State and dynamics of the livestock development in the Orel region

Animal husbandry stands for the system-forming industry in the agrarian economy. Its development, like a locomotive, leads grain growth and fodder production as well as the entire crop growing industry towards new quality. Moreover, it creates conditions for year-round employment of rural residents, while forming a developed infrastructure of the countryside. There are 160 agricultural enterprises in the Orel region. The largest ones are LLC “Znamensky Breeding and Hybrid Center”, LLC “Miratorg-Orel”, LLC “Orel Leader”, LLC “Bryansk Meat Company”, JSC ”Mtsenskaya Agrofirm“, CJSC "Slavyanskoe" and others. In 2020, the livestock industry accounted for 25% of the region's agricultural production; 79.4% of all livestock products were produced by the agricultural organizations. The main base for the production of livestock products is livestock and poultry. In the region, there was a positive trend in the increase in the cattle (+ 3.6% by 2016), including cows (+ 9.2%), poultry (+ 24.1%) and especially pigs (+ 62.2% by 2016), however, compared to 2016, there was a significant decrease in the number of sheep and goats - by 19.4%. Currently, about 65% of the livestock is in the agricultural organizations, of which: cattle - 83.6%, including cows - 74.5%; pigs - 95.6%; sheep and goats - 6.1%. It should be clarified that a significant part of sheep and goats, with their small livestock, is concentrated in the households of the population - 82.9%. Analyzing the industry state, it can be noted that the terms of the intensification of the livestock production is constrained by a number of reasons, both objective and subjective. The extremely low profitability of the livestock industry should be considered as one of the most significant constraints that prevents sufficient investment into the industry. The key factors determining positive dynamics in the animal husbandry in the Orel region are active use of state support measures by the farmers, formation of a breeding base and strengthening veterinary protection.