Nearly 1,000 hectares of corn and part of soybean crop remain unharvested in AGROTRADE's fields

At AGROTRADE Group, around 910 hectares of corn remain unharvested in Sumy region, and part of the soybean crop is also still in the field, said the company’s Chief Agronomist, Hennadii Malyi.

In autumn, the company first harvested early soybeans, then switched to sunflower and planned to move on to late soybeans before returning to corn. However, prolonged rains began on September 28, with about 200 mm of precipitation recorded in October–November. As a result, field operations were suspended for more than 50 days.

“For us, this was unexpected. No one anticipated 200 millimeters of rainfall in October–November. We understood it would be challenging, but we did not plan for corn to enter the winter unharvested,” Malyi said.

The only full-scale harvesting attempt took place on October 30, when 11 hectares were harvested at a grain moisture level of 32–33%. After that, the company decided to wait for frost. According to the agronomist, there is no lodging, and cob attachment height is about 50 cm, which allowed the crop to remain standing even under a snow cover of up to 40 cm.

However, winter harvesting presents technical challenges. Due to high grain moisture and plant condition, the combine harvester periodically clogs, slowing down operations.

As for disease and mycotoxin risks, Malyi said he sees no visible signs of problems.

“Honestly, I do not see any diseases. Perhaps we were lucky that the crop was preserved by frost and biological processes were halted,” he noted.

The main drawbacks are technological losses of up to 3% (approximately 250–300 kg/ha) and high drying costs. With grain moisture above 30%, drying expenses are estimated at up to UAH 3,568 per hectare, according to the company.