EkoNiva Group, Russia's largest dairy holding, has announced the launch of a tour project on Bobrov 1 farm located in Bobrov district of Voronezh oblast. It is the Group's second dairy in the region which is open to the public. It will host tours for students of agricultural classes, specialised higher and secondary vocational educational institutions, as well as the company's business partners.

The visiting programme at Bobrov 1 is designed similarly to those at other dairies of EkoNiva. Guests will be shown around the facility and introduced to the key stages of milk production. First, visitors will learn about how animals of various ages – from calves to adult cows – are housed. Guides will explain in detail how fodder is prepared, proper rations for the herd are formulated and cattle handling is conducted. Then the guests will watch the milking process on the rotary milking parlour and learn about the technologies used for storing and transporting milk to processing plants. At the end of the tour, there will be a tasting of EkoNiva's dairy products.

‘Every year, we see an increase in the number of visitors, so it was necessary to open one more platform for our tour project. Bobrov 1 will primarily welcome students who do internships at the holding's enterprises, students of agricultural classes organised by EkoNiva and representatives of partner companies. Here, they will see firsthand how technological processes are streamlined on our farms’, says Yekaterina Bartseva, Manager of EkoNiva Group’s Tour Project.

EkoNiva launched its own tour project in 2013, pursuing the goals of popularising natural milk consumption and drumming up interest in agriculture. The Group’s dairies and plants are open for visits in Voronezh, Kaluga, Novosibirsk and Moscow oblasts, as well as in Tatarstan. Over the course of 11 years, more than 260,000 people have attended EkoNiva’s farms.