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December 11, 2001
Minimum temperatures approached minus 20 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days in key winter wheat areas of Ukraine, but protective snow cover prevented significant damage to crops. Only in parts of southeastern Ukraine, where overnight lows repeatedly fell to minus 15 degrees or lower and snow cover was patchy, were winter grains threatened by the cold. Crops in Russia's winter wheat zone escaped damage. Temperatures in the Southern District remained above minus 10 degrees, and snow protected winter grains from colder weather in the Volga Valley.
Conditions were generally favorable for winter grains in Russia and Ukraine as the crops entered or approached dormancy during late November. In most regions of Ukraine and southern Russia, average daily temperatures were ideal: below 5 degrees Celsius for about two weeks but not low enough to cause injury. Soil moisture reserves increased slightly in Ukraine and decreased in southern Russia between October 31 and November 15. In general, moisture conditions in the winter grain region are better this year than at the same time last year.
According to figures released by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture and reported by the Interfax news agency, large agricultural enterprises (which typically produce over 90 percent of Russia's grain) had sown roughly 15 million hectares of winter grains by the end of October against 12.7 million by the same date last year. In Ukraine, sown winter crop area is forecast to match last season's 7.1 million hectares, according to data from the government press service cited by the Reuters news agency. Fall sowing is usually nearly complete by the end of October, except for the southern fringe of Russia's winter grain zone, where planting can continue into early November.
For more information, contact Mark Lindeman with the Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division on (202) 690-0143.
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