Despite on-going war conditions, Ukrainian farmers continue to grow corn, sunflowers, barley, wheat and rapeseed crops that all rank within the top seven countries in the world for production. Dealing with military issues, labor shortages, shifting to larger-acreage operations in western Ukraine areas and other concerns, growers are taking a closer look at no-till and strip-till.

A decade-old report from the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) pointed out that much of Ukraine’s precious “black soil” is being lost due to years of inferior soil management and erosion. The report made the case for moving to conservation agriculture (CA) and, specifically no-till, which is a stark contrast to what the report referred to as years of excessive tillage in Ukraine.

Since that report was published, no-till and minimum-tillage farming practices have become more common in the Ukraine. Now in the face of more erratic weather patterns, rising input costs and a shortage of labor due to the on-going war with Russia, there is an opportunity to broaden the acceptance of vertical tillage, strip-till and no-till in the country. This is based on data in a recent report from Ag Equipment Intelligence, a monthly newsletter on ag machinery trends that is another Lessiter Media publication.

Ukraine has long been known as the “breadbasket of Europe “with its favorable climate, abundant water and one-third of the world’s rich “black soils” that are extremely rich in organic matter. More than two-thirds of the country’s 100 million acres are designated as farmland. 

The acres of conservation ag (mainly no-tilled acres) has continued to increase over the past two decades in Ukraine. There were 260,000 acres in 2008, 1.54 million acres in 2014 and 1.98 million acres in 2019, according to British researcher Ami Kassam.

Among the largest Case IH dealerships in the U.S. that is headquartered in Fargo, N.D., Titan Machinery also operates 19 ag equipment dealerships in Ukraine. Their Ukraine-based team reports that no-till and strip-till acres have continued to grow over the past 15 years. These Titan staffers are seeing large-acreage operations shift to less tillage since these   business-savvy Ukrainian farmers strive to be more adaptive to changing conditions in crop rotations, geographic regions and even individual fields with the acceptance of precision technology.

Labor Crunch Drives Desire for Bigger Equipment

Another factor driving Ukrainian equipment demand is a geographic shift in agriculture operations within the country.

“In general, Ukraine’s agriculture industry has shifted to the west and away from the war zone,” says Martin White, senior vice president and managing director for the U.S. at Väderstad, a Swedish-based manufacturer of tillage, planting and seeding equipment. 

“The more western regions of Ukraine have been among the least mechanized. As some farming operations have shifted west and left their machinery behind, that has created an urgent need for new machinery.”

However, Michael Horsch says a strong case can continue to be made for intensive tillage in the Ukraine. In fact, his company’s cultivator and high-speed disc sales in Ukraine have grown in recent years, alongside large planters and seeders. 

“Yields have been increasing in Ukraine and, in turn, tillage is often becoming more intensive,” says the founder of the German company that is a global manufacturer of soil cultivation, seeding and plant protection equipment with an increasing presence in North America.

Despite the war, Horsch says a recent evolution of Ukraine’s ag economy has helped create the need for modern equipment. With rising input costs and cash rents that are now four-to-five times higher than in the recent past, farming inefficiency is no longer tolerable.

His company has been doing business in Eastern Europe since the 1990s when the Soviet Union was dissolved. Ukraine has been the company’s largest export market, and large operations of more than 10,000 acres have been Horsch’s largest Ukrainian customers.

“The entrepreneurial, professional farmer in Ukraine is taking on more land and doing a much better job of farming,” Horsch says. “I’d say half of Ukrainian farms are operating at similar efficiency levels as farms in the U.S. and Western Europe. Farmers managing 5,000-15,000 acres, who produce over half of Ukraine’s cereal grains, are doing a very good job.”

Despite staggering equipment losses from the war, Horsch adds that demand has been brisk for 60-foot-wide planters, 40-foot seeders, self-propelled sprayers and large tillage tools. The main factors driving planter purchase decisions are precision, seeding depth and faster planting speed. There’s also a growing desire for large-scale tillage equipment and high horsepower tractors due to their sophistication and productivity.

Tackling War-Time Farming

Loran Steinlage, our No-Till Farmer 2023 Conservation Ag Operator Fellowship grower 2 years ago welcomed a Ukrainian no-tiller to his West Union, Iowa, farm. Known simply as Konstantin, the Ukrainian farmer shared the challenges of farming under wartime conditions and what North American no-tillers should know about the ongoing war in Ukraine. At the start of the war, he says many people living in Ukraine thought the war would last only a few weeks. 

“I have a friend located in the war zone who planned to seed sunflowers and corn and was just waiting for the right weather to plant,” Konstantin says. “Then Russian soldiers told him, he could not plant corn or sunflowers because the plants are too tall, and they needed to be able to spot Ukrainians walking going through the fields. He considered shifting to soybeans, even though he didn’t have the right equipment or the knowhow to successfully plant soybeans.”

While Konstantin recognizes that no-till and cover crops are useful farming practices in times of peace for Ukraine farmers, they aren’t necessarily the most useful practices for farmers in certain areas of the country these days.

“One of my friend’s fields was run over by Russian tanks and military vehicles,” he says. “In that situation, it’s good that he is plowing because the tanks did not interfere as much with soil destruction as would have been the case in no-tilled fields. When your country is at war, maybe plowing is better in some areas.”

Appetite for Innovation

The desire among Ukrainian farmers to offset war-time labor shortages and increase productivity is behind a growing interest in high-tech farm equipment.

“The destruction of the war has created an opportunity to help Ukrainians modernize with precision farming technologies, automation and other digital tools — primarily planting, spraying and harvesting,” says Bo Larsen, Titan Machinery’s chief financial officer.

“Harvesting automation is really gaining interest. Sitting in a combine all day, having to constantly monitor everything and make adjustments, can be stressful. 

“Automation has been a welcome concept for Ukrainian farmers. On the sprayer side, the amount of chemicals you can potentially save has grabbed a lot of attention.”

Larsen says larger-acreage farms operating larger equipment represent the most likely prospect for precision technologies.

“When you get on that larger scale, precision technologies can deliver the return on investment farmers are looking for,” he says. “This is creating an opportunity to not only sell new equipment with precision technologies installed at the factory, but also aftermarket kits for existing equipment that are still in good shape. Our team in Ukraine believes there will be another leap forward with precision tech adoption as farmers rebuild their equipment fleets in a post-war environment.”

Savvy Farmers Seek Right Solutions

“Precision farming will be a key component to Ukraine’s agriculture future,” adds Darryl Matthews, group president of agriculture at irrigation system manufacturer Valmont. “Right now, Ukrainian farmers are behind in the adoption of GPS and variable-rate technology, relative to markets like North America and Brazil. A lot of Ukraine’s equipment is pretty old. In fact, only half of their existing machinery can be adopted to these new technologies. “

Once the war ends, Mathews believes Ukrainian farmers will quickly move to more precision agriculture. He sees precision irrigation technologies such as variable-rate irrigation, in-field moisture/weather sensors and remote system monitoring as potential game-changers. Depending on various factors, he believes precision technologies can increase yields by 15-40% for Ukrainian farmers.

Get More on Ukraine Cropping Interests

Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe for its climate and highly fertile ground, which according to the USDA is more than 55% arable. The years-long uncertainty with its war with Russia has continued to complicate the geopolitical, economic and agricultural situations. The editors of another Lessiter Media property, Ag Equipment Intelligence, have embarked on a truly aggressive custom research project that anticipates the opportunities and challenges ahead for Ukraine’s agricultural equipment market following the eventual resolution to the conflict’s end. Click here to learn more and order your copy of this report.