Agricultural Investing news
In Soviet times, the 15,000-hectare farm, in Russia's Black Sea breadbasket region of Krasnodar, would deliver its wheat to the local elevator for shipping inland to make bread.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the farm has turned itself into a 1 billion ruble ($30.93 million) per year business producing wheat, fruit, sausages and sugar. It sells its 45,000-50,000 million tons of high-quality milling wheat at the farm gate to be shipped to consumers such as Turkey.
It is emblematic of a Russian agriculture industry that is trying to establish itself as a force on world markets. With the world's fourth-largest acreage of arable land and few constraints on fresh water supplies, Russia wants to use its natural wealth to spur the economy.
State quotas still governed life on the farm when Yuri Kharaman, a wiry man in his late 50s with a permanent sunburn from life in the fields, took over as the collective's chairman.
"We don't have that pressure anymore. We can focus on profit per hectare," said Kharaman, who drives a sport utility vehicle and, like other members of the collective, owns a 5-hectare share of the farm's land.
Russia's farm industry is shaking off the malaise that followed the Soviet collapse. But the country is battling drought as it tries to reclaim its place as a top world exporter, one it held before the 1917 Russian Revolution.
As a world drought drags on, soaring prices underline Russia's importance on world wheat markets, where it was second only to the United States in the 2011-2012 crop year. Russia is aiming for grain exports of 40-50 million tons by 2020.
For the Banner of Lenin farm, Russia's re-emergence has brought modest prosperity and money to buy better technology, including John Deere combines to replace older models made in the nearby city of Rostov.
"You had to plough and plough on those," said Svetlana Dzhagun, who has worked at the farm for 16 years. "Now we have John Deere combines, and you can make good money with them."
Source: www.themoscowtimes.com
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