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Agro-Soyuz
The Farm:
- The farm is located in the village of Majskoye in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
- They are in the process of expanding from 1200-5000 cows.
- Under Soviet rule, the facility was a collective farm called Druzhba.
- Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, collective farm land in Ukraine was equally divided amongst collective farm workers and pensioners and each member was allocated a land share.
- The Ukraine-wide average land share is 4 hectares (roughly 9.8 acres), in Druzhba it is 9 hectares (roughly 22.2 acres) (2.47 acres = 1 hectare).
- In 1996, Agro-Soyuz financed land titling for Druzhba shareholders and arranged for the farm to lease the land directly from the villagers for annual cash payments.
- Equipment, livestock and buildings were evaluated, and a monetary value was placed on the property shares.
- A closed joint stock company was created with the property shares that belonged to the villagers and capital investments made by Agro-Soyuz.
- As the operation makes a profit, the villagers will receive profit shares based on their property shares.
Direct comments and questions to the discussion area so everyone can have the opportunity to discuss and debate dairy.
Farm Location: Ukraine
- Capital investment in the dairy processing sector is driving the demand for quality milk production in the Ukraine.
- The dairy industry is expanding in the Ukraine, and there is abundant land available to provide forages for a growing dairy industry.
- Currently half of the milk production in Ukraine comes from 1-3 cow households; however the growth is in the commercialized (formerly collective) dairies.
- There is great potential for expansion and new dairy development.
Here are some informational links:
ACE in Ukraine
Introduction to AGRO SOYUZ
AgInUkraine.com
Farm Management:
The farm is set up as a closed joint stock company (CJSC).
Agro-Soyuz Corporation, which is owned 50/50 by Volodymyr Khorishko and Sergey Prokayev, has 80% of the shares in the CJSC and villagers/members of Druzhba who invested their property shares have the remaining 20% of the shares.
There are managers for all aspects of the farm (Dairy, Ostrich, Hogs, Horses, Laboratory for milk and forage testing, Grain Storage Facility, Crops, Vet Services, Practical Learning Center).
They recently transitioned to using job descriptions and standard operating procedures.
Education is emphasized in the mission of the farm.
Personnel interact with professionals throughout the world to promote knowledge and information about all aspects of the farm-- especially to producers from areas where agro-climatic conditions approximate those in the steppes of Ukraine.
A variety of Practical Learning educational programs are held at the Practical Learning Center at the farm.
Nutritient Management:
The barn is equipped with alley scrapers. Sand-laden manure is pushed from the alleys into a channel where dilution with water occurs. The mixture then passes into a settling basin, where it undergoes passive sand-manure separation.
Separated manure is transferred to a lagoon.
They are waiting on a system for liquid manure application using a drag hose.
Feeding/Cropping:
Utilize a Total Mixed Ration for the herd.
During winter, cows are fed once a day. During summer, cows are fed twice a day.
They use the NRC recommendations and careful monitoring of feedback from the cows to customize rations.
The on-farm lab is used to test forages.
Feed corn silage. Feed as haylage: alfalfa, triticale/vetch mix, oats/pea mix.
Feed as dry hay: alfalfa and annual grass mix.
98% of ration items are produced on the farm. Only the mineral supplements and the beet pulp are produced elsewhere.
For supplements, they put out a tender to different companies to find the best quality supplier for the greatest value.
There are 7760 ha (approximately 19,175 acres) of cropland.
Crops include: corn for grain and silage, sunflowers for a cash crop and meal for the ration, winter wheat, spring barley, triticale, vetch and soybeans for meal for the ration. Alfalfa and annual grasses for hay are also grown.
Fodder is stored in “Ag-Bags”, and there is a grain storage facility on-site.
Milking:
Milking herd is 1200 cows, expanding to 5000.
They milk European Holstein-Friesians.
Cows were initially imported from Germany, Denmark, and Hungary.
They currently use semen from North America for artificial insemination.
All cows have transponders and Dairy Comp 305 is used as a herd management tool.
Cows are milked in three groups based on physiological state and body condition. Cows that recently calved are milked four times daily and all other cows are milked three times daily.
There are currently two cellar type parallel parlor in operation, a 2 x 22 and a 2 x 10, an additional 2 x 28 parallel parlor will be completed by 2005.
There are plans for yet another parlor in the future and managers are contemplating installing different brands of equipment to compare functionality as part of their educational mission.
Managers make cow comfort a high priority- both in the barn and in the milking parlor. Every effort is made to keep the parlor quiet and calm, and classical music is played while cows are milking.
Age at first calving is 24-26 months.
Average number of lactations is 2.5.
Average Days in Milk is 356.
Calving Interval is 13.5 months.
Average 3.8% fat, 3.3% protein.
Average milk weight per cow is seasonal- roughly 24 liters.
Every day, 20 tons of milk is shipped to market.
Somatic Cell Count 250,000-280,000.
In Ukraine, there are no premiums for low SCC, but there are penalties for high SCC (over 300,000).
Young Stock and Replacements:
There are 1400 heifers and heifer calves and 500 bull calves.
There are no bulls on the farm. All breeding is done via artificial insemination using semen from North America.
Calves are given quality colostrum within the first hour after birth.
Calf feeding shifts to two liters of whole milk twice a day on the fourth day after birth. At this time, calves are also given free access to crimped mash and water.
Hay is introduced to the diet at six weeks of age
All calves are raised on the farm.
Calves are housed in individual pens with straw bedding for the first two months.
From 3-6 months, calves are kept in groups of up to 40 head.
There is a set vaccination program.
Heifers are inseminated at 14-15 months and calve at approximately 24-26 months
Housing:
Cows are housed in free stall barns with natural ventilation.
Currently have 3 barns, with plans calling for a total of nine when completed.
One barn houses 700 cows, one barn houses 800 cows and one barn has the milking parlor and veterinary area.
Eventually, the vet area will have a calving area.
No pasture at this time, but hope to eventually develop a pasture system for dry cows.
Stalls have a clay base and sand bedding.
Aisles are currently grooved concrete, but they plan to eventually put rubber mats in the aisles, beginning with the milking area.
Economics:
- Using the job descriptions, managers are trying to establish salaries so that they can give incentives when certain benchmarks are met in performance.
Community:
Founders of the Association of Dairy Livestock Owners.
Geared towards driving improvements in the dairy industry through education and research.
Working to develop and utilize milk recording, animal identification and herd management systems, and to teach others how to do the same
Future:
Plan to add another parlor. This will enable them to compare different brands and styles of milking equipment.
By 2006, they plan to: have finished the 9 barn complex, have 5000 cows on the premises and have a Dairy and Livestock School in place.
Continue to recognize new and innovative technologies and work with other institutions to promote and enhance the knowledge base within the dairy industry.
Misc:
Milk from the farm is processed by a French company in the Ukraine, mainly for cultured milk products such as yogurt.
They have an open farm gate policy, with a great emphasis on teaching and interaction with other current and future dairy professionals.
The collective farm as it existed in 1996, before the current owners took it over. The farm has come a long way since then!
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