Hot Season 2016: Harvesting in Belarus

The harvesting season is probably the most busy part of the agricultural year in any country. In the Belarusian climate, farmers have several months in summer and early autumn to complete their works before cooler weather sets in. Besides, the harvesting campaign is frequently interrupted by heavy rains and other natural calamities. For instance, in July 2016, Belarus experienced a number of rainstorms with strong thunderstorms and tornados.

But the harvesting "marathon" has to go on despite any difficulties. The hot season is the time to gather in vegetables, fruits, berries, famous Belarusian flax, and certainly cereal and leguminous crops, which represent the bulk of the harvest. Hundreds of harvesting teams worked in Belarusian fields during the 2016 harvesting campaign…

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Belarus boasts quite high gross yield figures: the 3rd place in the world in terms of flax and cranberries, 5th place in rye, 7th place in triticale, 13th place in sugar beet, 19th place in strawberries, and 38th place in potatoes. Feeding crops are vital for the animal husbandry industry and the meat and dairy industry. Belarus accounts for about 5% of the world’s trade in dairy products: in 2015 Belarus was the world’s third largest exporter of whey and butter, fifth largest exporter of cheese, quark, and skimmed milk powder…  This is why Belarusian farmers have virtually no days off during the harvesting season.

Hot workdays of Belarusian farmers, modern technologies and long-standing traditions, most beautiful landscapes and "delicious' photos can be found in the following photo story covering different parts of Belarus…