MECHANIZATION OF CZECHOSLOVAK AGRICULTURE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260140-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2011
• Sequence Number: 140
• Publication Date: December 13, 1956
• Content Type: REPORT

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STAT
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b1ECHA1`[IZATIOI! OF CZECHOSLOVAK AGi[I~ULTURE
(Corm~ent: This report summarizes nn article by Jiri Mstousek,
from the No 5, 25 June 1955 issue of Planovnne Hosnaderstvi
(Planned Econom;;) _rubLi.e:had by ti;e Czechoslovai: State Pln:;ning
Office in Prn~t:c.~
Since only 31 percent of Czechoslovakia's population is now engaged in
agriculture and the age structure of the agricultural population is unfavorable,
the mechanization of n11 agricultural sectors becomes all the more ir,~no=?tant.
The worker class must provide the necessary agricultural machinery and equip-
ment. This machinery and equipment must be fully utilized, and maximum utili-
zation can be achieved only under large-scale so;:ialist agricultural operations.
Successes and failures in the utilization of machinery are often attrib -
uted to natural conditions and the local attitude of JZD (unified urr;?;~;;Ltural
cooperative) members, farmers, and personnel in the field of agriculturl .>^-i1_
anization. Such ideas lead to underestimating the political and economic im-
portance of mechanization. They cause difficulties for the national economy
because they create doubts ns to the wisdom of investing in machinery and equip-
ment not urgently needed while rejecting the de.*~ands of other productive sec-
tors that need additional mac[finery and equipment and are effectively utilizing
the machinery they trove.
Present conditions in Czechoslovak agriculture are favorable to the uti-
lization of agricultural machinery. In view of the great investment which the
state maY,es annually in the improvement and development of machinery, it is
imperative that this :netchinery be properly utilized.
In many KITS during the important spring months wheeled tractors are 80
percent utilized; potato planters, 36 percent; harvest machinery, 45 percent;
and mowers (znci linty), 50 percent. Tractors average 1.03 shifts and crawler
tractors, 1.08 shifts. Tractors perform 82 percent of the stubble plowing and
85 Percent of the deep plowing which extends into the spring months.
As a result of the irregular utilization of machinery there are great var-
iations in the average perforrances of individual tra;tor units. If the na-
tional avernoe were given an index of 100, those I?II'S with efficient economic
organization would have a performance index of 200 or more.
In z?ecent years the level of mechanization has been substantially raised.
In grain-crop production, which occupies the ca,jor portion of the nation's
arable soil, the preparation of the soil and particularly tl?:: harvest work have
been mechanized. The gathering of straw from costbines and the cleaning, drying,
and transporting of grain have not yet been corm=
t
=
ely mechanized. Grain har-
vest is the most highly mechanized of all harv~:;;t;:,; in some JZDs it has been
90 percent mechanized. An even higher level hac teen achieved in 'parley and
wheat harvesting. 1?Sechanization of the corn harvest is lagging.
The mechanization of industrial-crop production is seriously lagging. The
disproportions in bet~recn-row cultivation have been eliminated, but the prob-
lems of thinning, weeding; and harvesting su~cer beets have not been solved al-
though conditions exist for mechanization of su::h tasks.
Mechanization personnel must devote their attention to the development of
nex machines for the cultivation of potatoes and vegetables, and to the uti11-
zation of existing machinery. Rough estimates indicate that potato plantin6
STAT
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 last year was 40 percent me:hanized. The DIPS had every means of completing the
basic between-row cultivation of potatoes, but it was impossible to mechanize
potato digging satisfactorily without Waking adaptations on existing diggers.
Despite the substantial inc:?ease in mechanized cultivation of fodder crops,
the neceascu?y universality has not been achieved. The cutting of fodder crops
and mowing of meadows has been substantially mechanized but virtually no mech-
anization has been achieved in the drying and hauling of straw. In 1954; DIPS
cut a 68 percent greater area in fodder crops than in 1953, but contributed
hardly at all to any other tasks related to the Fodder harvest. Green fodder for
feeding is etlll harvested in the old way, and in the preparation of ensilage
the only task mechanized to any extent is the filling of the silos, in which
the fodder is blown from the choppers into the silos. Only by using machinery
to raise corn can corn be harvested in a milY.y wax stage.
s+hileElhettransaortatio cofafeedrandJmanure i8 hesenT..Dn has been mechanizedds,
17 percent. New barns oa state farms are bein,^ substantially mechanized.
In special branahc~ o_ a ~?iculture su_h as hop production ant fruit farm-
ing, successes have been achieved in the mechanization of cultivation and in
the use of preventive measures [insecticides and fungicides'.
