Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever seen combines in the middle of January going into a field? And behind them huge disc harrows? It’s no wonder that this year Ukrainian farmers use some warm days in the middle of winter to harvest corn. After almost a year of war, thousands of combine harvesters were destroyed or stolen by […] Read more
The winter corn harvest symbolizes Ukrainian endurance
The challenges faced by farmers never end, but they always find a way around them
‘Everything was destroyed:’ One farmer’s tale of the Russia invasion
His farm and village are in ruins, but Yuriy Vovchenko’s focus is on somehow planting a crop next spring
Reading Time: 5 minutes EDITOR’S NOTE: this story contains graphic content. Glacier FarmMedia – Ukrainian farmer Yuriy Vovchenko survived the Russian occupation and constant shelling for eight months, but his life has changed immeasurably. I have known him for many years, and since the invasion I have wanted to phone him many times but each time I dialled, I […] Read more
Report from Ukraine: Watermelons and raccoons — there’s still laughter amidst the tears
The people of Ukraine are coping with adversity any way they can as winter’s grip deepens
Reading Time: 4 minutes I can imagine how Canadians feel when they watch news from Ukraine. Not long ago, we in Ukraine watched reports from Iraq and Syria, and it seemed to us like a broadcast from another planet — a planet of cruelty and destruction. Now we live on this planet. To maintain a healthy mind, we have […] Read more
Farmers displaced by war wait to reclaim their fields
On the edge of the front lines, one producer waits, hoping to recover the farm just a mile away
Reading Time: 5 minutes From time to time, Oleh visits the positions of troops on the front lines of war in east Ukraine. While there, he looks hopefully to the horizon. There, just one mile away, are his fields, shop and grain warehouse now occupied by Russian invaders. I will not write Oleh’s last name, nor will I show […] Read more
Ukraine grain export deal back on as Russia resumes participation
Ankara/Kyiv | Reuters – Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in a deal freeing up grain exports from war-torn Ukraine, reversing a move that world leaders had said threatened to exacerbate global hunger. Moscow announced the sudden reversal after Turkey and the United Nations helped keep Ukrainian grain flowing for several days […] Read more
Crystal balls are even more wonky this year
The uncertainty factor is as high as fertilizer prices right now
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers face tough choices about purchasing fertilizer for next year. Buy now? Or roll the dice and hope prices fall? There are reports of price dips in some countries because farmers are balking at the high cost. But the fundamentals aren’t good, said one American fertilizer analyst. “I think prices are going to see continued […] Read more
U.N.’s Black Sea grain deal continues without Russia
London | Reuters – Grain was flowing out of Ukraine at a record pace on Monday under an initiative led by the United Nations aimed at easing global food shortages despite Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the scheme. Russia said on Saturday it was pulling out of the deal, which ensured safe passage […] Read more
Ukraine keeps 2023 winter wheat sowing area forecast unchanged despite delays
Kyiv | Reuters – Ukraine is keeping its forecast of the winter wheat sowing area for the 2023 harvest unchanged at 3.8 million hectares despite a delay caused by unfavourable weather, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy told Reuters on Tuesday. Ukraine sowed more than 6 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2022 harvest, but […] Read more
A new rural economy emerges in Ukraine
There have been creative responses to depressed grain prices but no field will go unharvested
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – When we first heard the sounds of rocket explosions on Feb. 24, we were most alarmed. It took my entire credit card limit to fill up my car and buy a supply of groceries. At the time, I thought only a few hours remained until the end of normal life. Many Ukrainian […] Read more
Ukraine seeks to extend shipping safe passage deal beyond grain
Istanbul/Kyiv | Reuters – Three grain ships left Ukrainian ports on Friday while the first inbound cargo vessel since Russia’s invasion was due in Ukraine to load, as Kyiv called for the safe passage deal to be extended to other cargoes such as metals. The July 22 deal marked a rare diplomatic breakthrough as war […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
