EkoNiva, the largest dairy holding in Russia, has announced the start of spring sowing. Field works kicked off in Voronezh, Kursk and Ryazan oblasts.

In Voronezh oblast, the weather allowed farmers to start fertilising spring crops in the first decade of March. Within a month, they carried out harrowing of perennials and winter grains as well as soil tillage before the spring campaign. In early April, sowing of barley, wheat, sugar beets, lentils, alfalfa, perennial and annual grasses began in the region. Subsequently, the plan is to grow other spring crops – oats, maize, sorghum, soya beans, flax and sunflowers on the farms of Voronezh subdivision.

In Kursk oblast, where spring field works started at the end of March, oats are already in the ground, while wheat, barley and peas seeding is underway. Further, some areas in the oblast are allocated for buckwheat, maize, soya beans, lentils, sugar beets and flax. The subdivision of the Group in Ryazan started sowing lentils and wheat. These plants will be followed by oats, peas, alfalfa, barley, flax, rapeseed and annual grasses.

EkoNiva’s farms are fully provided with a sufficient amount of seeds, including in-house bred ones, fertilisers and plant protection agents – all supplied according to schedule. In the regions where the weather permits, preparatory works on the land are conducted – fertiliser application to winter crops and soil tillage before planting spring varieties. Facilities in Moscow and Kaluga oblasts will soon follow their counterparts in Voronezh, Kursk and Ryazan regions.

‘This year’s spring is special in its own way. For example, in the Black Soil region, the topsoil gets dry quicker, while there’s still lots of moisture underneath. Not much rain is expected in the short run, so in order not to miss the right time, seeds should be drilled as soon as possible’, says Aleksandr Anpilov, Crop Production Director of EkoNiva Group.