Big farm and natural steppe
Chaplinka 26 November,
I am now back from a day "in the field". I did not go by bike today but has been driven around by the staff of Вицва Ананда (Yes you can also practice some cyrrilic alpabeth), the biggest organiv arable far operation in the world. Basically we visited there farm and Askania Nova
Askania Nova
This is the only remaining natural steppe land in Europe, that is steppe that has never been plowed. It is a big area which was set aside by Friedrich Eduardovych Falz-Fein. I visited both the Dendrologic park (trees) and the steppe. The Dendrologic park was nice to walk in a rather beautiful. The steppe itself is vast, 110 sqkm but is managed in some different ways. Where you see me standing the grass is cut for hay every year. In other parts the steppe is grazed by cows or rare steppe animals as Przewalski's Horse, of which I saw some five or bison which I also saw (but not close enough for my cell phone camera. The place is clearly worth visiting but as with many other tourism sites in Ukraine there is little ifnormation available and absolutely none in English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askania-Nova
Click if you want to see the sod.
In the park there are also a number of "babas". Stone baba (kamiana baba). An anthropomorphic stone statue, 1 to 4 m in height, found in the steppe belt of Europe and Asia from the Dniester River in the west to Mongolia in the east. Commonly used as grave markers, the baby were connected with cults of the dead among nomadic peoples. Those erected in Ukraine were left by Scythian and Sarmatian tribes (see Scythians, Sarmatians) of the 7th to 4th century BC and by Turkic peoples of the 6th to 13th century, particularly the Cumans.
We also visited a vast salt lake, having a similar salt concentration as the Dead Sea. It is apparently a very popular place to go by the Ukrainians (but missed in my guide book). Next to the lake there was a new Wind park, the first I have seen in Ukraine. A bit further away there was a titanium factory rising from the mist.
OOO Vichva Ananda
Note: the dialogue about the farm was made in a mix of Russian, Ukrainian, German, English and Serbian and there may be a few misunderstandings here!!
As I mentioned this is the biggest organic arable farm operation in the world, they farm 50 000 hectares (there are farms in Australia and Argentine with more than 500 000 hectares but that is pasture. It is not one coherent piece of land but spread out around Chaplinka and in Crimea, but it is under one management. It is a fairly new operation so many things are still in a trial stage. So far they produce Wheat, Rye, Sun flower, soy, rape seed (canola) and coriander (seed) and perhaps a few more crops that I have forgotten to note. Crop rotations and fertilisation program seem to be under development. Currently there is no processing of the raw materials but it is discussed. They have no animals. All sales are for exports. Machinery was new and impressive. There are 80 full time field workers plus a lot of support and management staff.
Sergei in one of the wheat fields, this one was 200 hectares.
I visited a lof of fields, many of them with winter wheat. In one field there were hundred cows grazing. I was told that they were cows from the village that roams freely in day time. They were not concerned about damages on the crops. Apparently there was some agreement with the villages to avoid grazing the cows in crops in a critical stage.
I am now back from a day "in the field". I did not go by bike today but has been driven around by the staff of Вицва Ананда (Yes you can also practice some cyrrilic alpabeth), the biggest organiv arable far operation in the world. Basically we visited there farm and Askania Nova
Askania Nova
This is the only remaining natural steppe land in Europe, that is steppe that has never been plowed. It is a big area which was set aside by Friedrich Eduardovych Falz-Fein. I visited both the Dendrologic park (trees) and the steppe. The Dendrologic park was nice to walk in a rather beautiful. The steppe itself is vast, 110 sqkm but is managed in some different ways. Where you see me standing the grass is cut for hay every year. In other parts the steppe is grazed by cows or rare steppe animals as Przewalski's Horse, of which I saw some five or bison which I also saw (but not close enough for my cell phone camera. The place is clearly worth visiting but as with many other tourism sites in Ukraine there is little ifnormation available and absolutely none in English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askania-Nova
Click if you want to see the sod. In the park there are also a number of "babas". Stone baba (kamiana baba). An anthropomorphic stone statue, 1 to 4 m in height, found in the steppe belt of Europe and Asia from the Dniester River in the west to Mongolia in the east. Commonly used as grave markers, the baby were connected with cults of the dead among nomadic peoples. Those erected in Ukraine were left by Scythian and Sarmatian tribes (see Scythians, Sarmatians) of the 7th to 4th century BC and by Turkic peoples of the 6th to 13th century, particularly the Cumans.
We also visited a vast salt lake, having a similar salt concentration as the Dead Sea. It is apparently a very popular place to go by the Ukrainians (but missed in my guide book). Next to the lake there was a new Wind park, the first I have seen in Ukraine. A bit further away there was a titanium factory rising from the mist.
OOO Vichva Ananda
Note: the dialogue about the farm was made in a mix of Russian, Ukrainian, German, English and Serbian and there may be a few misunderstandings here!!
As I mentioned this is the biggest organic arable farm operation in the world, they farm 50 000 hectares (there are farms in Australia and Argentine with more than 500 000 hectares but that is pasture. It is not one coherent piece of land but spread out around Chaplinka and in Crimea, but it is under one management. It is a fairly new operation so many things are still in a trial stage. So far they produce Wheat, Rye, Sun flower, soy, rape seed (canola) and coriander (seed) and perhaps a few more crops that I have forgotten to note. Crop rotations and fertilisation program seem to be under development. Currently there is no processing of the raw materials but it is discussed. They have no animals. All sales are for exports. Machinery was new and impressive. There are 80 full time field workers plus a lot of support and management staff.
Sergei in one of the wheat fields, this one was 200 hectares.
I visited a lof of fields, many of them with winter wheat. In one field there were hundred cows grazing. I was told that they were cows from the village that roams freely in day time. They were not concerned about damages on the crops. Apparently there was some agreement with the villages to avoid grazing the cows in crops in a critical stage.
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