The domestically produced baler must be high-quality and on par with imported models, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said during a working trip to Bereza District on 31 July, BelTA has learned.
At the Savushkin Luch winter wheat field, where the President made his first stop, a prototype of a domestically produced combined round baler was on display.
The president noted that due to a shortage of such machinery, there are currently problems with the rapid clearing of fields for subsequent sowing. This is a bottleneck in agriculture. High-performance balers are needed to quickly remove straw from the fields and plow the soil.
According to feedback from responsible officials and specialists at the farms where the prototype was tested, the domestic baler matches its imported counterparts.
“But it must be a quality product, on par with imported models,” the president set the task.
The baler was manufactured by Bobruiskagromash and is currently available as a single prototype undergoing trials in real field conditions. The machine is designed to operate in various conditions and is capable of baling both forage and industrial crops.
The localization level of the prototype exceeds 70%. It is planned that after testing and further refinement, this percentage will increase even further. Belarus will develop its own expertise in creating baler control systems, and mechanisms for feeding and wrapping bales with netting and stretch film, as well as for picking up and chopping the crop mass, will be designed and implemented.
At the same time, work is underway on a second experimental prototype, taking into account the feedback received during the operation of the first one.
Testing is expected to be completed this year, with a pilot batch to be produced and serial production to begin in 2027.
The president consistently reminds farmers of the importance of high-quality feed preparation and silage storage, as this largely determines the preservation of livestock during the autumn-winter period and, consequently, the economic performance of the livestock sector.
Weather conditions in Belarus do not always allow for storing hay in trenches. To preserve feed for the off-season, it is wrapped in film using a specialized machine - a baler. In this process, it is crucial to do everything properly and ensure the “packaging” is done correctly.