Despite the great successes which have been achieved since the Two-Year
Plan and the beginning of the First Five-Year Plnn, the mechanization of the
production of n numbe:? of crops and of livestock has not become adequately uni-
versal and thus has not had any great effect on productivity or on physical ex-
ertion in agricultural work.
In future years, the tempo of mechanization of agricultu:?~ .-mat be ins eyed,
and the lag in the mechanization of some types and even some crt_re br~nci.~.. ;,
agriculture must be overcome. The following machinery must be popularizes,:: +
1. Tractors which are very economical and adaptable for individual types
of work and to local production conditions.
~? Highly efficic.^.t combines which can simultaneously perform a zur..ber
of tasks. In addition to ;;rain co:::oines, beets potato, flax. co:?r,, ails;;.,
hop, and other types of co:::bines c7ould be developed.
3? Tractor-mounted :~achines for all types of soil prel~a?aion, particu-
larly for cultivating industrial crops, vegetables, and orchards, and for lon3-
ing and ur_loading crops. Hy,7rnulic mechanis? rust be employed not only in set-
ting up the machinery for work or transport, but also for regulation of equip-
ment in operation.
4. Tractor-drawn i::achinery permitting a nnrimum number of tasks to be
mechanized through use of movable a3gregntes equipped with highly efficient con-
trols.
5? Dlenns of transportation which will
Hermit the mechanization of most
of the work in barns, storehouses, and feed preparation buildings and on agri-
cultural building projects and of anti .,.,i;,.....,.,__ ____. _
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Such mechanization of agriculture can help ovcrcor..e localized ;:nnpo:rer
shortages in a relatively short time, and physical exertion in agr?iculttu al
work can be eliminated. Deficiencies in the introduction and utilization of
existing machinery must be eliminated, and the experiences of the U333 ;rust be
emphasized.
The mechanization of agricultural transportation is a very impo:?tnnt nrou-
lem. ;?Iays must be found to harmoniously use automobiles itrucks], t:?ansnort
tractors, and draft anirals. All of these transportation methods mutt be con-
sidered as an indivisible total, particularly because their maximum utilization
is possible only under certain conditions. For example, the utilization of the
payload capacity (lozna plocha) of trucks increases significantly as the 1^.aul-
ing distance increases. In hauls of up to 5 kiloaeters, 10 per..^.ent of the i.ay-
load capacity is usually utilized; whereas in hauls of up to 1~ :?;i=r.:.;etr~,
this capacity is utilized a8 percent. In the case of transport ::a:1?,x?s the
utilization of the payload capacity is less dependent upon the haulm; distance,
particularly because in the cooperative economy tractor transportation acco~:nts
for 40 percent of all transportation by means other than trucks. :vca sc it is
important to continue tc seal; means of better utilizing the tractors, which pre
currently utilized about 60 percent in the cooperative econor:y. At the snrc
time it is important to study the convenience of coordination of truck opera-
tions of the Czechoslovak Automotive Transportation (Ceskoslovensl;n auto:~obilova
doprava) system and the I?iPS tractors on one hand, and of private truc};s anal T;D
transport tractors on the other. Hoth conventional trucks and spe~:inl codels,
such as the Soviet /'S!Z-2, miust be popularized. The Al]'L-2 is eeuippc3 with a
1.5-cubic-meter tank for the hauling of liquid canure and for such ,jour. as
spraying and disinfecting.
Furthermore, mechanization of transportation in field threshing op_rations,
in storehouses, and on construction sites must be considered. For every hec-
tare inn J7J, come 230-25C quintals of various materials will be hsule~i
part of the drive for incrcns~d production and of the widespread im~cstr..ent
construction pro~?nn (in add ii ion to the movement of ,grain in the storehouses).
It is necessary, thareforo, to eliminate the idea that JZDs will not be able
to utilize trucks, even ~hosc with lower capacities than trucks cu??rcntly used
in industry and particularly in construction. idechnnization of a; ?1:ultursl
production must even improve the already efficient elevators used for mover:en`
of sacks, manure, construction rnterials, and the like. The Soviet I^.-0.3 r;a-
nure leader, which can lift 0.40 cubic meter of manure to a height of =.0 r..eters,
will be introduced and will operate with existing wheeled tractors.
Further increases in labor productivity and decreases in production costs
can be achieved through electrification of various tasks, particularly in live-
stock production, in storehouses, and in production of vegetables and si:nilnr
crops. Utilization of electricity is inadequate in Czechoslovak s~z?iculture.
In 1947, only 3,600 kilowatt-hours per 100 hectares of land were used, tnc~rcns
in some nations 21,000 to 32,000 kilowatt-ho;.u?s were required for the same area.
Although consumption of electricity in Czechoslovak agriculture increased sub-
stantially in recent years, maximum utilization of electricity was not achieved.
