The USAID’s Farmer to Farmer program, administered by Land O’ Lakes International, has helped change the approach of the entire milking operation on Sergei Podzorov’s farm in Siberia. A Farmer to Farmer volunteer from the United States visited the farm to provide consultation on feeding practices, introduce improvements to the forage production process.

The volunteer also uggested ways to supplement the feeding rations, which proved to be the most cost-effective innovation increasing production by over 10%. The volunteer advised Podzorov to use his funds to feed the cows properly instead of heating the barns throughout the winter. This change helped reduce illness and death of the calves. The farm managers were trained on agricultural techniques including the removal of low-producing cows, and will pursue a genetic breeding program in the long term to improve overall milk production. Other improvements included the farm’s facilities - the barn and some pens were remodeled in favor of an improved upkeep system.

According to Sergei Podzorov, the overall effect of USAID’s help is that the implementation of the Farmer to Farmer program has set the farm well on its way to continuous improvements for the future.