A record threshing or a record disappointment? Farmers of Akmola region on the real results of the harvest

"I doubt anyone got 40 c/ha," "we got 5 c/ha from one field," "the elevators are full, the wheat is on the open ground," "I'm mixing grain to improve the quality," "Grain reception points are downgrading the quality by 3%." Farmers in the Akmola region shared the results of the agricultural season with Agrosearch. The officially declared record grain harvest of 7.6 million tons is being undermined by low quality.

Whether the record so confidently declared in the region actually happened can be indirectly confirmed or refuted by statistics. What percentage of the gross yield was lost to refaction (cleaning and sorting) is not officially reported. Nevertheless, Agrosearch respondents note in their daily monitoring that, overall, the "result was good." Some of them also point out that the yield is higher than last year.

Individual producers from the Bulandy district report wheat yields at the level of 40 c/ha (centners per hectare). Therefore, some respondents indicate that this factor also slowed down the harvest. Because of the "high yield, the combines had no speed."

A number of respondents call the result of 23 c/ha "not high." At the same time, they doubt that anyone achieved 40 c/ha.

A farmer from the Birzhan sal district estimates the yield of 20 c/ha as average for the district. However, among respondents from this district, indicators as low as 11 c/ha are found. Farmers report grain shattering.
The average wheat yield in the Burabay and Akkol districts is 16 c/ha. Data on high crop losses rarely appear here.

In the Esil district, according to respondents, the average yield in individual farms is 18.2 c/ha. Such a result is considered "not bad," given that "we are in a high-risk farming zone."

In the Tselinograd district, individual farmers faced a specific problem – "fields are being trampled by horses." As a result, the yield varies from 15 to 20 c/ha.

Farmers from the Shortandy district report an average yield of 12 c/ha, and from the Ereymentau district – 15 c/ha.

There are isolated cases of yield reduction. For example, a producer from the Astrakhan district did not plow the fallow land for two years ("didn't have time to tend to the soil"). The result – 10 c/ha.

Also, agronomists from farms note in private conversations that management is in no hurry to "invest in the land." Or "the soil has been without nourishment for the fourth year."

A respondent from the Ereymentau district complains about a lack of working capital to support the land.

In the Korgalzhyn district, non-uniformity of yield is noted. Depending on precipitation, the fields showed different results. In individual fields where the yield reached 5 c/ha – "the average came out to 7 c/ha." The overall average is 9 c/ha. In the same district, one of the main problems remains the saiga antelope.

"We don't even get angry anymore — we're used to it. It's the same thing every year. We chase them away ourselves, we even joke that it's boring in the field without the saiga," — a quote from a survey of a farmer from this district.

Farmers from the Egindykol district report a higher yield than last year. 9.5 c/ha this year versus 10 c/ha last season. At the same time, producers from this farm report high quality.

"We have about 2,000 tons of Hi-Pro wheat, with 30% gluten. The rest is mainly third-class, 25–27% gluten. The minimum analysis showed 25%, which, in general, is quite decent," shares the producer. Farmers from the Korgalzhyn district agree with this opinion.

Respondents from all districts note a decrease in wheat quality during the harvest. They call this harvest season difficult. Rains forced a halt to the campaign for at least a week. And in some places, equipment stood idle for up to three weeks.

Furthermore, the main problem remains grain drying. Farmers share that the elevators are packed to capacity. Therefore, until the snow fell, the grain lay in open areas. It is also reported that grain reception points (HPPs) "are significantly understating the indicators," by an average of 3%.
"They are turning my third-class into fourth-class," emphasizes a respondent from the Burabay district.

A farmer from the Ereymentau district shares another example.
"We even have to mix the grain - we collected dry grain in one place, and wet after the rains in another, in order to get a stable quality in the end," says the interlocutor.

In the near future, Agrosearch will summarize the results of the oilseed harvest in the Akmola region.