According to weather forecasters, starting Thursday, April 20, 2023, rain is once again expected across most of Ukraine. “Just what we needed,” most farmers must have thought – since sowing is now dragging on for an unforeseeable stretch of time. Early spring cereals and sugar beet still aren’t seeded, and it’s already time to seed sunflower, corn, with soybean not far behind. No one foresaw a situation like this, not even experienced folk forecasters. What do you do when you’re once again facing the choice of which hybrids to seed, corn especially, and what their moisture content will be come autumn? And the question isn’t so much about hybrid choice as about seeding dates, which also directly affect crop yield and profitability.
Agronomists with many years of production experience can’t recall a year this difficult, when, against the backdrop of war, low profitability, and high logistics costs, the weather threw a wrench in the works too. There have been various situations before, but soil oversaturated with moisture against a backdrop of cold, even frost-free days and nights throughout all of April is hard to imagine. What’s the answer? Wait for good weather windows and harrow before seeding, to let the soil dry out a bit? But that depends on whether such windows even come. According to forecasts, rain could continue until the end of April. And for corn to reach maturity, especially with an FAO rating of 350–400, and to be harvested at 16–18% grain moisture, it needs to emerge as early as May 1.
Farmers, filled with pessimism, have already pictured a way out for themselves: don’t seed corn. But the situation is difficult not just for corn, but for other crops too. Because all producers had planned in their work schedules to carry out agrotechnical operations within the optimal window, which guarantees achieving the genetic yield potential built into the seed. And machinery, even from the best manufacturers, tends to break down unexpectedly and take a long time to repair due to a lack of spare parts, especially during a hot, critical period. Under intensified agricultural production, all work is scheduled in the hope of flawless machinery performance. But few have yet learned to forecast and model situations where the weather-correction coefficient is not 0.8, but a full 0.4.
To help Ukrainian farmers in this difficult situation, German manufacturer HORSCH has come to the rescue with its upgraded high-speed AirSpeed metering units. This is the so-called agricultural Ramstein. This seeder model can seed crops at a speed of over 17 km/h without losing seeding quality, maintaining uniform seed placement, depth, and covering quality.
As ABA “Astra” LLC product manager Viacheslav Shyposha notes, row-crop seeders have long proven themselves on the Ukrainian market as reliable, technologically advanced machines. These seeders are designed for seeding corn, sunflower, soybean, rapeseed, sugar beet, and, believe it or not, there’s already experience of using them to seed cereals! Maestro seeders have a unique design, built to last for decades. The central delivery system doesn’t damage seed (even very sensitive seed), which lets you take full advantage of a centralized loading system. The manufacturer’s flexibility in machine configuration with additional options also deserves special mention. Seeders can be offered in series both with granular and liquid fertilizer application, with a huge range of options able to satisfy the most demanding agronomist. And it’s worth noting all of this comes as a factory solution, without unnecessary “tuning.” Thanks to their high speed and huge seed and fertilizer hopper, these seeders deliver high productivity. As an example: a normal output for the Maestro 16 SX (opens in a new tab) is 200–250 ha/day. As Viacheslav noted, German engineers, with their characteristic meticulousness, combined speed, precision, versatility, and efficiency in a single seeder. So, dear farmers, a way out has been found — thanks to the joint work of the finest engineers and farmers of Germany.
For more detailed information about this seeder model, you can contact “Astra” Agro-Building Alliance managers (opens in a new tab) and get its full specifications, benefits, and price offer from them. The agricultural Ramstein is already at work.
Author: Oleksii Serhiienko, PhD in Biological Sciences, independent expert at the agricultural consulting company Art FieldS
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“Astra” Agro-Building Alliance is one of the largest suppliers and service operators of agricultural machinery in Ukraine. The company’s core activities: the sale of new and used agricultural machinery; warranty service and the sale of spare parts for agricultural machinery.
“Astra” offers its clients a wide range of machinery for practically every type of agricultural work: Fendt, Valtra, Manitou, Berthoud and Horsch, Framest, Bogballe, Valley, Trimble, Oros. The company supplies its customers with the widest range of genuine spare parts to support all models of agricultural machinery from world-renowned manufacturers. Servicing agricultural machinery holds a key place in the company’s operations, covering nearly the entire territory of Ukraine and ensuring a fast response to farmers’ requests.
“Astra” has been operating on Ukraine’s agricultural market for 25 years, providing agricultural producers with quality machinery, innovative agricultural technologies, and a consistently high level of service.
