Farmers gather at annual grain and rape growers' conference

For over ten years SIA “Latgale Agricultural Science Centre” and the stock company “Rezekne Dzirnavnieks”, in collaboration with Rezekne municipality, organise a conference of grain and rapeseed growers of the Eastern Latvian region. Over time, this conference has become the largest and most important event for the transfer and exchange of agricultural knowledge in Latgale region. Also that year, on 7 March, every interested party was able to find out the latest information on cereal varieties, plant protection products and experimental results in both the fields of the Latgale Agricultural Science Centre IN Viļānu, where 15 arable crops are tested, a total of 156 varieties, and results from experimental fields in Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

At the beginning of the conference on the purchase of grain and the services offered by the company, the head of the company “Rēzekne Dzirnavnieks”, Arvīds Zelch, was told: “In 2013, the company accepted 84 thousand tons of grain from its partners – 458 farms. As the last summer was warm and dry, it took only 35 percent of the total quantity of grain, which is a significantly better indicator than in 2012 when 70 percent of the grain had to be alloyed. 'A.zelčs emphasized that in the last year, 210 thousand lats were invested in the modernisation of the company:“ this is done to accelerate the pace of grain acceptance, ensure quality control at the time of storage of grain, and without increasing the price of services. ”It should be noted that A.Zelch also confirmed that solutions are currently being sought to successfully organise a freight transport flow to“ Rezekne mill ”by the release alley, which is significantly narrowed after the repair of the road.

As a continuation of the conference, the agricultural service co-operative society “LATRAPS” agronomer-consultant Peter Stanka informed about the possibilities of rapeseed and grain sales. Kostanka said that “LATRAPS” has experienced considerable growth – if in 2000, by registering a cooperatives, as founders were 12 farms from Dobeles and Jelgava municipality, then in 2013 “LATRAPS” represents 730 farms. The company's representatives also told about the company's innovation – from that year “LATRAPS” offers to cover crops of cereals, both against the case and hail and against overwintering. It should be noted that farmers may receive State aid of 50 per cent for grain insurance.

The “Syngenta Agro Services AG” agronomer, Gaidis Meikšāns, presented the currently devastating plant diseases and pests: crown sawberries, cabbage cecules and strawberry, which may result in a loss of up to 50 per cent. Several companies talked about the pest-fighting tools, the possibilities of increasing the harvest using the latest fertilizers, the most durable grain and rapeseed varieties, as well as the developments in the agricultural product market, such as the “Scandagra Latvia” representative Wilma Keiša found that the demand for beans, peas and rapeseed rape was significantly increased lately.

At the conclusion of the conference, Veneranda Stramkale, head of the “Latgale Agricultural Science Centre”, invited growers to celebrate the next meeting date in their calendars, which will be on July 11, when the annual field day will take place in the experimental fields of the Agricultural Science Centre.