During its five-year history, the Hors-AGRO enterprise in the Zaporozhye region has increased its land bank to 7,5 thousand hectares, tested the cultivation of 12 crops, radically changed technology by switching to Strip-till and Mini-till technology in most areas, and also installed 19 irrigation machines by TM Variant Irrigation. Now 2,2 thousand hectares are irrigated. Brothers Roman and Sergey Chekhov, the general manager and the chief agronomist of Hors-AGRO, share their experience in the article.

About Hors-AGRO

The company was established in 2016. In five years, it managed to increase the land bank from scratch to 7,5 thousand hectares at the expense of leased land in Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

The main crops on which the farm relies are winter cereals, says chief agronomist Sergei Chekhov. In total they grow 12 kinds of crops.

Sergei Chekhov emphasized that today everyone is striving to reduce costs, looking for a balance between expenses and profits. Moreover, in agriculture, as nowhere else, there are great risks associated with nature. Thus, irrigation has become the company's "trump card" for minimizing natural risks and increasing profitability.

“It's not only about profitability, although it is a very important part of business, but also about climate change” - says his brother Roman Chekhov. The caprices of the weather can be seen with the naked eye and every year they become clearer.

“We observe climate changes every year. This season was remembered for the fact that for the first time in our experience we finished harvesting grain in August and right away we begun to sow the next crops. The earth did not even have time to rest. This is nonsense” - says Roman Chekhov.

The chief agronomist gives an example that for obtaining only wheat seedlings was spent 1 thousand m3 of water per hectare. And it already was the end of October. The neighboring farms that do not use irrigation can’t even to talk about simultaneous seedlings.

Strip-Til Technology and Irrigation

The head of the farm said that 2 years ago they decided to change radically the cultivation technology and switch to Strip-Till. For this, it was necessary to carry out a complete replacement of the techno park: to sell all equipment and buy new. The company now has 4 modern seeders: Mzuri, STS Magia, 18-meter Horsch TD and Horsch Turbo. And also three 500-horsepower and two 300-horsepower tractors and 2 sprayers.

The Chekhov understood the need for irrigation 3 years ago - they began to study the market and look for "exactly that" irrigation machine.

First, the farm ordered three pivot and one linear irrigation systems from the Zimmatic brand. At the same time, they chose two Atlantis linear machines. And the brothers were on the verge of signing a contract for the supply of Otech machines. But in the end, they chose domestic manufacturer Variant Irrigation.

The chief agronomist of Hors-Agro had to delve into the topic of hydro amelioration, study it and visit the factories producing irrigation equipment in Turkey and the USA. And he came to the conclusion that irrigation machines from different manufacturers have minor differences. Nevertheless, after visiting the Variant Irrigation plant, Sergey Chekhov's opinion changed.

 “The production is similar for many manufacturers in different parts of the world. However, the Variant Irrigation machines have additional reserve power. They combined efficient design solutions, good software and high-quality zinc-coated metal. In addition, I would like to note the high-quality selection of components: i-Wob sprinklers, silent gearboxes and silent motors. Based on this, we decided to purchase 19 linear sprinklers from this company” - Sergei Chekhov says.

The company attracted credit funds for such an expensive purchase. It is important to note that Variant Agro Build LTD (TM Variant Irrigation) participates in the state program of compensation for 25% of the cost of irrigation equipment, thus, 6,5 million UAH were reimbursed from the state budget.

In addition, the issue of servicing and the availability of components from a domestic manufacturer is resolved much faster due to the smaller "logistics leg"- Sergei Chekhov added.

There are 2б2 thousand hectares under irrigation in Hors-AGRO. The pumping stations, from where the farm takes water, are located at the Kakhovskoye reservoir and the Belozersky estuary. The water intake from the latter had to be stopped due to the poor quality of water, inappropriate for irrigation.

In addition, according to Sergei Chekhov, it is not difficult to buy an irrigation system. It is difficult to carry out communications and connect it to the water supply.

The price of installing irrigation equipment on a turnkey basis is about 4-4,5 thousand dollars. If calculate the ratio of the costs of purchasing and connecting irrigation equipment, then, according to Sergei Chekhov's quotations, it is 1:3. For each hryvnia spent on the purchase of an irrigation system, you must spend at least 3 hryvnias to connect it.

Profitability of irrigated land

Despite the problems with permits, bureaucratic procedures and other inhibitors, the Hors-AGRO farm does not plan to stop, because irrigation can significantly increase yields. Thus, the yield of corn on dry land was 3 t/ha, and with irrigation - 13.6 t/ha; rapeseed on dry land was 1 t/ha versus 3,5 t/ha with irrigation; barley – 4,2 t/ha on dry land and 9-10 t/ha with irrigation.

And in order to use natural resources sustainably and provide the plant only with the necessary moisture, the farm uses an automated system. According to Sergei Chekhov, they first tried “blind” watering, but this method turned out to be ineffective. They decided to switch to automation.

“We installed special sensors on a meter layer of soil in different parts of the fields; we check the effective moisture, amount of evaporation from the leaf, residual moisture in the soil, etc. All collected results are sent to the weather station. And from it, they are transmitted to us online. Plus, we do soil analysis,” Sergei Chekhov says.

Such a detailed report allows farmers to use irrigation systems rationally and not to overspend natural resources.

The head of the farm, Roman Chekhov, gives an example of two crops per season on irrigated land. According to him, from 1 hectare on which winter barley and winter rape were grown, and then - sunflower or stubble soybeans, you can get up to 85-90 thousand UAH of gross profit.

“Suppose the first crop is winter barley. We must water it at least 3 times. From 1 hectare you can get an income of 60 thousand UAH. Later, in the same place we sow sunflower - we get the second crop with an income of 60 thousand UAH. In total it is 120 thousand UAH per hectare with irrigation. About 27 thousand UAH and 5 thousand m3 of water per hectare were spent on cultivation. For example, we use our own water and pay only for electrical energy. As a result, irrigation can bring 85-90 thousand UAH of gross profit per hectare in our region,” Roman Chekhov shared his calculations.

In addition, since Hors-AGRO adheres to Strip-till technology, irrigation allows to ensure plant nutrition during sowing based on soil analysis and planned yield calculations and to obtain the most simultaneous seedlings in the optimal period of time.

Sergei Chekhov is sure that irrigation will increase the seeding rate, change the seeding scheme, partially stop the traditional cultivation technology, thicken the crops and at the same time get the maximum yield. It also allows the farm to switch to resource-saving technology in order to retain and accumulate nutrients, correctly maintain crop rotation and get a second harvest on irrigated lands.

The Chekhov brothers are planning to purchase 4 more irrigation systems by Variant Irrigation. According to the agrarians, it ensures stability and planned production of agricultural crops.

“It has been difficult to get seedlings in recent years”, Sergei Chekhov says. If earlier this problem concerned mostly small-seeded plants, today it is difficult to get seedlings even of cereals.

According to him, moisture reserves in soil are decreasing every year. The moisture that should be accumulated during the winter period is not enough even until May. And there are two ways of doing business here. The first one is to rely on the mercy of nature and re-sow the fields, like our neighbors do. The second one is to use irrigation. The choice, as they say, is obvious.