Kharkiv Oblast livestock experts visit farms and agencies in Ohio (09/21/03)

Kharkiv Oblast livestock experts visit farms and agencies in Ohio

by Jan Sherbin

CINCINNATI - With much of Ukraine's farm yield down substantially this year, the learning experiences of a group of livestock experts from Kharkiv Oblast currently visiting the United States are especially important.

The group - a dozen people who work in farm management plus three government agriculture officials - spent three weeks in the Midwest in a quest to increase and modernize farm production. Though some of those farms specialize in pigs, still others in cows, and others in poultry, they all need to feed their livestock.

At Mohrfield Farms in Pleasant Plain, Ohio, the group saw prize-winning Holstein dairy cows. They were particularly interested in the growing procedures Mohrfield Farms uses to produce its cow-feed mixture. The group noted the proportions of hay, silage, corn, and protein and mineral additives that Mohrfield Farms uses to raise 1,500-pound animals.

Striking a chord with the Kharkiv group was Mohrfield Farms' grain-growing experience this summer. With extensive rains in the Midwest, Mohrfield Farms couldn't grow what it needed and had to buy alfalfa from a Western producer.

At Greenacres organic farm in Indian Hill, Ohio, the group saw the "rotating pasture" method of feeding livestock. Greenacres rotates its animals every three days. Cattle get first crack at virgin pasture so they get the most nutritious grass. When they move on, horses come next, then sheep, then poultry. Wastes from the animals fertilize the pasture, to which the animals return when new grass replaces what they've eaten.

"Many of our processes and methods can help them learn how to compete better in a market economy," said Bruce Vaillancourt, who organized the group's study tour on behalf of Cincinnati's Center for Economic Initiatives. "They need to outperform some of the other former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, that export food to Ukraine and also are joining the European Union."

The EU gives farm subsidies, he noted, while Ukraine doesn't. "Outperforming the other countries is the only way Ukraine will be able to protect and expand its markets. Also, it will be better for Ukraine's economy if they have strong agricultural production of their own rather than relying heavily on imports from European Union countries," he explained.

Mr. Vaillancourt booked the group to visit farms of various sizes, universities, trade associations, state agricultural organizations and agricultural extension agents throughout the Midwest to expose the group to the full supply chain and support organizations necessary to sustain the types of improvements America has been able to achieve.

Especially important were meetings with government agriculture officials, who explained that their objective is to assist farmers and outlined ways to do that.

The group's August 11-31 study tour was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Center for Economic Initiatives ran a similar livestock study tour in 2001 and has been tracking results. "We found that the 2001 group reduced their operating costs by an average of 18 percent and increased productivity by an average of 36 percent, just in the first year after their tour," Mr. Vaillancourt noted.

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