Development of dairy cattle breeding in Russia

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Dairy farming is certainly one of the most important branches of agriculture. Domestic farmers keep beef cows, but quite rarely. The main purpose of cattle breeding is to obtain milk.

A bit of history

When exactly people began to keep cows - scientists, unfortunately, do not know for certain. However, judging by the historical materials available today, we can say with confidence that dairy farming in ancient states was quite active already in the 5th millennium BC. In Asian countries, cattle in the past were bred mainly for meat and as a draft force. Many Eastern peoples did not eat milk.

Somewhat different was the situation in Europe. It is known for certain, for example, that dairy cattle were kept in Kievan Rus already in the 9th century. In the middle of the 17th century, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, breeding animals began to be imported to Russia from other states. Dairy cattle breeding was actively developing in our country in the era of the reign of Peter I. This reformer paid much attention,and, of course, agriculture. During the time of Peter I, cattle breeding was concentrated mainly near large cities.

In the XIX century. control partnerships, unions and agricultural cooperative associations began to form in Russia. They were also engaged in the culling of cattle with low productivity. Later, tribal business began to develop in our country.

Livestock in the USSR

After the 1917 revolution, dairy cattle breeding in our country experienced ups and downs several times. During the period of collectivization and during the Second World War, this industry has undergone a significant decline. In the 1950s, dairy farming in Russia began to develop rapidly.

Industry development in the 90s

In the late 80s of the last century, dairy cattle breeding in Russia was very well developed. In the 1990s, a record result of the industry was recorded. Then the country's farms supplied 55.7 million tons of milk to the domestic market. The emphasis in those days in Russia was mainly on large livestock complexes. There was a lot of milk in the country in those years. But good results were achieved in this industry due to the large number of animals. Milk yield per cow in the 80s and 90s was usually a little over 2,700 liters per year.

Ups and downs

Starting from the 90th, the development of this industry can be divided into 3 large stages:

• 90-95 - landslide drop in milk production;
• 95-2001 - decrease in the rate of decline in milk yield;
• 2001-2010- stabilization period;
• 2010-2018 - increase in milk production.

During the period of economic stabilization, the government began to provide assistance to Russian livestock farms. For example, within the framework of the State Program for 2008-2012, the amount of support for dairy production amounted to about 99 billion rubles. In 2013, the number of livestock in the country increased to 21 million heads. That is, the state of dairy cattle breeding as an industry at that time can be considered satisfactory.

Dairy farming today

In the State Program for the Development of Agriculture for 2013-2020, dairy farming is defined as one of the main areas. Since 2013, subsidies have been allocated to manufacturers of such products. In 2014, 20 billion rubles were allocated for the development of dairy farming in our country. In 2017, loans for 102 billion rubles were issued to farmers.

In 2018, the leading position in Russian agriculture is occupied by farms specializing in breeding birds and pigs. But dairy and meat cattle breeding is currently well developed in our country. In the first half of 2018, the volume of milk production in the Russian Federation amounted to 15.51 million tons. There are 19.7 million head of cattle in Russia today (cows - 8.3 million).

The main products of dairy cattle breeding in the Russian Federation are:

• butter;
• milk of different fat content;
• fermented milk products;
• cheeses.

Industry Features

Mainly these days milk is supplied to the market by large livestock complexes. Peasant farms in Russia are less developed. But still, small farms supply quite a lot of milk to the market. Such farms produced 1.14 million tons of this product in the first half of 2018.

Most of all dairy cows in the Russian Federation are kept in the Volga Federal District - about 5.2 million heads. The ranking of other regions in terms of industry development is as follows:

• SFD - 4.4 million heads;
• CFD - 3 million heads;
• South Federal District - 2.49 million;
• NCFD - 2.2 million heads;
• UrFD - 1 million;
• NWFD - 709 thousand;
• DFO - 452.

Most dairy regions

Most of all, Tatarstan supplies such a product to the Russian market today. In January - June 2018, more than 911 thousand tons of milk were milked in this republic. The TOP-5 rating of domestic dairy cattle breeding regions for 2018 looks like this:

1. Tatarstan - 911.8 thousand tons;
2. Bashkortostan - 864 thousand tons;
3. Krasnodar Territory - 740.9 thousand tons;
4. Altai Territory - 664.8 thousand tons;
5. Rostov region - 513.5 thousand tons

Voronezh, Sverdlovsk and Novosibirsk regions, Dagestan, Udmurtia also showed good results in terms of milk yield.

If we talk about peasant farms, then the best results in terms of the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding inthe first half of 2018 was shown by farmers of Bashkortostan (83.4 thousand tons). In second place are the peasant farms of Tatarstan (77.5 thousand tons), and in third place - Dagestan (77.1 thousand tons). Judging by the indicators of milk yield, small farms in Russia are well developed in the Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia. The share of milk supplies to the market of peasant farms of these regions in the total milk yield is quite large.

Dairy Cattle Technology

Cattle keeping systems in our country, depending on the climatic features of the regions, different ones can be used. In areas with high plowing of land, a stall or stall-camp scheme is usually used. In the second case, during the warm season, animals are kept in light summer shelters equipped with feeders, milking machines, etc.

When using a stall system, cows are indoors all year round. In those farms that have their own forage base, cattle are usually kept according to the stall-pasture technology. In this case, cows are grazed in summer and kept indoors in winter.

