Yurii Lysak: In agronomy, one must be ready for experiments and have some luck

In the Agro-Region Group of Companies, plans for the 2025 harvest include returning to the pre-war crop rotation. Specifically, 15,000 hectares will be sown with corn, 7,000 hectares each with sunflower and winter wheat, and 5,000 hectares each with soybeans and winter rapeseed.

This was stated in an interview with Agronom magazine by the chief agronomist, Yurii Lysak.

He added that during the three war-affected agricultural seasons, the company did not make drastic changes to the crop rotation structure but rather optimized it.

“The most profitable crop is rapeseed. We have been growing it for only five years, and even in sandy soils in the Chernihiv cluster, it proves to be worthwhile. Although rapeseed requires the highest capital investments in both fertilization and protection systems within our company, it is still profitable to cultivate. The key factors are timely sowing, ensuring good emergence, and having rapeseed in strong condition before winter,” he said.

At the same time, Yurii Lysak noted that soybeans are also profitable, considering they require lower financial investment. Their protection costs are not high, they require less fertilizer compared to rapeseed, wheat, and corn, and the seeds are also inexpensive. The same can be said for sunflower.

More on how the company is adapting to new challenges, how the areas under key crops have changed in its divisions, and how cultivation technologies have been optimized after the full-scale invasion—at the link: https://bit.ly/3DJfGES