Crops we grow

Rapeseed farming in Ukraine

Rapeseed farming in five regions of Ukraine, backed by our own certified silos and oil plant. Bulk rapeseed for crushers, traders and processors.

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5farming regions of Ukraine
9,000 trapeseed oil capacity of our plant

How rapeseed is grown in Ukraine

Rapeseed farming in Ukraine is dominated by winter rapeseed. It is sown early, from mid-August to early September, so the plants can build a strong rosette and root before winter. In spring it flowers in bright yellow fields in April and May and is harvested from late June to mid-July, one of the first crops off the field. Spring rapeseed exists but covers a much smaller area.

Rapeseed is demanding. It needs moisture at sowing to establish, a well-prepared seedbed for its tiny seeds, and protection from pests such as flea beetles and pollen beetles. A dry August can stop sowing altogether, which is why the area changes a lot from year to year.

The seed holds roughly 40 to 45 percent oil, more than soybeans. Modern varieties are low in erucic acid and glucosinolates, which makes the oil suitable for food and the cake or meal suitable for feed.

Winter is the other test. Plants that go into the cold too small, or too large and leggy, suffer most from frost and from alternating thaws. Growers manage this through sowing date and seed rate, aiming for a compact rosette with a thick root collar by late autumn.

Our rapeseed farms

Our rapeseed farms belong to a farming group in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr and Rivne regions. Tillage is chosen per field, from classical ploughing to no-till, according to soil, moisture, weather and the preceding crop. For rapeseed, keeping moisture in the seedbed in August is often what decides whether the crop establishes at all.

Because winter rapeseed leaves the field in early summer, it fits well into a rotation with winter wheat, which can follow it the same autumn on a clean, early-cleared field.

After harvest the seed goes straight to our certified silos near the fields. They stand in areas with good road and rail access, so lots can be dispatched by land or moved to our oil plant without long haulage.

From field to silo

Harvest
Rapeseed is combined in early summer, when the pods are dry but before they shatter and drop seed.
Receiving and cleaning
At our certified silos the seed is received and cleaned of pod pieces, weed seeds and dust.
Drying
Oilseeds heat up fast at high moisture, so the seed is dried to a safe level before storage.
Storage
Our silos were built for the procurement and storage of oilseeds, including rapeseed.
Shipping or crushing
The seed is shipped in bulk by road or rail, or goes to our own oil extraction plant.

What rapeseed is used for

Food oil

Rapeseed oil, crude or refined, is used for cooking, frying and food production.

Biodiesel

Rapeseed oil is a major raw material for biodiesel and bio-lubricants in Europe.

Animal feed

The cake or meal left after pressing is a protein ingredient for cattle, pig and poultry feed.

Trading

Importers and traders buy bulk lots for crushing plants in their markets.

We also process rapeseed

Part of the harvest goes to our own oil extraction plant, where the seed is cleaned, flaked and pressed. The plant has a capacity of 9,000 tons of rapeseed oil, which we sell as crude rapeseed oil and as refined rapeseed oil.

Growing, storing and crushing within one company means the seed is tracked from the field to the tank. Read more about our grain farming and storing grain, or see our other oilseeds: sunflower farming and non GMO soybeans.

What buyers can source

As rapeseed suppliers with our own fields, we offer bulk lots loaded on trucks or railcars, with big bags possible for road shipments. Quality is fixed in the contract specification: oil content, moisture, foreign matter, and erucic acid and glucosinolate levels where your market requires them.

The seed meets the requirements of the State Standard of Ukraine, and extra certification can be arranged depending on the sales market and end use. We deliver on Incoterms 2020 terms FCA, CPT, DAP and DDP. The price depends on the lot, the season and the delivery term.