Ukraine Slow to Sow

About 2 million hectares, or 50% of the acreage planned for early cereal crops could be sowed behind schedule, said Minister of Agrarian Policy Ivan Kyrylenko. In his view, the failure to plant at the best time for planting early cereal crops was caused by inclement weather, due to which agricultural producers began the sowing campaign three weeks late. Simultaneously, the minister predicts, the sowing will be completed by April 19. Such procrastination could entail a loss of 2 to 3 million tons in the total barley yield, he stressed. “Those sowing in February will have barley, but those sowing in April, run a risk,” Interfax-Ukraine quotes the minister. On the other hand, the shifting of the time for sowing early cereals cannot impact the total yield, provided good weather for barley sets in. “If it rains in May and June, which is seldom the case, the risk will be reduced to zero,” said Mr. Kyrylenko. In the current year, 4,007,000 hectares are to be sown in spring crops, of which 3.7 million hectares will be sown with barley. In all, 7,747,500 hectares (which is 28% of the total sown area in Ukraine) will be sown with spring grain and leguminous crops. Including winter crops, the area under grain and leguminous crops will be 13,877,700 ha.