Ontario Grain Farmer June/July 2022

10 WHENTHEUKRAINE-RUSSIAcrisis began at the end of February, Russia's actions took the world by surprise. Reactions came swift and hard as countries around the world imposed economic sanctions against Russia. Ripples of those actions have been felt by farmers across the globe. Grain exports have slowed, and commodity prices have climbed, causing the cost of feeding livestock in some countries to rise to unsustainable highs. The cost of energy, fertilizer and food has also skyrocketed, and economies worldwide grapple with record inflation. War has been particularly tough on Ukraine farmers, who struggle to plant crops and care for their animals. Roman Gorobets manages nearly 5,500 acres in the Poltava region in Ukraine near Kremenchuk city, growing sunflowers, corn, winter wheat, soybeans, spring barley, and chickpeas. While there have been no battles on his farmland, fighting is just 15 km away. In early April, Gorobets walked his fields, and using a drone, he collected debris from missiles. The debris is large enough to seriously damage a tractor. It acts as a reminder that farming in the region is still risky business, as do the daily airstrike warnings, which force him and his workers underground. Gorobets is one of the luckier farmers in the region — he had secured seed and inputs before the war. The biggest challenge Gorobets faces is not being able to sell grain. Crushing plants are closed, and soy oil refineries are blocked. All major seaports are blocked by Russian troops, he says. Even if the ports were open, moving grain would still be challenging. There's a shortage of drivers — most men went to fight the war — and the shipping costs have skyrocketed as drivers have to transport through high-risk zones. While grain prices are high on the global market, they are very low domestically. Gorobets has grain storage facilities, but he's concerned about his sunflower crop, which can only be stored until June. After that, quality will diminish rapidly, he says. Liquidity is another major issue Ukrainian farmers face. Inability to sell crops means income is low at best. He says the banks will not issue loans while the country is at war. Gorobets says he's grateful he can plant. "If we didn't get all the inputs before the war, we would have a way worse situation." AIRSTRIKES DELAY PLANTING Oleh Zahorodnii is in a similar situation. Zahorodnii is the chief agronomist of a large agricultural company, Agro Expert, a supplier of seeds, fertilizers, plant protection products, and machinery. The company also cultivates nearly 2,500 acres in the region Farming in a war zone UKRAINIAN FARMERS FACE CHALLENGES HEAD-ON Melanie Epp ROMAN GOROBETS MANAGES 5,500 ACRES IN THE POLTAVA REGION IN UKRAINE. Industry News of Vinnytsia in the heart of Ukraine. While there is no fighting in the region, his days are also disrupted by airstrike sirens, forcing workers underground. Zahorodnii owns a small farm in the Chernihiv region where he grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and medicinal plants. The farm is in a war zone, which means planting season was slow to start, especially since the region is heavily laid with mines. "There are already many cases when people and equipment are blown up," he says. While Zahorodnii had no problems stocking up on seed and inputs — working for a major distributor has its benefits — fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, and fuel are hard to come by. This could impact yields, he says. On the company farm, planting began in April. "We had to slightly reduce the area under spring barley and corn, increasing the area under sunflower precisely because of problems with corn exports," he says. "Ukraine currently has huge stocks of products that were to be exported, but due to blocked ports, it is impossible," he adds. "Traders buy almost nothing." Some grain can be transported into Europe via rail, but the infrastructure isn't designed for shipping significant volumes. He says that Ukrainian farmers will not have access to working capital without the ability to sell grain. Zahorodnii believes as much as 40 per cent of farmland will not be sown. "Much of it needs demining," he says. "Farmers are also trying to sow in the occupied territories, but in most cases, this is not possible." FUNDING IS AN ISSUE Yan Ostrovskyy farms 270 acres in the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine. He grows corn,

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