Russia’s spring agricultural campaign is running ahead of schedule

The sowing campaign in Russia is progressing rapidly this year and has already crossed the equator, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Agriculture Oksana Lut said at a meeting of the President with members of the Government.
In 2025, the acreage will increase by one million hectares to about 84 million hectares, of which 56 million hectares are allocated for spring crops. 7.5 million hectares have been allocated for barley this year, with a projected harvest of 17.4 million tons.
Despite the May frosts, there are no problems with the growing season of malting barley. In most farms, the crop has already passed into the tillering stage, more than 70% of the necessary agrotechnical measures have been completed. The harvest is expected to reach 2.1 million tons, according to StatBeer estimates.
Recurrent frosts caused damage to farmland, but it turned out to be significantly lower than last year. According to preliminary data, about 136 thousand hectares were affected. Almost all the damaged crops have already been replanted. The losses of fruit plantations amounted to about 5%. Thanks to cooperation with the Russian Hydrometeorological Service, farmers received timely warnings and were able to minimize the consequences.
The material and technical base fully supports the campaign: over 6 million tons of seeds have been harvested, and about 3.1 million tons of fertilizers are available. In addition, Rosagroleasing has reduced the rates for preferential leasing of machinery, which will increase its availability to agricultural producers.
Government support remains at a high level. More than 34 billion rubles have been allocated for preferential loans, half for field work. A record 7 billion rubles have been allocated for agricultural insurance with state support, which is expected to insure up to 21% of the acreage.