Farmer Vitaliy Oliynyk once dreamed of being an airborne soldier. But it so happened that at the age of 30 he started farming. At the time, he had 12 acres. He now reflects back on his first steps with a smile, as he did everything with his own hands and had no machinery. Now he cultivates 247 acres and grows wheat, rapeseed, soybeans, sunflower and corn.
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“I remember spraying everything manually, plowing the field with my horse. Then I bought a hand sprayer. I used to bring water with a wheelbarrow. And when it came time to harvest, I asked the guys from the neighboring village who had a harvester to help me. They cut the harvest for me, and in the autumn I bought my first tractor. There was no opportunity to develop quickly, since it takes money for everything. I even took out a loan for diesel fuel. But still, I did not leave farming, I did everything step by step”
Today, the founder and owner of Agrovit T is certain that by taking small steps, he can make a stable profit.
“I am always happy with the yields. Wheat yields are usually around 125 bushels per acre on average. Sunflower yields 160 bushels per acre, which is a good result for our area, which is usually dry. This year, due to changes in technology, we harvested 512 bushels per acre of corn.”
Everything about the farmer’s work changed with the start of the full-scale invasion: plans had to be put on hold.
“Then war broke out, and everything went wrong. It set us back almost two years. Now the situation with grain prices is getting better, so I’m starting to complete what I had to postpone back then. I bought a tractor and installed navigation. I also want to buy a fertiliser spreader, a corn dryer and a professional grain separator”
The farmer expects to build up his warehouses to be able to store grain until the price rises, and to end his dependence on storage at the elevator.
That report was powered by Latifundist Media, with USAID support provided through Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) Activity implemented in Ukraine by Chemonics International. For more information, visit their website or follow them on social media.
