FARM VISIT ▶▶▶
War in Ukraine halts pig farming expansion plans
The war in Ukraine is being felt at the level of pig farms as well. Farmer Kees Huizinga, of Dutch origin but having built up a sow farm as well as a dairy facility in Ukraine, had to shelve plans to expand the Ukraine farm to 1,200 sows due to future uncertainties.
BY CHRIS MCCULLOUGH, CORRESPONDENT W PROFILE
Name: Kees Huizinga Function: Co-owner Farm: TOV Kischenzi Farm is a traditional Ukrainian mixed unit near Cherkasy, Ukraine, on 15,000 ha of land. The farm runs a herd of 2,000 dairy cows in addition to a pig herd of 450 sows. He also grows various grain crops and vegetables.
hile Russian soldiers draw closer to TOV Kis- chenzi farm, owners Kees Huizinga and his two business partners have been forced to completely replan this year’s management
programme. Huizinga is originally from the Netherlands and has run his large 15,000 ha farm, near Cherkasy, 200 km south of Kyiv, for the past 20 years. Being a traditional Ukrainian mixed unit, the farm runs a herd of 2,000 dairy cows in addition to the pig herd of 450 sows. He also grows various grain crops and vegetables. Huizinga had big plans to increase sow numbers to 1,200, sell- ing the offspring as weaners to local small farms to fatten. A
new more modern pig unit was going to be developed as well. The date 24 February 2022 will go down in history for all the wrong reasons and is a day that Huizinga never thought could happen: that Russian troops would invade Ukraine.
Relocating to the Netherlands The moment it happened, Huizinga sent his wife, Emmeke, and their two young daughters back to the sanctuary of the Netherlands, and he followed two weeks later. Agriculture in Ukraine, known as the breadbasket of Europe, has been performing very well over the past number of years with excellent commodity prices. However, all that has changed, and there is much uncertainty about how agriculture will pan out this year, which is hugely dependent on when, or if, the war stops. While Huizinga is back in the Netherlands, the farm is being run by the 400 staff, until it is safe for him to return. Huizinga, who is also fluent in Ukrainian and Russian, says: “We started out there with 1,000 ha and grew that up to 15,000 ha, mostly leased as foreigners cannot own land there. When I became a farmer, I knew I would have to wage a figu- rative war against the traditional enemies of food production such as pests, weeds and disease, but I didn’t expect to be in a real war zone with a deadly enemy. “The Ukraine Agrarian Association has around 1,100 mem- bers farming a total 3.5 million ha in Ukraine. They asked me to go to the west and be their voice in case we lose internet connection in Ukraine.”
Labour-intensive pig unit The current pig unit is very labour intensive and the pigs are kept on solid floor pens with one side bedded in straw pro- duced on the farm. “We have around 30 staff working on the pig unit,” Huizinga says. “It’s a labour-intensive system here, but for good reason as it creates employment for local villagers.” Huizinga adds that the pigs are sold as weaners to local farmers who fatten them, which creates further employment in the lo- cal community. “However, no one is buying now so we are hav- ing to keep the piglets longer and fatten them ourselves. This is putting extra pressure on our feed supplies. In fact, we have had to change and reduce the rations to ensure they last a bit longer. We still have wheat, barley and corn in stock on the farm, but not enough for the rest of the year. It’s better to use the wheat to make bread.”
32 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 38, No. 3, 2022
PHOTO: ROEL DIJKSTRA | FRED LIBOCHANT
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