Lviv region has started sowing early spring grains and pulses this year.
In some areas of Lviv region, farmers have started sowing early spring grains and pulses. The Department of Agricultural Development of the Lviv Regional State Administration reports that due to warm weather in the second half of winter, the 2024 sowing season started almost 3 weeks earlier than a year ago.
The first areas under spring wheat and spring barley appeared in Chervonohrad and Stryi districts of the region. Sowing of peas and oats is expected to start in a week and a half or two weeks.
According to the Department’s operational data, in the commercial sector, the sown area of early grains and legumes, namely spring wheat, spring barley, oats, and peas, will amount to 14.5 thousand hectares, or 3% of the total sown area in 2024. Across all categories of farms, the area will be 44.1 thou hectares, or 6% of the total sown area in Lviv region.
“This year’s weather conditions allowed our farmers to start the sowing campaign 19 days earlier than last year. The weather is also favourable for repeated early spring fertilisation of winter crops. So we can talk about quite good conditions at the start. According to preliminary forecasts, in the 24/25 season, the total sown area in Lviv region will not change significantly, but the change in the crop structure will be more noticeable. Thus, winter crops are likely to increase due to a decrease in spring crops,” said Tetiana Hetman, Director of the Agricultural Development Department of Lviv Regional State Administration.
According to the department, this year’s winter crops in Lviv region increased by 2.9%, primarily due to the expansion of winter wheat by 2.8%, winter barley by 8.2% and winter rye by 3.1%. The structure of spring crops is expected to increase primarily in the area under industrial crops, while corn may become the record holder in terms of reduction of sown areas.