Kherson Region… The Sunny Land! Yet for farmers, it is a zone of risky farming. Here, no one relies on luck — on a “favorable year,” abundant rainfall, or a blanket of snow. The certainty that there will be no “gifts from nature” forces farmers to take action: implement resource-saving technologies, adopt innovative solutions, and “measure seven times before cutting once.”
Almost on the border with Crimea, this is where the farmland of Dolynske Trading House LLC is located. The farm cultivates 14,500 hectares, more than 70% of which — over 10,000 hectares — is irrigated.
The company is engaged not only in crop production but also in livestock farming, with equally strong results: the dairy herd numbers 1,400 head, with average daily milk yields of 31–32 liters per cow, and approximately 38,000–40,000 liters of milk are delivered each day.
The farm also develops walnut production and seed production.
The farm’s crop rotation consists of winter crops (including forage crops) — 41%, winter rapeseed — 6%, sunflower — 10%, soybeans — 12%, grain corn — 3%, forage crops (including alfalfa and silage corn) — 10%, and fallow — 18%.
The farm’s soils are dark chestnut soils with residual weak to moderate solonetzic properties. The climate is characterized as an arid steppe zone, although rainfall in 2019 was sufficient at 404.1 mm per year (the average annual norm is 400 mm).
The presence of its own livestock complex allows the farm to supply its soils with organic fertilizers. And thanks to soil analysis conducted in cooperation with AgriLab, the farm knows the exact levels of organic matter and other nutrients in its soils. For example, 72% of the farm’s total area has an organic matter content of 3.1–4.0%, which is considered high.
“What are our results in crop production? Today, our grain crops include barley and wheat, reaching yields of 8–10 t/ha; corn — 12–13.5 t/ha; sunflower — 4–5 t/ha; and soybeans — 4.5–5 t/ha. Clearly, these results are largely due to irrigation. Without irrigation, we would not achieve such high yields, nor would we be able to maintain our livestock operation, because we farm in southern Ukraine, where just 4–5 years ago annual rainfall was only 250–300 mm. Over the past year, we have already reached 400 mm, and we hope these positive changes will continue,” says Volodymyr Khvostov, Director of Dolynske Trading House LLC. “We achieve high results through technologies that need to be continuously refined, by drawing on global experience, and, of course, through genetics, which helps us achieve higher yields and improve productivity.”
According to Volodymyr Khvostov, the priority direction in the farm’s development strategy is the construction and expansion of irrigation systems:
“Over the past six years, we have restored existing irrigation systems and built new ones across approximately 3,000 hectares. Investment in irrigation systems amounts to around $2,000 per hectare. Everything we earn is reinvested in capitalization so that we can become independent of climate and weather conditions and have a clear understanding of where we are heading.”
Over the past three years, Dolynske Trading House LLC has been rapidly implementing precision farming technologies. In cooperation with AgriLab, the company conducts comprehensive field agro-diagnostics, based on which variable-rate resource application maps are developed. The Cropio system also enables high-quality monitoring.
“The second area we have been continuously investing in over the past three years is precision farming. We joined the Cropio platform. For the past three years, we have been using variable-rate fertilizer application and seeding based on maps that we develop through continuous monitoring of soil analysis conducted by AgriLab, with whom we have been working productively in recent years. We monitor vegetation indices using satellite imagery. We systematically work with the best soil analysis laboratories and, as I mentioned, we have introduced a new approach to nutrient application over the past few years: we apply nutrients through the irrigation system using injector systems. We now apply fertilizers to our fields through irrigation equipment — this method provides more effective crop nutrition,” noted Volodymyr Khvostov.
An individual agricultural producer cannot influence global prices — either the prices at which grain is sold or those at which production inputs are purchased. However, every farmer can reduce production costs and, in doing so, increase profitability.
At Dolynske Trading House LLC, the company is continuously working to implement resource-saving technologies. Variable-rate fertilizer and seed application allows resources to be used much more efficiently. Combining the potential of the soil with the appropriate potential of the crop delivers strong results.
Dolynske Trading House is a true innovation hub: from its own solar power plant to precision farming technologies, it seems to have everything. But the company does not stop at what it has already achieved — innovation here is an ongoing process.
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“For the past three years, we have been using variable-rate fertilizer application and seeding based on maps that we develop through continuous monitoring of soil analyses conducted by AgriLab, with whom we have been working productively. We systematically work with leading soil analysis laboratories and, as I mentioned, over the past few years we have introduced nutrient application through the irrigation system using injector systems. We now apply fertilizers to our fields through irrigation equipment — this method provides more effective crop nutrition.”
