Cherkizovo Group to increase crop areas by 16% in 2024

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, is nearing the completion of the spring planting season. The Group’s total sown area will come in at 257,500 ha this year, up 16% compared to 2023. The Company has expanded its crop geography by adding two new regions – Belgorod and Tula.

Cherkizovo Group’s planting season kicked off on April 2 with the sowing of spring wheat in the Belgorod Region. This year the Group deployed 262 pieces of machinery, including 105 sowing machines and 157 tractors. Cherkizovo faced several challenges during this planting season: as part of the winter wheat crops were lost due to May frosts, some areas had to be resown. The planting season is expected to be completed by May 31.

Most of Cherkizovo’s farmland is located in the Penza Region, where a total of 80,300 ha was used for planting this year. Of that, 30,200 ha were planted with soybean, 25,000 ha with spring wheat, 5,900 ha with sunflower, 2,900 ha with spring rapeseed, and 700 ha with peas. In the Lipetsk Region, 61,100 ha of farmland is available for sowing, including 33,200 ha planted with soybean, 14,400 ha with wheat, 2,300 ha with corn, and 1,100 ha with sunflower.

Of the 36,600 ha of its land in the Tambov Region, Cherkizovo used 19,500 ha for soybean, 9,300 ha for spring wheat, 1,600 ha for sunflower, and 600 ha for rye. In the Voronezh Region, 13,900 ha were sown with soybean, 4,600 ha with spring wheat, and 4,000 ha with corn. The total cultivated area in the Voronezh Region came in at 25,900 ha this year. Of the 20,700 ha of land available in the Orel Region, 9,800 ha were used for soybean, 4,800 ha for spring wheat, 1,100 ha for spring rapeseed, and 800 ha for corn.

In Bashkortostan, the sown area totalled 6,400 ha this year, including 2,900 ha allocated for spring wheat and 1,900 ha earmarked for sunflower. Of the 5,000 ha available in the Altai Territory, 2,900 ha were sown with spring wheat and 2,100 ha with soybean.

Starting this year, Cherkizovo Group sows crop areas acquired in 2023 in two new regions – Tula and Belgorod. Of 12,300 ha available for sowing in the Belgorod Region, 9,400 ha were allocated for soybean, 1,500 ha for spring wheat, and 1,300 ha for corn. Total cultivated area in the Tula Region came in at 9,200 ha, including 4,700 ha used for soybean, 1,600 ha for spring wheat, and 1,400 ha for spring rapeseed.

“Cherkizovo Group seeks to expand its land bank and crop areas to meet the growing demand for feeds. The Company has a vertically integrated business: not only do we produce meat as a finished product, but we also cultivate our own grain and oilseed crops to use them in the manufacturing of animal feeds. This helps us assure the high quality of products across the production chain,” said Anastasia Mikhailova, Head of Communications at Cherkizovo Group.