Entry Threshold for TOP-30 Most Efficient Dairy Farms in Russia Rises to 11,500 kg per Cow
Industrialization Accelerates Productivity Growth
As noted by Soyuzmoloko's CEO Artem Belov, the industry continues to move towards industrial production models: "Overall, the industry has learned not only to build large complexes but also to create a high level of comfort in the maintenance and feeding of cows," the expert emphasized.
The increase in efficiency makes the ranking more competitive each year: the number of farms exceeding the threshold of 11,000 kg/cow/year has already surpassed 50. The TOP-20 participants have crossed the 12,000 kg mark with normalization for fat and protein levels to 3.7/3.2.
Regional Leaders: Changes in Positions
Regions actively investing in the construction of new dairy farms show leading productivity dynamics.
Streda Consulting's CEO Alexey Gruzdev notes:
"Last year, the Krasnodar region was the leader, but by the end of 2024, it moved to third place. The Penza region became the leader, with Kaliningrad in second place. The Leningrad region, which held the top positions for over ten years, dropped to fourth place."
Russia retained 18th place in the global cow productivity ranking — the same position as the previous year.
"Last year, we as a country overall passed an important milestone — entering the top 20 leading countries in the world in terms of productivity, surpassing the leader of Latin America, Argentina, and several Eastern European countries, while we surpassed the average EU indicator already in 2020. In 2024, despite a 5% increase to 8,290 kg/cow, Russia remained in 18th place in the world ranking. However, we lag behind the world leaders such as the USA and Canada by 20-30%, meaning the country retains growth potential, primarily by improving efficiency in small and medium-sized farms," adds Alexey Gruzdev.
2025 Ranking Leaders
The undisputed leader remains the "Steppe" agroholding — the company's best farm demonstrated 16,332 kg/cow/year.
TOP-5 ranking:
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"Steppe" Agroholding — 16,332 kg
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"Krasny Mayak" LLC (Yaroslavl region) — 14,448 kg
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"Kilachevsky" SPC (Sverdlovsk region) — 14,280 kg
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"Trudovoy" Breeding Plant (Saratov region) — 14,011 kg
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"Irmen" Breeding Plant (Novosibirsk region) — 13,619 kg
The top ten also includes: "Kuban MTC", "Druzhba" (Mordovia), "Rumelko" Group, "Green Valley" Agro-Industrial Holding, and "EkoNiva" Group (Kaluga region).
Among the new ranking participants are "Okhotno" Group, "Chebomilk", "Donskoye" SP, and "Kolos" SHPK.
Potential for Further Growth
The drivers of productivity growth remain unchanged:
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genetic development;
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optimization of feeding programs;
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improving production management quality;
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implementation of herd monitoring technologies.
"Further productivity growth is possible primarily through genetics, feeding optimization, and improvement of production processes management — that is, working on efficiency at the level of a specific complex and each cow," summarizes Alexey Gruzdev.
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The ranking includes companies with more than 2,500 cows. The indicator of average annual milk yield per forage cow with normalization for fat and protein levels to 3.7/3.2 was used. For holdings with a significant variety of farms, the best site indicators were considered.
