December 14, 2000

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: CONDITIONS REMAIN UNFAVORABLY DRY FOR WINTER WHEAT

Sown area for 2001/02 winter-grains in Russia totaled approximately 14.7 million hectares, up from 13.8 million last year, according to data published by SovEcon, an independent Moscow-based agricultural research institute. Ukraine completed its fall sowing campaign in mid-October, with farms planting an estimated 8.5 million hectares of winter crops (chiefly winter grains), up from 7.9 million last year. Although the weather was generally mild as the winter grains advanced toward dormancy, soil moisture was inadequate for proper crop establishment in many key winter-wheat areas and remains low following nearly two months of unusually dry weather. Key portions of the region, including eastern Ukraine and Russia's North Caucasus, Central Black Earth, and Volga Valley regions, received less than 25 millimeters (one inch) of precipitation during November. This followed an equally dry October, during which western and central Ukraine received virtually no precipitation, and the dry pattern has continued through the first half of December.

Surface soil moisture levels, which provide an indicator of establishment conditions for winter crops, have been consistently lower than last year throughout the region. Some areas (including north-central, southwestern, and eastern Ukraine, Rostov and Krasnodar in the North Caucasus and Voronezh in the Central Black Earth region) received light precipitation at some point, but were unfavorably dry during a significant portion of the winter-wheat establishment period. Other sites (Kherson in southern Ukraine, and Stavropol in the North Caucasus region) have yet to receive significant precipitation. The crop benefited, however, from favorable temperatures as it advanced through the hardening phase and entered dormancy. A brief cold snap in late November did little or no damage to crops, and temperatures have been slightly higher than last year throughout the region.

For more information, contact Mark Lindeman with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division on (202) 720-0888.