— How did the enterprise develop and what it is today?
— It was very difficult to develop because the south of Odessa region is a zone with adverse climatic conditions. Besides sometimes rented fields were so neglected that the tractors were hidden in weeds. But nowadays the arable land of the enterprise is 25 thousand hectares of land. Our enterprise is among three enterprises with the highest yield. Our enterprise is also the leader in pig production of the Odessa region and Ukraine.
— When did you make up your mind to develop pig production?
— From the very beginning. We knew that animal husbandry was the main branch of agriculture that should be developed in our steppe zone of risky crop production. It is definitely difficult to breed cattle as it is almost impossible to get roughage feed under such climatic conditions. Pig production and sheep breeding are traditional branches of agriculture for the south of Ukraine. Nowadays crop production and pig production are closely connected with each other. Before putting the fattening farm into operation the main direction of development was crop production, but after starting selling commercial pigs we began to receive money from pig production for further building stages.
— What stages of pig production development were the most remarkable?
— All the years were so busy that we didn’t notice how quickly the time passed. In the constant flow of events and working without weekends the most remarkable are moments when you see the results of your efforts. Those results are launching of the breeding farm, bringing the first animal, first farrowings, putting the fattening farm into operation. I will never forget the first signs of trust seen in the eyes of the citizens of Zhovtneve village. When we told people about the plans to build a modern breeding and fattening farms for the first time nobody took it seriously, as they had herd too many hollow promises before. But the ice of distrust was broken after the first breeding pigs were brought from France. So we can be proud that we manage to turn into reality all our plans.
- What other projects will be put into operation in the nearest future?
- What managerial decisions help Larysa Ignat to hold control over the enterprise?
- What are the main success factors of any project for Larysa Ignat?
- How does Vasyl Lymar maintain effective personnel for the enterprise?
- What are the main achievements of pig production of 2012?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of geographic position of the enterprise?
- What technological concepts help to handle the problems of adverse climatic conditions?
You can find answers for these and other questions in the full version of the interview in the magazine “Profitable Pig Production”, 1 2013.