The first new energy-saturated tractor in 2023 was handed over to a farm enterprise in the Uisky district. Paid for at the end of last year, the 420-horsepower “Kirovets” went to the individual entrepreneur Alexander Gavrilov in the village of Kidysh.
The machine, produced at the St. Petersburg Tractor Plant, was prepared for operation and sent to the farm by employees of the Chelyabagrosnab company, a dealer of the manufacturer.
“In 2022, the agrarians of the region gathered a rich harvest of grain crops, a record harvest of oilseeds, and ensured the procurement of a one and a half year supply of feed for livestock. An important role in the successful conduct of agribusiness is played by the technical equipment of our enterprises and farmers. Thanks to federal and regional support, the process of updating agricultural machinery is proceeding efficiently and contributes to the growth of production,” said Alexei Kobylin, Minister of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region. “Agrarians are already starting preparations for the next field season, and the new equipment will help solve the most important tasks of increasing productivity and turning fallow lands into circulation.”
Farmer Alexander Gavrilov cultivates 4,700 hectares of arable land, on which he grows grain and oilseeds. Therefore, in addition to the T-150, MTZ and K-744 tractors already on the farm, he decided to purchase another energy-saturated Kirovets.
“I expect to increase the area of arable land in cultivation in 2023, the new tractor will be used at full capacity for plowing, disking, deep loosening, and will be provided with work for the entire season,” said Alexander Gavrilov. – It will work in conjunction with the Zvezda disc harrow with a working width of 10 meters and a deep loosener with a width of 4.5 meters. Due to the larger working width, the new Kirovets will save about four liters of fuel per hectare on plowing. And this means that the cost of the resulting products will decrease.
According to Evgeny Khalin, head of the equipment department of the dealer company, the company not only sells equipment, but also organizes its transportation from the factory to the Chelyabinsk region. All equipment undergoes pre-sale preparation so that the farm receives it completely ready for work. “We also provide assistance in the transportation of equipment in the Chelyabinsk region after its purchase, we provide warranty and post-warranty maintenance of equipment,” said Evgeny Khalin. – Now the farms work on tractors and special equipment in the same way as motorists in the city: everything that they do in car services, we do for agricultural enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region. In 2022, 42 Kirovets tractors were sold to the Chelyabinsk region, and 50 units are planned to be sold in 2023. This is the most popular tractor of energy-saturated tractors. The farms really like working for them, because over the past eight years it has undergone a lot of changes, it has become comfortable, is not inferior to imported analogues and is several times cheaper.”
“We must pay tribute to our farmers that, despite market changes under the conditions of sanctions, they managed to maintain the pace of equipment renewal,” comments Evgeny Litvinov, Acting First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region. – In 2022, we purchased more equipment than in 2021, the total cost of purchased agricultural machinery amounted to 3 billion 772 million rubles. State support for this direction amounted to 265 million rubles from the regional budget, up to 20% of the cost of purchasing equipment is compensated. In 2022, there were about 330 applicants who received this support.”
In addition, farmers can take a preferential loan for the purchase of equipment at 5% per annum, as well as take advantage of leasing schemes, this is also a kind of state support.
Since last year, a new area of state support has been subsidized – the acquisition of information and consulting systems and precision farming systems. This is the digitalization and automation of technological processes in the industry. In 2022, 236 elements of precision farming systems were purchased, and today about 1,200 pieces of equipment equipped with precision farming systems operate in the region.
Also in 2022, farmers and agricultural organizations purchased 196 tractors, 82 combines, 69 seeding complexes and more than 600 units of various units: seeders, balers, cultivators, sprayers, self-propelled front loaders, grain dryers and sorting machines, trailers and cars.
It is noteworthy that in the total volume of purchased equipment, imported vehicles account for only 5%. Basically, this is highly specialized equipment, for example, a berry harvester or a potato harvester.
In the Russian agricultural machinery industry, in turn, the process of import substitution continues, imported components are being replaced with domestic ones, and new cooperative and logistics supply chains are being built.
Regional manufacturers of agricultural machinery and equipment take an active part in the renewal of the agricultural machinery fleet: Chelyabinsk Compressor Plant, Traktor, Varnaagromash, Zarya and Spetselevatormelmontazh. Thus, the Department of Agricultural Machinery of the Chelyabinsk Compressor Plant (ChKZ-Agro) has been mass-producing and completing equipment for individual requests for more than six years. These are 20 types of machines (3 more are under development and testing): harrows with a working width of two to ten meters, subsoilers, sowing complexes with the application of mineral fertilizers, tractor trailers and all types of components and spare parts. The complexes of soil-cultivating and sowing machines created by ChKZ-Agro meet all agro-technological requirements, have a large margin of safety and high productivity. In 2021-2022, the enterprise produced and sold more than 170 units of agricultural machinery.
