Impact of shelling on dairy operations in Russia-Ukraine

Dairy companies are continuously suffering from shelling in the northern regions of Sumi and Chernihiv, as well as in the Mykolaiv region on the south, Andrey Tabalov, chairman of the Ukrainian dairy company Voloshkove Pole told the local news outlet Business Telegraph.

During the first 2 months of the war, in addition to shelling, the company also faced logistics turmoil, he recalled. Russia occupied large parts of Sumi, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions in the initial stage of the conflict but retreated from this part of the country in March 2022.

Livestock in Ukraine

Thousands of animals died due to the shelling in the Donetsk region, a part of the country where the fiercest conflicts have been ongoing, the regional administration said in a statement on its website. During the conflict, several cities have been turned into ruins, during what local press frequently described as “hell of the earth”.

As of February 2023, at least 25 milk farms in the regions were confirmed to be damaged or destroyed, with about 1,300 cows being killed. The real figures are likely to be higher.

In 2022, milk farmers in Donetsk produced only a third of the milk they manufactured in the previous year, the regional administration added.

Dairy farming in Ukraine

For some farms, continued shelling remains an obstacle to restore operations. For example, in Ukraine, a Kharkiv-based state farm, Kutuzovka, lost half of its 2,000-strong herd due to shelling and is struggling to get back on its feet, local newspaper Suspilne reported.

“Many cows were injured; it was decided to slaughter them. Since there was no light and refrigerators didn’t work, the meat was distributed among local citizens,” the publication said, adding that almost the entire infrastructure at the farm was damaged, while a 9,000 hectares of agricultural land where Kutuzovka used to grow feed crops is heavily mined now.

The company transferred 500 cows to another area and is now trying to establish conditions to bring them back. To restore operation, it requires at least 400 animals.

It is believed that dozens of milk farms in several Ukrainian bordering regions find themselves in a similar predicament.

Russian farmers

In 2022, the Russian dairy business was almost not directly impacted by the hostilities, being located relatively far away from the frontline.

In 2023, milk farmers and dairy companies in Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions also face tremendous challenges due to cross-border shelling, local news outlet Dairy News reported, citing market players and officials.

In recent months, cross-border shelling between Russian and Ukrainian forces has noticeably intensified, regularly claiming lives and causing destruction on both sides.

Shebekino dairy plant, one of the leading dairy companies in the Belgorod Oblast, told the publication: “Everybody is afraid to come to us. Things are difficult with transport and cannot put out the entire production.”

Kursk agricultural company suffered losses of around 1.2 billion roubles (US$13 million) due to hostilities, Ruslan Pletnev, deputy general director of the company, disclosed.

“Our company used to operate right on the border [with Ukraine] region. A part of the land was taken out of work, and we failed to harvest crops out there. Warehouses, harvesters and drying equipment were destroyed,” Pletnev stated. The company also has additional logistics costs, having to rely on infrastructure located in safe territories, he added.

Farmers in body armour

Vladislav Epanchintsev, a commissioner for the protection of the rights of entrepreneurs in the Belgorod region, said that the Russian federal budget allotted 1 billion roubles (US$11 million) to compensate for the losses businesses suffered. He admitted that this figure failed to pay for the losses some firms suffered due to shelling.

Some workers have to go to the fields in helmets and body armour, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod Oblast, told the publication.