Flow-shop system

This system allows you to use feed as rationally as possible. The essence of this technique is the distribution of animals in four production and technological workshops, depending on the productivity of cows for:

• dry;
• hotels;
• milking and insemination;
• milk production.

This technology is being implemented today by manydairy farms.

Problems of livestock breeding

Active development of dairy and meat cattle breeding is impossible, of course, without breeding work. Of course, the state pays maximum attention to this issue. At the moment, the main emphasis in Russia is on the development of domestic livestock breeding. In this regard, since 2015, the state has stopped subsidizing the purchase of imported thoroughbred young animals.

This decision of the government led to the fact that many previously actively developing farms reduced the rate of replenishment of the herd. The fact is that in Russia at the moment very few thoroughbred young animals are being sold. Accordingly, it is quite expensive.

This situation, of course, hinders the development of the dairy cattle industry in Russia. And the law on the mandatory sale of a certain number of thoroughbred heifers by farms does not save the situation. Complexes that specialize in breeding work also try to keep high-quality young animals for themselves. The schemes for this are used in this case the most simple. Breeding farms sell heifers to each other or just to themselves. In addition, according to livestock breeders, the quality of domestic breeding cattle is still inferior to imported ones.

Ways to solve the problem

Cattle breeders themselves can solve all these problems. For this, it is worth establishing breeding work for those farms of the dairy cattle breeding industry in Russia, in which it has not yet been conducted. Moreover, due to the lackdomestic thoroughbred young animals on the market, this business can become quite profitable. Here, farmers expect help from the state.

For 2018, the situation regarding the lack of subsidies for imported young animals remains. In this regard, farmers offer:

• improve the system of subsidizing the purchase of thoroughbred young animals;
• reconsider methods of state support for livestock breeding;
• optimize the cost of subsidizing the purchase of young animals.

How to increase production rates

In 2018, the Russian Federation provides itself with dairy products by about 75%. That's enough. In any case, no trade wars or embargoes can significantly shake the dairy market in the country. However, in order to fully secure itself in this regard, Russia must increase the production of such products by at least 90%. The shortage of dairy products, which has to be filled by supplies from abroad, currently amounts to about 8-9 million tons.

Russia, according to experts, can solve this problem within about 5-7 years with appropriate state support. It is possible to achieve growth in dairy cattle breeding only if the following conditions are met:

• increasing subsidies to the industry;
• building a coherent strategy for allowing imports to the domestic market;
• transfer of troubled enterprises to the management of efficient owners onpreferential terms;
• development of effective measures to combat the falsification of dairy products in the market;
• stimulating domestic demand for dairy products.

Feed production

It is this industry that is the basis for the development of animal husbandry. The use of saturated high-quality nutritious feed ensures an increase in the productivity of dairy cattle. This industry has been developing quite actively in our country in recent years. In the first half of 2018, domestic agricultural enterprises supplied 14.2 million tons of feed to the market. Compared to the same period in 2017, the growth in the industry is thus 6.8%. The volume of feed intended for dairy cattle amounted to 7.7%.

Hay for cattle farms can grow both on their own and buy. When harvesting independently, the grass in the meadows is first cut with mowers, then subjected to flattening for uniform drying, tedding, swathing, stacking. It is impossible to violate the technology of storing roughage for dairy cows. Otherwise, the percentage of nutrients and carotene will decrease in it. And this, in turn, will lead to a decline in the productivity of cattle and a deterioration in the quality of milk.

Family Animal Farms

Obviously, the development of dairy cattle breeding in our country is currently given maximum attention. Support for farms of this specialization is also provided by the state. The main share of dairy products in Russia is supplied to the market today by largeagro-industrial enterprises. However, small producers also make a significant contribution to the development of the industry. One of the goals of the state program for the expansion of animal husbandry in Russia for 2013-2020. is the development of family farms. Among other things, the state allocates a grant for the organization of such farms.

For 2018, the conditions for receiving such cash assistance, for example, are as follows:

• one household should receive no more than 30 million rubles;
• It is assumed that the allocated amount will cover 60% of the amount indicated in the plan.

Participants of such business can spend the received grant on:

• construction of livestock housing;
• purchase of land;
• acquisition of equipment;
• construction of access roads;
• installation of engineering networks;
• acquisition of inventory, livestock itself.

In addition to government assistance for organizing a farm, today in our country you can also get a grant for:

• reconstruction of the farm;
• repayment of debts on loans;
• compensation for the amounts spent on construction.

Also, owners of family farms can count on low-interest loans. The specific amount of the grant for each applicant is determined by the commission, based on the spending plan. In different regions, however, it may not be the same.

Environmental hazard

Of courselivestock dairy farms, like any other, are capable of causing some harm to the environment. The danger of such complexes for the environment is as follows:

• farms produce more greenhouse gases than all transport in the world;
• animals consume more than half of all grains grown;
• bad smells can spread from barns;
• Increased parasite concentration near farms.

The main environmental damage caused by such complexes is due to the use of hormones, growth stimulants and feed additives, which can be toxic. You can reduce the harm caused to the environment by enterprises of intensive dairy cattle breeding by:

• increasing the percentage of natural protein feed in the diet of animals;
• equipping efficient ventilation systems in barns;
• development of the most rational schemes for the use of manure.

Liquid effluents from livestock complexes should be disinfected, as they can become a source of the spread of infectious diseases and parasites.