History of fur farm "Savvatevo"

The fur farm "Savvatevo" found in 1967 based on several pre-existing collective farms in the Kalinin district of Kalinin (now Tver) region. In 1968 fur complex was put into service with estimated capacity of 16 thousand main herd female mink. Except breeding mink farm there are rabbit farm and dairy farm in village Poddube.

Throughout all history of fur farm the main type of breeding mink was the standard dark brown as the most common and most demanded fur for customers. Later, in the range of color types were added mink "sapphire", "Palomino", "pastel" and "black cross".

The company’s director Viktor Belousov, who held this post for over twenty years, made valuable contribution to the development of the fur farm «Savvatevo». Just during under his leadership fur farm has experienced reconstruction without losing position as the largest manufacturer of fur products. Under Viktor Belousov leadership farm got rid of the Aleutian mink disease, was steadily got 5 cubs from each main female and achieved the highest production results. In 1989 from 15,300 females at the main herd was obtained the highest number of 81615 cubs. For a long time the chief veterinarian was his wife Angelina Belousova. The farm runs a whole galaxy of fur dynasties such as Kochanovs, Kiselevs, Kolesovs, Gorokhovs and many others who worked at the company more than a dozen years.

 In 1997, fur farm received license from the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia to the status of breeding farm and called "The fur farm Savvatevo".

However, in the history of our farm were not simple periods. Since 2003, it began reducing the main herd, drastically reduced the number and quality of the skins. All this affected the farm’s economic conditions. The farm became unprofitable, material-technical base and a shed sector of mink farm was gradually declining. On a mink farm from 120 sheds remains active 40 ones. Because of the low and unstable wages paid from the farm the majority of qualified fur farmers and specialists resigned.

In February 2010, Chetverkin Georgy became the new director of "Fur Farm Savvatevo". Since his arrival in the fur farm, technological and economy policies of conducting the fur business were changed.

 For the last four years “Fur farm Savvatevo " is dynamically developing: livestock of  animals increased from 9,981 females in 2009 to 28,300 in 2014, or in 2.8 times, the number of cubs in 2009 was 34411 and in 2013 was 110056 or in  3, 2 times. By the number of cubs produced in 2013, we took the fifth place among Russian fur farms.

For the seating of increasing number of cubs and main herd during three years 23 sheds were repaired and 47 new sheds with new blocks of cages (production of plant Lepse (town Solnechnogorsk) and houses of moisture-resistant chipboard (produced in Belgium) were built. Total number of new animal’s places were 33,000.

Increasing volume of production, we paid much attention to the quality of minks and foxes skins, growth of productivity and thus augmentation of wages of farm’s workers.

Quality of our products. During 4 years, we have gone over to the Scandinavian type cultivation of animals, having a shorter and thick fur than the animals of the Russian breeding. For this purpose, in 2010 pedigree cubs were purchased in Poland on the farm «Bona fur farm» and in 2013 on a farm Torben Madsen (Denmark). Today, we breed Scandinavian type animals in cleanness and use the method of absorbing crossbreeding of Russian selection animals to  animals of Scandinavian selection of following color types: black, dark brown (mahogany), brown (braun and glow), pastel, Palomino, pearls, silver-blue, sapphire, white, stardust, black cross and color cross. Now we have a whole spectrum of color types of mink. In 2013, 16 color types of mink skins produced.

Increasing productivity on the farm: in 2010 - 545 females per 1 fur farmer,  in 2011 - 605 females, in 2012 - 725 females,  in 2013 - 831 females or during 3 year for  52%. The growth of productivity was the result of optimization of the labor of the fur farmers, modernization of shed sector, introduction of mechanized feeding construction of company NORKAR (Finland), the system of auto-watering of company GVA (Denmark) and introduction of more efficient equipment for the primary processing of fur of company PELS (Denmark).

To ensure the quality of animals feeding made reconstruction of feeding department. In the firm "Petsmo"(Finland) we purchased the most advanced feeding equipment line: breaker, 2 grinders "Titan", homogenizer and fodderpumps. Reconstruction in 2013 has allowed every day to cook up to 50 tons of homogenized fodder. 

In 2011, we opened a new direction in our business - the production of silver-black fox cubs. At the place of the closed 10 years ago rabbit farm a new fox farm for 1,500 females is building. Animals were imported from Norway (Farm Olshten Storkholm) and from Russia (fur farms "Vyatka" Kirov region, "Pushkino" and "Saltykov" Moscow region). In 2013, we got the second litter of 1939 puppies. The farm uses a technology of artificial insemination.