ROZMITAL in a fairy tale
Most Czechs associate Bouzov Castle and its surroundings with fairy tales or picturesque nature suitable for hiking and cycling. Few people know that in the nearby village of Bezděkov, under the supervision of the majestic castle, Mr Medek and his partners founded a cooperative 2 years ago, which today successfully breeds a 60-head herd of cattle and takes care of almost 100 hectares of pastures. Three ROZMITAL machines help them in their efforts.
With the beginning of the forage season, we went to visit Mr. Medek and ask him how he is satisfied with the ROZMITAL technology. "The machines are good, simple and functional, I would certainly not rest on my laurels and continue to improve them," Mr. Medek began his story.
The farmer is one of the partners of the Bouzovsko Agro s.r.o. agricultural cooperative established at the end of 2020. "I am not a farmer at all, nor did I grow up on a farm. A few years ago, my spouse found a farm for sale in the village of Bezděkov. And because we were thinking about a life change, word was given, the original owner added another hectare of meadows to the farm and we moved here from Brno, and I passed the original business to my daughters," Mr. Medek describes his story and the beginnings of farming, "There are three of us who take care of everything and try to move the business forward."
"Right from the beginning I thought, what about the meadow if there is no cow on it and we got our first two cows. Today we have a herd of 60 Angus and a few weeks ago we brought in a breeding bull. We've grown from one hectare to the current 100, with the vast majority being rented out," says Medek.
How difficult is it to start farming, especially if you have no experience? "At the beginning we thought we would build everything on a commercial basis and sell what we grow and produce, but it's not that simple in Czech agriculture and it's simply not possible without grants. We also tried different ways of using the material, such as making hay pellets for heating, or selling hay to horsemen, but these were also dead ends. Gradually, we've branched out into selling meat and cattle farming, and I believe we're out of the worst of it." Medek says.
And what about the technology they use? "I always prefer a domestic brand over foreign competition. After all, that was the main reason why we decided to go with ROZMITAL three years ago. Moreover, we received the machines together with the tractors from the dealer STROM PRAHA a.s., so we could be sure that the assemblies would work properly, that they would match each other performance-wise and hydraulically, etc." says Mr. Medek.
The structure of the cooperative's land is very specific. Either it is hilly meadows with steep slopes full of stones, or it is land near a creek which, during the spring snowmelt, waters and floods the adjacent land. The conditions are not easy to work in. In addition, we visited the farmer during the rainy season at the end of May when the haying was finished.
The cooperative uses 2 John Deere tractors with outputs ranging from 100 to 195 hp and has a mowing combination of a front disc mower SC-301 with a working width of 3.01 m and a rear side-mounted disc mower SD 300 with a working width of 3 m. The SD-300 has a centre suspension for better ground following, an advantage mentioned by Mr Medek himself: "It's easy to operate, the mowers follow even difficult terrain nicely and can easily handle this dense material on waterlogged ground or difficult mountain terrain. With a delivery rake, we quickly gather everything into a row and wrap it up with our own press and baler. We use the tedder when making hay later in the year, but in general haying is more prevalent here and I think the animals like it better too."
Specifically, the cooperative uses the SP-772D twin-rotor mid-row delivery rake with stepless working width and row adjustment, with a reach of up to 7.7 m. The machine has a steerable axle for better turning on the headland. The machine also has good copying characteristics thanks to the separate suspension of each rotor, the tandem chassis under the rotors, plus a copying wheel in front of each rotor. And also the six-rotor OZ-776S tedder with a working width of 7.7 m. The individual rotors have a large diameter of 1.72 m and are therefore equipped with seven arms for smooth and continuous forage distribution. The good copying properties are achieved thanks to the separate independent suspension of each rotor and the copying wheel located under each rotor.
For my part, I am satisfied with your equipment. Except for a few small things, everything works as it should. Of course, it was necessary to learn and test everything, especially at the beginning, but that is also due to the fact that we are learning to farm," says Medek.
Sales and any service issues in the cooperative are handled by the agricultural equipment dealer STROM PRAHA a.s. We wish Mr Medek and his partners every success in their farming endeavours and, if this has not yet happened, may they live their own fairy tale. After all, the fairy-tale region in which they and their herd and machinery are located creates perfect conditions for this.
