Extreme temperatures which reign this summer, not only in Serbia, but in the entire Balkans, have led to great droughts, and therefore to the disappearance of food for livestock.
Cattlemen and farmers throughout the country they are forced to sell cattle due to the lack of food, but also the drop in purchase prices.
Slobodan Brkić, a farmer from the village of Glušci, which is located in the municipality of Bogatić, who has over 40 cows and 90 cattle, points out for "Vreme" that the heat is not the only thing that has led to the current situation for livestock farmers and farmers in Serbia.
"Drought is not the only reason for increased sales, a big role is also played by the drop in purchase prices, which is especially noticeable in the dairy industry. On top of all that, there are no calves available, food has become more expensive and is slowly disappearing," Brkić told Vreme.
Brkić points out that the purchase price is falling from year to year.
"Just a year ago, the price of milk was 70 dinars, and now it is 55. Last year was far from great, but compared to what this year will be like, it went well," says Slobodan.
Selling is not always the solution.
However, even when the decision to sell is reached, the problems of farmers and herdsmen did not disappear, but new ones only appeared.
"When you decide to sell, not everything is solved even then, the question is whether you will be able to sell. I, for example, have no other income, I live only from agriculture, so because of all this, we farmers are always tense," explains Brkić.
According to Slobodan, the biggest problem of the vast majority of farmers in Serbia is that the earnings are very low, while sometimes the question is whether there will be any at all.
"Last years, there was food, so we managed to survive, but the problem is that there is no income, but only to survive. This year, there will be no chance to talk about income, it will be difficult to survive because of these purchase prices and the whole situation," said Brkić.
Most herders are also farmers, so they have more problems
Herders are currently the most threatened because most of them are also farmers, so in addition to low prices, they also have droughts that destroy food.
"The big problem with livestock farmers is that they are also farmers, so they have another expense. Everything I thought I could produce now I have to buy, 60,70 percent of it, and the price is increasing every month," says the interlocutor for "Vreme".
In the end, Slobodan Brkić said that he was grateful that the country of Mačva is good, but that sometimes it cannot resist harsh conditions.
"Here in Mačva, the land is of good quality, so it is good for agriculture, of course it can sometimes fail, but there are places where people struggle much more and gain much less," concludes Brkić.
Municipality of Knić with the same problems
Nikola Nikolić from the village of Brnjica in the municipality of Knić stated that smaller farms with six to seven cows are already selling them because they cannot provide food.
"They are "cleaning" the livestock, I will at best keep the existing number, but I may have to sell a certain number of cows out of 30 and a number of heifers out of the current 17," said Nikolić.
He also stated that he sowed 32 hectares of corn, which cost him four million dinars, and due to the drought, some plots will not even have "grains".
The owner of a cow farm from the village of Guberevac in the municipality of Knić, Milija Palamarević, said that he would try to keep dairy cows, but that the price of animal feed had risen significantly and that dairies would have to increase the purchase prices of milk.
"The corn was destroyed by the drought, and those trees are only for silage, which is of zero quality, and there will be three times less of it than under normal circumstances," said Palamarević.
Farmer Darko Pantelić from the village of Brestovac in the municipality of Knić, who owns 60 cattle, of which 28 cows and 17 heifers, said that he will probably sell a certain number of cattle, but will not fatten the bulls, because there is not only corn, but also grass for hay.
"We only mowed the grass once, the clover alfalfa twice, and last year five times. It didn't rain since April until the other day when two or three liters fell per square meter, which is nothing," Pantelić said.
According to him, he can save them only if the Ministry of Agriculture gives the promised 100.000 dinars per heifer.
About a dozen associations of farmers, mostly from Vojvodina, recently asked the relevant Ministry for help of 300 euros per hectare.
They have announced protests if they don't get that help.
