The Consul General of the French Republic in Yekaterinburg Claude Crouail visited two of Ural Mining & Metallurgical Company UMMC-Agro’s division’s enterprises: Patrushi farm and ZAO Teplichnoye.

M. Crouail examined Patrushi’s modern dairy farm that produces over 8 tons of milk per cow every year (Sverdlovsk Region’s best result so far). In Teplichnoye, the official could look at the application of the new, small-capacity vegetable-raising technology.

The new technology means the vegetables and plants are grown in special mineral mats rather than in soil; each item is placed in a separate cube with the specially made carrying base; also, each cube is plugged into an individual, computer-aided plant-feeding system.

According to Teplichnoye’s Director Yaroslav Babintsev, all this results in a totally new concept of plant care and therefore in an increased, better quality, and ‘greener’ yield. In fact, the farm expects to harvest its first new-technology tomatoes in just two months.

‘A country with such long and harsh winters just can’t do without hothouses like this. In addition to all its obvious advantages, the new technology can also ensure Sverdlovsk Region’s food security and help the area import less,’ the consul said.

M. Crouail believes the dairy and vegetable-growing businesses are the key agricultural areas in terms of providing food security, so investing in their development always pays off.