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Photo: Public|Kherson
Fires, drones, shelling, and a shortage of labor — under these conditions, the 2026 harvest is underway in the Kherson region. As of mid-July, crops have been harvested from nearly 20 thousand hectares, while agricultural producers have lost over 5 thousand hectares of sown areas due to drone attacks, as reported by Public.Kherson.
Despite military and weather challenges, this year’s harvest of early crops is pleasing local farmers, especially compared to previous low-yield seasons.
“The yield this year is very impressive. Some fields show more than five tons per hectare of winter barley. Farmers are also very pleased with the rapeseed yield — in some of our districts, it reaches over 3 tons per hectare. These are very significant figures, considering that last year everything died in the Kherson region,” said Dmytro Yunusov, director of the Department of Agricultural Development and Irrigation of the Kherson Regional State Administration.
According to him, growing the harvest was only half the battle — the biggest problem is gathering it.
“The biggest problem for our farmers, as it turned out, is not growing the harvest, but gathering it. The security situation is very difficult now, especially within a 30-40 kilometer zone from the front line,” says the official.
Russian forces are attacking combines, tractors, and trucks working in the fields with drones. Every day, farmers lose grain and equipment, says Mykola Yatsenko, head of the Tiahynska village military administration.
Read also: Hellish harvest 2026. How Russia burns Kherson’s crops
For a long time, sown areas in the Tiahynska community have been increasing — this was due to demining and people’s faith in the future.
“As of today, about 5.6 thousand hectares have been sown, about 400 hectares have been harvested, and unfortunately, we have lost 420 hectares. Unfortunately, due to cynical, insidious enemy attacks,” says Mykola Yatsenko.
As a result of attacks by the Russian army on the right bank of the Kherson region, over 5 thousand hectares of wheat, barley, and rapeseed have burned. To compensate farmers for losses of destroyed crops, the Kherson Regional Military Administration has appealed to the Ministry of Economy, Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine. To receive compensation, farmers need to contact the police and the State Emergency Service and collect a package of documents.
“We have already received an official response from the Ministry of Economy stating that a mechanism is being developed, a draft amendment to the resolution, which will provide compensation to our farmers for crops destroyed by shelling and fires. We would also like to note that we will put forward an initiative for compensation for burned equipment, so that our farmers receive support, as they risk not only their lives but also constantly incur financial losses,” said Dmytro Yunusov.
It is noted that as of mid-July, 37 fires have been recorded in the fields of the right-bank Kherson region. For comparison, last year there were 18 cases of grain crop fires during the entire harvest period.
Alla Husarova, SuperAgronom.com
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