Mykola Nadtochii is digging into the inter-row area of a corn field. The plants are two metres tall and, overall, well developed. Given how challenging 2020 has been, they look particularly impressive. The soil is loose and well structured. Despite the fact that there has been no rainfall for quite some time, the agronomist’s spade easily penetrates 7 cm into the soil and almost immediately uncovers an earthworm… then another… and a third. Over the past few years, they have multiplied significantly in the fields of Svitanok Farm, located in Velyka Pysarivka District, Sumy Region.

EARTHWORMS IN THE INTER-ROW

At first glance, it may seem that Svitanok Farm has simply been lucky: it found its own technology, recognized the right time to introduce modern solutions, and managed to build a consistently profitable agricultural business — all starting from a very modest base.

“We established the farm in March 1991,” says Mykola Nadtochii, founder and head of Svitanok Farm. “We started with 5 hectares, and today we cultivate more than 3,500 hectares. We grow corn, sunflower, soybeans, malting barley, rapeseed, and wheat. We also have our own grain elevator and flour mill, where we process part of our production into flour, as well as a bakery. All of these businesses are profitable, although the bakery is more of a social project. It provides jobs for more than 20 people, while more than 100 people work for us overall.”

However, as John Milton once wrote, “Luck is the residue of design.” There are two key elements behind the farm’s success. The first is an understanding of the importance of maintaining soil health.

“When I was just starting out, I bought Californian earthworms, raised them, and released them into the fields, but they did not multiply because they had nothing to feed on — we were still ploughing,” recalls Mykola Nadtochii. “So gradually we moved forward: first to Mini-Till, and then through a transition period toward ‘zero tillage,’ when we broke up the plough pan with chisels and built up micronutrient reserves in the soil by broadcasting and incorporating them with discing. When planning yields, I did not account for the residual amount of fertilizer from previous crops — and after several years, we saw that a certain amount of nutrients had accumulated in the soil.”

This was confirmed by the soil analysis results. Svitanok had been conducting soil analyses for years, initially using laboratories in Sumy. In 2014, however, the farm commissioned comprehensive agro-diagnostics from the then newly established AgriLab company.

The Comprehensive Soil Agro-Diagnostics service consists of several components. First, fields are surveyed and measured, followed by automated soil sampling with GPS coordinates. Either a standard grid or an adaptive sampling approach can be used, combining the advantages of standard and management-zone-based methods. The samples are then subjected to agrochemical analysis covering a broad range of agronomic parameters.

This is followed by comprehensive analysis that, in addition to the content and distribution of plant-available nutrients, takes into account the agrophysical characteristics and history of the fields.

The result is a plant nutrition system that enables fertilizers to be used rationally, along with crop production plans designed to achieve the most efficient yield of a particular crop under the specific conditions of each field.

“The turning point in our cooperation came after we harvested sunflower,” says Mykola Oleksandrovych. “We were targeting 3.5 t/ha, so on part of the field we fertilized according to our own technology, applying 40 kg of nitrogen, while on the rest, following AgriLab’s recommendation, we applied nothing. In the end, we harvested 3.5 t/ha from both areas. So even then, after their recommendations had worked successfully more than once, AgriLab earned our complete trust.”

Today, the farm uses a direct-seeding system. It will take several more years of farming without tillage to reach fully established No-Till conditions, but there is already little need for conventional soil disturbance.

“This is corn after corn for the third year in a row,” says Mykola Nadtochii as he walks into the crop. “We have too little organic matter, so we want to build it up this way. Look: I can easily dig into the inter-row with a spade. There’s an earthworm! In spring, the soil warms up and they come to the surface, forming what looks like a network beneath the residue. See how loose the soil is? This field has not been tilled for years, and there has been no ploughing here at all for 15 years. Last year, this field produced up to 10 t/ha of corn. And just imagine how much residue was left behind — now there is almost none. The soil biology has developed so much that we can barely keep up with feeding it.”

This has also been supported by a strict set of rules aimed at preventing soil compaction. All self-propelled machinery either operates on dual wheels or is equipped with wide tires, as are the two T-150 tractors that help the farm with top-dressing winter crops on frozen soil. And, of course, during harvest, no trucks enter the field: combines are serviced by a grain cart.

BANDED NO-TILL

Corn, like all industrial crops, is grown here using the farm’s own technology, which combines the advantages of No-Till with localized, banded fertilizer application.

“We modified this Horsch TD ourselves,” explains Mykola. “We replaced the factory coulters with narrow shanks spaced 70 cm apart. During operation, they create a narrow slot and place macronutrients at depths of 12–15 cm, in different soil horizons. We built an additional fertilizer hopper ourselves and mount another one on the tractor. This allows us to apply phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and zinc sulfate simultaneously, all at variable rates according to the AgriLab prescription maps. In spring, 24-row Horsch Maestro planters sow directly into these zones using an RTK signal. At the same time, for example in corn, they apply nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus microgranules directly into the seed row. The following year, we shift the rows and sow into the current inter-row.”

The farm has been using this seeding approach for the second year.

“This year, we planned to analyze the soil across the entire land bank. We will see whether this approach is still appropriate for individual fields. If not, we can apply nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium simultaneously with planting,” adds the head of Svitanok Farm. “The point is that according to the agrochemical analysis, the content of plant-available nutrients is constantly increasing, while the amount of fertilizer we need to apply is decreasing. So we will see.”

PRECISION FARMING SINCE 2006

It is clear that effective variable-rate fertilizer application depends on the quality of the information used to calculate the rates. For Svitanok Farm, AgriLab specialists create prescription maps based on the results of comprehensive agro-diagnostics, which is why the system delivers results. However, in 2014, when the farm was only beginning to implement a variable-rate approach and cooperation with AgriLab had not yet begun, the calculations were based on different information.

“The first stage was when we got a yield map. At that time, we planned it like this: the yield is low here, so we will apply more fertilizer here. But it doesn’t work that way — the situation can be completely different,” says Mykola.

However, the farm is not afraid of making mistakes. Svitanok was one of the first farms in Ukraine to begin implementing elements of precision farming. For example, it started using auto-steering systems as early as 2006.

“In 2006, we bought a navigation system,” recalls Mykola Nadtochii. “We bought a JD7820 tractor, an Optima planter, and Farmet tillage equipment. We had a very capable chief engineer, Mykola Oleksiiovych. We hitched the implements to the tractor, installed the navigation system, and started planting 500 hectares of sugar beets using Mini-Till. We were planting at a productivity of 80 hectares per day and finished the entire area in seven days. We did it with four machinery operators and three machines. Previously, achieving the same result would have required three or four T-70/T-150 tractors, the same number of planters and cultivators, and a much larger workforce.”

Today, the farm uses high-accuracy subscription-based correction signals, and this year it also installed “washers” on the planter.

“This year, in addition to the subscription-based correction signals, we tried another approach,” says the head of the farm. “There is an antenna on the tractor, and we installed another antenna on the planter. So the signal from the planter guides the tractor. It works more precisely: when the tractor is pulling the planter on a slope, the planter can shift sideways, but in the opposite direction the trajectory is maintained precisely. It also seems to be more reliable.”

Today, Svitanok Farm actively uses digital tools for monitoring, analytics, maintaining field histories, managing operational processes, planning, and other tasks.