More than 250 dairy producers and processors participated in the interregional dairy forum in Nizhny Novgorod.

      Photo: Nizhny Novgorod Fair

      More than 250 milk producers and processors participated in the Interregional Dairy Forum in Nizhny Novgorod. Participants from the Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo, and Rybinsk regions gathered to discuss the current market situation for milk. The meeting was attended by Olga Abramova, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation; Andrey Sanosyan, Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region; and Nikolay Denisyov, Minister of Agriculture and Food Resources of Nizhny Novgorod Region. During the plenary session, attendees reviewed industry-wide issues: government policy in dairy farming development, the current state of the milk market in Russia, and prospects for dairy export growth. "According to the Decree of the President of Russia, milk production in Russia should exceed 38 million tons by 2030. This is important for both food security and technological leadership, as well as positioning Russia on foreign markets. We have established a breeding livestock system. Over eight billion rubles are allocated annually for breeding development. Significant work is underway to change, regulate, and harmonize legislation in this area. A new support measure is being launched — subsidies for genotyping animals and for forecasting breeding value," said Olga Abramova. Andrey Sanosyan emphasized that agro-industrial complex (AIC) is a priority development area in Nizhny Novgorod Region. "Over the past five years, there have been increases in both investment volumes and production indicators. Enterprises actively invest in equipment modernization and updating their agricultural machinery fleet. Three years ago, Nizhny Novgorod Region ranked first in Russia for the number of machinery purchased, according to 'Rosagrolizing.' The dairy sector is one of the most promising. I am confident that the Nizhny Novgorod Dairy Forum will become an annual event," noted the deputy governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Nikolay Denisyov added that where dairy farming develops, rural infrastructure also advances. "Primarily, federal support measures target large enterprises. We believe that assistance to small farms and households is equally important. We will promote this area of regional support," said the minister. Artem Belov, General Director of the National Union of Milk Producers, discussed the development of the dairy industry in Russia. "Russia supplies approximately 87 percent of its milk and dairy products domestically. Nizhny Novgorod Region is well balanced in terms of raw milk production and processing. There is significant potential for developing new livestock farms as well as the processing industry. The set of regional measures being implemented in Nizhny Novgorod Region is one of the best in Russia," emphasized Belov. During the panel discussion in the second half of the forum, participants discussed more specific issues — technical solutions for designing large and small farms for cattle, applied genotyping in industrial milk production, digitalization of the industry, approaches to increasing profitability of dairy farms, factors to boost beef production, and solutions to staffing shortages in the agro-industrial sector. "In agriculture, we recently built one of the first robotic complexes, which produces high-quality milk. Now, thanks to a grant, we are constructing a second complex. We have over 700 cows, with a milking herd of 250. We want to develop dairy farming further. That’s why the forum program is very interesting for us, and it’s good that such important issues are being raised," said Alexander Plekhanov, manager of a collective farm in the Sharangsky municipal district.