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Photo: SuperAgronom.com Winter rapeseed under strip-till
Due to the increasing cost of autumn sowing and the rise in diesel fuel prices, farmers are seeking ways to reduce the number of technological operations and passes of machinery across the field. In the enterprises of the “AGROTRADE” Group, approximately 70% of the winter rapeseed areas for the 2027 harvest are planned to be sown using the strip-till technology, which is expected to help lower expenses on fuel, machinery, and labor costs.
This was stated by Ivan Kryuchkov, director of the agro-industrial department of the “AGROTRADE” Group, in the material: How winter crops will be sown in Ukraine for the 2027 harvest: prices, plans, exports, and loans.
“According to our calculations, this year’s autumn sowing campaign will be approximately 20% more expensive than last year. The main reasons are the rising cost of diesel fuel and changes in logistics. We plan to compensate for this increase primarily by optimizing logistics and more efficient crop placement to reduce transportation costs to elevators,” stated Ivan Kryuchkov.
In addition, about 70% of the rapeseed acreage will be sown using the strip-till technology, with the remainder sown using the conventional method. This will also help save funds, as strip-till allows for fewer machine passes across the field, consequently reducing expenses on diesel fuel, labor costs, and so on.
Read also: Growing winter rapeseed in Kyishchentsi: strip-till, no-till, mini-till — yield of 3.4 t/ha
A similar approach is being followed by “TAS Agro” and “NIBULON,” where winter rapeseed is also sown using strip-till, and they are observing fuel savings.
Based on the results of the past season, “NIBULON” calculated that fuel savings due to the rational use of machinery and the reduction of field passes amounted to 10 L/ha compared to the previous year. Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) increased by 30%. In turn, “TAS Agro” already cultivates all its winter rapeseed using strip-till, and in 2025, the company estimated savings from transitioning to this technology in one of its clusters at $180/ha.
Currently, the “AGROTRADE” Group is completing its harvesting campaign and has already commenced the sowing of winter crops. The sowing of winter rapeseed began on July 31.
The instability of the grain market is altering crop rotations: for the 2027 harvest, the agroholding will reduce areas under winter wheat by 30% to 6 thousand hectares. Instead, they will increase areas under winter rapeseed to 12 thousand hectares, which is almost 3 thousand hectares more than last year.
They also plan to sow 1 thousand hectares of rye.
Melaniya Nesmatchna, SuperAgronom.com
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