Russia Builds Its Largest Smart Farm
The Kalinina Innovation Dairy Complex in Sterlitamaksky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan is home to 3,500 milking cows.
Russia’s dairy farms are optimizing production processes by adopting digital technologies. Artificial intelligence and robotics can reduce the cost of building new complexes, caring for and feeding animals, and producing finished dairy products.
A model smart farm has been built in Sterlitamaksky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan by MTK Kalinina LLC. The project cost 6.2 billion rubles (about $73.5 million). The investor is Kalinina Group of Companies.
Monitoring Every Cow Individually
The new dairy complex was designed in 2022 from the outset to incorporate modern digital technologies for monitoring the animals and analyzing their day-to-day care and living conditions. The project took an unusual approach, housing the entire 3,500-head milking herd in a single building. This sharply reduced construction costs and minimized the expense of caring for the animals.
But keeping such a large number of animals in one facility created new challenges. It is physically impossible to monitor 3,500 head of cattle without automating work processes. Every stage of production is now tracked using artificial intelligence. Each animal is monitored individually. Computer-vision systems above the feed table identify every cow approaching the feed bunk. The system automatically tracks feed intake, as well as each cow’s behavior, physiological condition and gait. These data are used to assess the animals’ physical condition. If a problem is detected, the system automatically alerts a veterinarian.
“You’re not going to keep an eye on 3,500 cows in one building. By the time a cow has lost weight, that’s when you can finally recognize that she’s sick. Here, though, the system responds at the earliest stage: as soon as feed intake starts to decline, an alert is triggered,” said Rafik Gabdullin, chief livestock specialist at the municipal public institution for agricultural development in Sterlitamaksky District.
A Russian Digital System
The farm is managed by the Russian digital platform FeedNet. It tracks cattle health-monitoring results, automated milking systems and an intelligent feed-consumption management system designed to optimize animal nutrition. The farm’s digital platform is not dependent on foreign vendors; it was developed by the Bashkortostan-based IT company AgroInnovatsii.
The technology has already been tested in practice. For example, a feed-delivery system was introduced at the Urozhay agricultural enterprise, where it is used to feed 5,600 head of cattle. Its economic efficiency has also been demonstrated: Urozhay cut feed costs from 42 million rubles (about $498,000) to 25 million rubles (about $296,000), while reducing losses by 1.5 times. At the same time, the cows remain healthy and milk yields have increased.
Another innovation is an automated air-control and cross-ventilation system that replaces conventional heating. This is particularly important for cattle, which have an ideal temperature range of 12–15°C. “The more comfortable the temperature, the higher the milk yield. Less heat stress means the cows are more comfortable. When there’s no stress, productivity is at its highest,” Rafik Gabdullin said.
To maintain this temperature, the digital system moves fresh air horizontally through the entire building, from one wall to the other. Good nutrition and comfortable temperatures are producing strong results: the farm produces about 105 tons of milk per day, while average output per cow exceeds 40 kilograms. Milking is also automated. The carousel-style milking parlor is staffed by just six milkers per shift, helping address labor shortages.
“You have to understand that one robot can handle 65–72 milking cows. The first advantage of a robot is that there is no human factor. The product does not come into contact with a person’s hands, so the milk is cleaner. The second is high efficiency. Yes, there are costs, and the robot is expensive. But everything works like clockwork, and the robot does not get tired. That reduces our risks while allowing us to produce a high-quality product,” said Ilshat Fazrakhmanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan and Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Digitizing Russia’s Livestock Industry
The Bashkortostan project is important for the development of Russia’s livestock-technology market. Unlike other areas of agriculture, where digitalization has become standard practice, livestock farming is only beginning its large-scale shift toward artificial intelligence. Experts estimate that about 10% of Russian livestock farms have adopted digital technologies. These are mostly large and medium-sized operations. They include the Mokroye agricultural enterprise in Lebedyansky District of Lipetsk Region, where a neural network monitors more than 4,000 cows. In Verkhneuralsky District of Chelyabinsk Region, the first phase of a large robotic dairy complex with a total capacity of 700 head has begun operations. The complex is being built by Khlebinka. In Abzelilovsky District of Bashkortostan, the first building of a robotic farm for 240 head of cattle has opened, with automated systems handling milking and feeding.
However, most farms are still only collecting basic data on their animals and remain at the first stage of digitalization. Meanwhile, all new medium-sized and large livestock complexes in Russia are being designed as smart farms from the outset. This has already become an industry standard and a key factor determining production competitiveness.
The Bashkortostan experience could become another model for other Russian regions. It is helping the agricultural and IT sectors build domestic expertise in digital livestock farming. Over time, that could allow Russia to export not only agricultural products but also technology, consulting services and equipment. Potential markets include the CIS countries, as well as countries in Central and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America, where there is a need to increase domestic food production.
