Development of mechanization of dairy cattle rearing in Russia and the Soviet Union in the first half of the twentieth century

The study aimed to look into how dairy cattle rearing in Russia and the USSR got technical and technological support in the first half of the twentieth century. At the start of the 20th century, two-thirds of Russian agriculture were small peasant farms. They used manual labor and did not need the costly machines. The consolidation of farms was very slow. Yet it laid the foundation for a shift to mechanized livestock production. The First World War, which began in 1914, followed by the Revolution and the Civil War halted for years the technical development of Russia's agricultural production. In late 20s, the Soviet Union already faced the challenge of producing more agricultural goods. This increase could be possible by starting highly mechanized agricultural enterprises. By 1931, “Soyuzselstroy”, an All-Union Agricultural Construction Association, had prepared standard designs of dairy cattle farms for 100 and 200 heads. They provided for mechanization of main processes of cow housing and care. In 1930-1940, scientists and engineers of the All-Union Institute of Mechanization (VIM) and its branches undertook the creation of cattle farming machinery. This period saw the development and manufacture of a number of machines that made livestock farmers labor easier. The work on setting standards for designing the cow barns started. By 1939, VIM had designed a system of machines and test edit in collective farms. The need for specialized organizations to help collective farms to install and put into operation the livestock equipment became evident. At the same time, training of agricultural engineers started in Leningrad, Moscow and other USSR cities. A Decree by the Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union dated July 8, 1939, set a delivery plan of machines and units for livestock farming in 1940. Thus, by 1941 the conditions were created for integrated mechanization of main labor-intensive processes in national animal husbandry. Those days agricultural ecology was not in the focus. With no widespread production of mineral fertilizers in place, application of all manure to soil posed no environmental risk.

1. Parashchuk S. Cattle breeding in Russia. The complete Encyclopedia of Russian agriculture and related sciences. Obshch. red. A. F. Rudzkiy. Izdanie A. F. Devriena. Saint-Petersburg: Tipografiya Imperatorskoy Akademii nauk, 1903. Vol. VIII. pp. 1106–1135.

2. Artsybashev D. D. Agricultural engineering in Russia. The complete Encyclopedia of Russian agriculture and related sciences. Obshch. red. A. F. Rudzkiy. Izdanie A. F. Devriena. Saint-Petersburg: Tipografiya Imperatorskoy Akademii nauk, 1903. Vol. VIII. pp. 960–981.

3. Artsybashev D. D. Agricultural machinery and implements: a guide for choosing agricultural machinery and implements. Biblioteka khozyaina No.25. Saint-Petersburg, 1902. Iss. 2. 650 p.

4. Stroganov V. I. Machinery Department of the Imperial Agricultural Museum. Moscow – Saint-Petersburg: Tipografiya M. P. Frolovoy, 1909. pp. 239–313.

5. Erk F. N. From the history of the formation of agricultural mechanics in Russia. Saint-Petersburg: SZNIIMESKh, 2004. 100 p.

6. Florentev E. A. Agricultural industry. Vologda Regional Universal Scientific Library. URL: https://www.booksite.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/106/986.htm (accessed: 27.02.2024).

7. Baranovskiy A. A. On the testing of separators at the Petrograd Agronomic Institute in Detsky (Tsarskoye) Selo in October 1918. Izvestiya Otdela mashinovedeniya Sel'skokhozyaystvennogo uchenogo komiteta. Petrograd: Fototekhnicheskaya Laboratoriya O.Z.U. 1918;Х(3-4):222–228.

8. Vtoryy V. F. Mechanisation of agricultural production during collectivisation in the Leningrad region in 1928-1936. Agro-EkoInzheneriya = Agricultural Engineering (Moscow). 2020;3:122–136. (In Russ.). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24411/0131-5226-2020-10261

9. Agroengineering science of Russia: formation, current state, development strategy. Pod red. Krasnoshchekova N. V., Lachugi Yu. F., Popova V. D. Moscow: Rosinformagrotekh, 2007. 622 p.

10. Shkurin A. N. Construction and mechanization of cattle yards. Moscow-Leningrad: Sel'kolkhozgiz, 1932. 222 p.

11. Artsybashev D. D. Mechanization of farmsteads in state farms and collective farms. Moscow-Leningrad: Sel'kolkhozgiz, 1931. 157 p.

12. Strakhov P. Agricultural buildings. Technical Encyclopedia. Moscow: Sovetskaya entsiklopediya, 1933. Vol. 20. pp. 478–496.

13. Tsoy Yu. A. Formation and development of research on mechanization and automation of animal husbandry in Russia. Vestnik VIESKh. 2008;(1(3)):39–49. (In Russ.).

14. Krasnov V. S. Eliminate the backlog in livestock mechanization. Mekhanizatsiya i elektrifikatsiya sotsialisticheskogo sel'skogo kho-zyaystva. 1940;(3):34–36. (In Russ.).

15. Gornovesov G. V. Experience in mechanization of labor-intensive processes on livestock farms. Mekhanizatsiya i elektrifikatsiya sotsialisti-cheskogo sel'skogo khozyaystva. 1940;(10):5–8. (In Russ.).

16. Lobachevskiy Ya. P., Tsench Yu. S. The establishment of a system of agricultural engineering education in the ussr in the 1920s and 1930s. Vestnik Rossiyskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Istoriya Rossii = RUDN Journal of Russian History. 2020;19(3):684–698. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-8674-2020-19-3-684-698

17. Skorlykin A. I. The manure spreader of the Ochersk plant. Moscow – Leningrad: Sel'kolkhozgiz, 1932. 24 p.

18. Levkevich R. E., Senotrusova S. V., Khristianov K. N. Retrospective analysis of mineral fertilizers production in the soviet period. Innovatsii i investitsii. 2023;(4):397–401. (In Russ.).