Is E. Europe <span title="(Khazikstan,Ukraine,Turkmenistan,">(Khazikstan,Ukraine,Turkm...</span> Russia) a new argricultural frontier?

Question

I heard the CEO of Deere the other day saying they were seeing alot of sales pick up in E Europe and that they were way behind the rest of the world. Considering there are large plains out there is this a new frontier? What I have seen is that their wheat yields are extremely variable and lower than they could be because of low fertilizer use and poor capitalization. Although the soils are supposed to be some of the best in the world, they have problems with winterkill there. What do you think? Could large scale ag be viable there?

Answer 1

The old Soviet Union sometimes had problems with wheat production and often had to import from the U.S. and other places.   I do not know what the problem was, but the severe climate could be a factor.   Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the establishment of individual countries, much has changed, but I do not know how agriculture is organized now.  I imaging the collective farms are mostly a thing of the past.

Answer 2

Not a new frontier, more like a renewed frontier. These countries used to be agricultural powers before the USSR and communism destroyed the agriculture. They are just now started on the long road back in agriculture. Large scale agriculture is not only viable there, but is a sure thing given time and the freedom to farm like they want and need to.