Dimitar and Andrei Machuganovs in Stories of Success - how farmers work with Case IH

Dimitar Machuganov: Life is short, and my motto is to live and work at full speed

Dimitar Machuganov is a 52 years old working man with two wonderful granddaughters, and the ambition to develop the family business. This is how he defines himself, sharing that he is truly lucky because he has the greatest incentive to work today - the continuity in the family company in the person of his son Andrei Machuganov, who stands side by side with him.

This is not the first time we visit Dimitar`s farm and won`t be the last. There is always something to see and learn here, because farms like this are an example and an incentive for anyone with a farmer's heart beating in their chest.

Dimitar meets us saying:

You know, one must not stop evolving, because life is short and every wasted day in this world is irreversible in any way and you cannot compensate for it. Therefore, my motto is to live at full speed and work at full speed, life is only one and it is short and we must use it to the fullest. The future in our family, because our business is a family business, is aimed at strengthening what we have already achieved, to preserve and further develop it

We can't help but ask Andrei why he stands behind his father and chooses agriculture over many opportunities for a young man:

My choice to work in agriculture happened very smoothly and gradually, when I started helping my father, learning and doing different parts of the business. I can say that despite my almost 10 years of experience in this activity, I continue to learn. I chose farming because it is a great challenge, and work for a person must be challenging.

From typical grain production, Dimitar Machuganov and his son develop the activity of the farm to the next level - production and processing of high quality dehydrated alfalfa and pellets. They are already selling in over 16 countries, and their brand is recognizable as a guarantee of high quality.

For the past time, the decision for processing of produced production and the challenges, Dimitar and Andrei Machuganovi shared:

Dimitar Machuganov:

Diversification is the word that made us think about what to change in our farm, in our work culture, in our way of thinking. We are accused of only exporting raw materials and having no added value. The plant I managed to build with my family is exactly an alfalfa processing plant. Why alfalfa? Why not continue investing in grain production? Grain is an achieved target for us, and I think that the prospect of grain production is not the best, because we are in competition with the Black Sea region with very large producers such as Ukraine and Russia. To add value, we had to use a crop that is known and traditional for Bulgaria. So we turned our eye on alfalfa and built a processing plant.

Andrei Machuganov:

Alfalfa is an extremely fertile crop, but it requires its own specifics. We are in a 6 month harvest of the year when we harvest our slopes. The key of making a quality product and exporting it to over 16 countries is that we have closed the whole cycle. With us, things start in the field from processing, sowing the field, then harvesting alfalfa, processing in our plant, to the subsequent realization for end customers, says Andrei.

We are going to the field, where we see another global innovation of Case IH, which is being tested exactly in Bulgaria. This is the LB436 HD baler, which is also the machine of the year for 2020 of Agritechnica. Apart from the tests and operation of this unique machine for the market, we can't help but ask Dimitar Machuganov about his partnership with Case IH, with which he has been working since the very beginning of his activity:

Partnership means trust. Partnership means reciprocity. With Case IH, we grew up on our farm. We were small in the beginning, now we are big. There is no other way with the big brand, with the big partner with which there is reciprocity and trust but to develop. This is the formula of our respect and our partnership.

Here is another testament to our partnership with Case IH. Here, in the fields of our farm, is the LB436 HD baler, a №2 machine made in the world. We have been using it for 10 days now. I saw the machine in Hanover at Agritechnica and was very impressed. I asked to test it with us, because the innovations and technological solutions are really unique and they are many. I was pleasantly surprised that they managed to deliver it, because Bulgaria is not the largest market of Case IH in the world and I am not the largest customer of Case IH in Bulgaria. And here it is, machine № 2 is in our farm, the other one is somewhere in the world, where it is also being tested and I am pleasantly surprised that all these innovations work 100%.

Dimitar notes that in Bulgaria residual products in the field are still neglected and farmers easily miss the opportunity to add value to their farms. According to him, modern machines allow to work with ease, to produce a lot with few people and to achieve good results. Here is what he also shared:

The quality machine remains a key moment. The most innovative thing they have taken care of with this machine is how to easily service it. Cleaning and preparation for work with a conventional machine takes a long time. All this time, the guidelines are how to ease this process and make things happen on time, easily and conveniently.

Not only the design has been completely changed and it is impressive. Not to mention the gear drive, that the bags that carry the rollers with sisal are automatically raised, the machine itself is raised to make it easy for the operator to enter and load any broken sisal. The best is taken from the old machines - the good knotters. The compression is increased, the whole tunnel is extended, from which wonderful heavy bales come out. And the working speed, the difference is noticeable with the previous generation of machines.

In Hanover, I asked the Case IH gentlemen: Gentlemen, you have improved it so much, will it work at all?! And here it is, № 2 in the world, in our modest farm, working with nice quality indicators: speed, density of bales, I will not hide, we have bales with nearly 500 kg with 7% moisture, the machine works more than wonderfully!

Before leaving the farm we ask Dimitar what farming means to him and we see a special gleam in his eyes when he tells us:

Farming is the most precious part in my life. It is hard, sometimes unbearable, but there is no such pleasure as to create life and reap the fruits of it.