YORKTON - In spite of the war caused by the invasion of Russia, farming continues in Ukraine.
And farmers there continue to want to learn new techniques.
That is what took Kevin Elmy, formerly of Saltcoats and now from Sylvan Lake, Alta. to the European country recently. Elmy was the Canadian representative, along with five American consultants, two American journalists, a German consultant, and a New Zealand consultant to impart some insights into what Ukraine farmers might do differently.
“Dr. Jill Clapperton asked me in May if I would be interested in travelling to Ukraine as a consultant to visit farms across Ukraine,” explained Elmy regarding the Travelite AGRO organized trip, adding they were there “to observe conditions, make recommendations based on their situation. Then do a one hour presentation at the conference at the end of the tours. I jumped at the opportunity.”
Travelite AGRO is a team of professionals in the field of organizing business tours and other international training projects for agribusiness. For over 10 years, they have been helping Ukrainian agricultural producers adopt the experience of colleagues from the USA, Canada, Germany, and other countries of the world.
The trip Elmy took part in saw him fly out of Calgary June 20 to Frankfurt, then on to Warsaw. They spent the night in Warsaw, then headed to Lutsk, Ukraine, ultimately flying home July 9.
While in Ukraine Elmy said they travelled rather extensively starting in Lutsk (in the northwest corner of Ukraine), then down to Dubenska, Kozyn, Bilohirya, Khmelnytskyi, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Yarmolyntsi, Vinnytsia, Uman, Kropyvnytskyi, Cherkasy, Pyriatyn, Kyiv, (almost to Chernobyl), Zhytomyr and Rivne.
Given the travel it is not surprising Elmy said he obviously soon recognized the country was at war.
“We went through some military checkpoints, and had to supply our passports,” he said. “I had an air raid app on my phone which on the first night scared me. Did not check the settings and was set at maximum volume. So when it went off it was loud, at 1 A.M. -- I contacted Roman, our organizer, and he said it was for another part of the region. I received notifications from different areas, especially at night.
“We saw F-16 flying in different areas, out to attack some reconnaissance drones.
“The only building damage we saw was close to the cargo airfield where the Russians held for a couple months, but then were pushed out. A bottle factory was severely damaged. Some houses were damaged and not repaired yet. Many homes had repairs done already.
“At the airfield (what we toured) was a damaged Antonov AN-225. Was the world’s largest cargo plane (covered about 1 hectare, 100 m x 100 m) that could transport the space shuttle.
“There was also burned out Russian equipment that the Ukrainian army destroyed. During the initial attack, 100 Ukrainian solders held off 300-400 Russian invaders. They decided to retreat. One Ukrainian solder was injured - were captured. Captured Ukrainians were forced to collect Russian dead. 83 dead Russian solders. After a couple months the Russians retreated.”
The loss in Ukraine was obvious too.
“Most towns/cities had a memorial of fallen solders in the town square,” said Elmy. “In the Kyiv they had burned out Russian equipment on display. For funerals for fallen soldiers they had roses on the road in front of the funeral procession.”
But, life was also trying to be as normal as possible, observed Elmy.
“Besides that, most cities and towns were business as usual, at least until night when drone attacks were common, but damage was not as visible as I expected. The air force had drone and missile interception rates above 75 per cent,” he said.
In terms of agriculture specifically Elmy said farmers were facing new challenges though.
“Closer to the front line, farmers have to deal with land mines,” he said, although he added “they were not a target of attack.
“Some had to modify equipment to take the brunt of potential explosions from land mines. Few farmers have hired people so they could go fight.
“They found pieces of drones that get shot down in the field.
“But people need to eat. Farmers need to make an income. In areas where Russians occupied then left, the farmers abandoned their farm. Only to come back to find most of their electronics in their equipment was stolen. Ukrainian people are truly resilient.”
And the farmers still want to learn, and in terms of the group Elmy was with, they were trying to offer some new views on how they might farm in a different way.
“They are stuck in a chemically based production system,” he explained. “Many have heard of regenerative agriculture so I was there to explain how they could implement different practices, like cover cropping - teach them how to reduce their tillage, dependence on fertilizer, and reduce the use of fungicides.”
Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to farming. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity, improving the water cycle, and increasing resilience to climate change, while strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
You often hear Ukraine is a vastly under achieving nation in terms of ag production – even before the war – but Elmy said that is not exactly the case.
“Production wise, they do have some big yields,’ he said. “The days of the communist management systems are gone, where no one was the owner, no one had any incentive to do better. Now they are owned by individuals and corporations, they need to have profit. So modern technology like variable rate seeding and fertilizers, modern guidance, tramlines, and equipment advancements are used.”
But there is room to improve to.
“One of the fields we visited had a fall cover crop the year before, and I saw the difference,” Elmy said as an example of what would help.
And it helps that farmers will invest in their future, but perhaps not always wisely.
“They are not scared to spend money on synthetic inputs at the cost of soil health,” said Elmy. “Most of the soils needed tillage to keep it loose, but becomes hard again. Biology would fix that. Out of 28 soil pits we were in, we found three earthworms. On our farm, we would find that in one shovel full.”
Elmy said producers were certainly interested in what the visitors had to say terming the reception “very appreciative.”
“Feedback from one producer after my presentation was that people had wide eyes. They lost a generation of farmers that use to use soil health principles (living root, increase plant diversity, reduced or no synthetic inputs, reduced tillage and livestock integration). Now it is high tillage, high inputs, low diversity, no livestock and no profit. The war has some impact on their lives, when air raid warning goes off, they check their phones then continue listening to presenters. I know it made me calm. If they started to run, I would keep up to see where to go. But at no time was anyone panicking. After three years of this they knew what to expect.”
So, what was Elmy’s biggest surprise while there?
“How big the corporate farms are,” he said. “The largest we visited was Kernel, 500,000 ha or 1,250,000 acres.
“By looking at the countryside, there were plenty of small farms, which I would have liked to visit to see what they were doing agronomically.
“Upon creation of the independent Ukraine, land was divided up equally among residents, including livestock. Many sold. Most of the traditional agronomy was left behind. There is no beef cattle production, huge potential.”
In terms of potential it starts with soil.
“The soil profile was beautiful,” offered Elmy. “Thick black A horizon developed over thousands of years of productive grassland.
“But the excess tillage and fertilizer use is degrading the soil health needing more and more inputs. Slow water infiltration, compaction, weeds, disease, erosion, and increasing need for fertilizer are all indicators of the soil health decline. . .
“The producers I talked to were interested in improving the biological activity in their soils and using plants is an easy way to do it. So they were looking for advise and guidance on options on how they could do it.”
The visit left Elmy with a stark realization – “Ukraine needs the world’s help to repel the Russian terror.
“Daytime was business as usual, no threats where we were.
“Nighttime signalled the drone and missile warnings, disrupting sleep.
“They have resilience and determination to fight. They need resources.”
Elmy gained an appreciation for the people too.
“I loved the people, so friendly. Loved the countryside, much like Yorkton/Canora area.
“The food, well was raised on it.
“Highways, the divided highways were good. Secondary highways and farm roads, they made Saskatchewan roads look excellent.
“Just like Canada farm wise, we need to use more regenerative farming practices.”
It also left Elmy hoping to one day return to Ukraine.
“I would love to go back. Maybe when Russia loses the thought of taking Ukraine and peace covers that land again.
“We spent one night in an air raid shelter the morning of July 5th for five hours. I felt safe there, but I do not think I slept through a whole night after that.
“It was an experience that I definitely grew from and appreciate freedom and peace.”
