain.
“We fatten up to 3000 pigs a year. We keep them for six months. In six months, we get 250 pounds of fattened pig. We keep sows for 3-4 years, and our basic boars for five years. We also sell one-month-old pigs - up to two months old - and the rest of the pigs are sold for meat.”
The farm has a feed plant for producing mixed feed for different groups of pigs. They use grain of their own production, proteins and required additives. This year, Shevchenkivske also reconstructed a pigsty.
“This pigsty is almost completed. The partitions are to be installed. There will be a feeder inside each cage. There will also be a mechanised feed distribution system. In a month, we will finish the work.”
The total number of livestock at Shevchenkivske Farm is 580 head of cattle. There is only one breed here — the Ukrainian Red and White dairy breed improved by the Holstein breed. There are 580 heads of cattle, including 250 cows.
Productivity is rather good here, with each cow producing 92 gallons of milk daily. Last year, the farm produced an average of 33,300 gallons of milk per cow.
“Today, we supply milk to a local factory. The prices are not bad at the moment. For us, milk is a production that gives us money every day. The money is used, among other things, to feed animals. In general, livestock products are fairly liquid in Ukraine. Nowadays, many people want to breed both pigs and cows.”
Shevchenkivske plans to further modernise and develop, increase production efficiency and improve product quality. With stable operations, they hope to stay an industry leader and contribute to the development of Ukrainian agriculture.
That report was powered by Latifundist Media, with USAID support provided through Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) Activity implemented in Ukraine by Chemonics International. For more information, visit their website or follow them on social media.
