Ukrainian farmers will not have to reseed winter crops on a large scale

Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval emphasized that the state of agricultural crops currently observed in Ukraine is normal, and there will be no need to reseed winter crops. As reported by "Interfax-Ukraine," the official stressed that typically when 15-20% of winter crop plantings are killed by frost, reseeding is required, but currently there is no necessity for this, and experts do not anticipate a critical situation in the near future. At the same time, the minister pointed to the moderate decrease in temperature, which will allow crops with low frost resistance to withstand the cold without issues. He also highlighted that the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food has not revised its harvest forecast for the 2025 season, maintaining it at 41.9 million tons for grain crops, including a wheat harvest of about 16.2 million tons, barley 2.8 million tons, corn 22.1 million tons, and other crops approximately 0.8 million tons.  

Meanwhile, the Ministry forecasts a reduction in the area allocated for soybean production in 2025. However, in the next 5-10 years, its production in Ukraine is expected to grow. One of the reasons is the annual demand from the European market, which is over 30 million tons, while Ukraine currently produces about 6 million tons. Overall, the minister expressed confidence that the grain group, particularly wheat, will always be prioritized in the Ukrainian agricultural sector as it is profitable and indispensable in crop rotation, serving as a suitable predecessor for many agricultural crops. 

It should be noted that it was recently emphasized that due to insufficient moisture, a rather difficult situation with the sowing of winter crops arose in virtually all regions of Ukraine during the winter wheat sowing period. According to experts quoted by the press service of Tekom Agro Group, despite the absence of strong frosts and snow, the soil is cold, and the root system does not fully provide nutrients to the plants. This raises the urgent question of fertilizing winter crops. Experts also pointed out that due to the warm winter, practically all pests, diseases, and pathogens will survive the winter along with wheat and barley. Therefore, it may be necessary to start applying the necessary chemical preparations somewhat earlier. 

At the same time, an abnormally warm winter could lead to an early start to the sowing season. Although January had warm and humid weather, this did not bring significant changes to the overwintering of winter crops. However, further warm weather may result in spring activities for agricultural producers starting earlier. 

Recall that, according to the Ministry of Agricultural Policy's forecast, in 2025 the total area for the sowing of agricultural crops will exceed 23 million hectares. Of these, more than 11 million hectares will be sown with grains, which will account for 48.1% of the total sowing area. 

As previously reported, the current calendar winter in Ukraine is the warmest in the last 20 years. Such data was released by the Ukrhydrometeorological Center.