In the very near future, consumption of power in Czechoslovak agriculture will
have to be almost doubled. This goal is particularly important in view of the
fact that each 1,000 kilowatt-hours of power used in agriculture is couivalent
to the labor of one agricultural worker. Furthermore, the electrification of
agricultural tasks reduces the strenuousness of the ;cork and improves its
quality. Greater utili?~ation of electricity will be particularly important in
such tasks as milking, watering of livestock, preparation of livestock i'ceds,
transportation of supplies in burrs, ,hearing of sheep, and irrigation of crops.
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Thn over-all produ?rLivity of electrical milking is 2.5 times that
of a manual milker, and the rilker'.: ,job becomes easier and healthier
with the use of electric milking t:.s~hines. With the
l
t
e
ec
rification of
watering of livestock, the t^nnual labor involved is reduced to one tenth
the amount required otherwise, while milk production can be increased
10-15 percent as result of supplying the cows according to their individ-
ual water requirements. At the same time, the difficult tasks connected
with ;,nnual watering pre eliminated, and the attendants can devote their
attention to other tas!;s.
Very satisfactory results have beer. achieved in the electrification
of the preparation of livestock feed. This includes the use of power in
the chopping of fodder, crushing of grain, washing of potatoes and beets,
electrical scalding of potatoes, and similar tasks. ;?Tithout such complex
mechanization, manpower recuirements are three to Four times as high and
the feed is not as well arepared.
Experience l.as shown that some 50-70 percent of the time required
for livestock feeding is spent in carrying the feed. Thus the mechani-
zation of feed transportation in the barns must receive major attention.
This will include the building of elevated tracks and installation of
motorized carts and other facilities which will completely eliminate.
physical strain. Labor costs can be cut in half If mechanization of
barns is completed promptly. Rather than wait for the fu:?ther develop-
ment of transportation equipment for barns, it is essential that effi-
cient barn equipment already available be installed. This must be made
possible by the delivery of high-quality equipment, and by a proper
pay scale an3 an effective bonus system. The present wage and bonus
systems in some secto:?s, such as the state farms, do not promote barn
mechanization; in fa:;t they hamper it.
Some thought must be given to moving the manure from barns direct
to manure nits or ?,oagons by conveyer belts equipped with scrapers. FroT
an operational standpoint this is economical even though some of the con-
veyer belt systems have not yet been perfected.
The electrical shearing of sheep is likewise important. While elec-
trical shearing is not entirely new to Czechoslovakia, there should be
greater utilization of shearing aggregates which can raise labor produc-
tivity to three or Sour times the present level and the amount of wool
by 8-10 percent. The shearing can be completed in less time while the
quality of the wool is protecte3. At the same time the digestive proc-
esses of the sheep are disturbed to a lesser degree, and the chances of
injury to the sheep pre :?educed. The simple assembly of the shearing ag-
gregate on a truck permits shearing in barns ns well ns in open pastures;
this is n particularly valuable feature at the first shearing.
In crop production it is important to consider possible uses of
electricity in irrigation. The cheap power prorided by hydroelectric
power plants favors the electrification of irrigation. Reports from the
USSR prove the superior economy of electrified irrigation. According to
these records, 4 work hours are required to deliver one cubic meter of
water to the field if draft horses are used, 0.03 work hour if internal-
combustion engines are use3, and 0.02 work hour if ele_tric motors are
used. To spray one cubic meter of water, 4 work hours are required if
draft horses are used, 0.08 work hour when internal-combustion engines
pre used, and~0.06 work hour when electric motors are used. For each
accomplished with the consumption of only 0.28 kilowatt-houryof power.
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The coat of the fuel consumed for [in the delivery and spraying ofY)
each cubic meter of eater is 14 percent loner in the case of electric
power [than in the case of internal combustion engines?]. From this
standpoint it will be necessary to concentrate in future years on the
improvement and expansion of electrified irrigation.
The possibilities which have been mentioned do not by any means ex-
haust e11 the feasible uses of electric power in agriculture. Lighting
oP greenhouses, poultry houses, and calf barns, the disinfection of grain
against pests, and the operation of hatcheries, mechanized workshops, and
other Yacilities provide excellent opportunities Por further electrifi-
cation.
Further mechanization of agricultural production will require the
maximum efforts of designers, workers, and operational technicians. At
the same time the utilization of mechanization will require the maximum
attention of responsible agricultural personnel, including those is MPS
and on state farms, as well as ell tractor operators, agronomists, zoo-
technicians, and other agricultural workers. Thus it is essential that
the direction of future development of agricultural mechanization be
knows. The bnsia of agricultural technology and economics must also be
understood in order that agricultural machinery may serve to increase
agricultural production.
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