DAUPHIN, Man. – During the Soviet era, Ukraine was a bad place to look
for a good steak.
There were always lots of cattle, and there still are today, but the
collective farms that produced them didn’t look to cattle for meat.
“A beef industry never existed,” said Ukrainian beef development
specialist Olga Lysenska, during a tour of livestock operations in the
Dauphin area.
“All the beef that was consumed was a byproduct of the dairy industry.”
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But with the fall of communism and the disbanding of many large
collective farms, Ukrainian farmers are trying to build a beef
industry. They’re doing it with the help of beef experts from
Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“This shows them a kind of industry they’ve never had,” said Brandon
agricultural consultant Wayne Digby about the 12 Ukrainian agrologists
he was helping lead through a wide range of livestock operations.
The Ukrainians were the top students in a program that Saskatchewan and
Manitoba have been operating in their country. The Canada-Ukraine Beef
and Forage Development Program has been operating for four years, and
may be extended.
The goal of the program, which was organized by the Saskatchewan Trade
and Export Partnership and funded by the Manitoba and Saskatchewan
governments and the Canadian International Development Agency, has been
to produce a network of extension beef workers who can help Ukrainian
farmers set up beef farms.
Many rural Ukrainians are beginning to operate outside of the shrinking
collective farm system, but don’t have expert guidance on how to farm.
The program has also been trying to formulate rules for operating
community pastures and working on laws that will help rather than
hinder beef industry development.
Dauphin forage production specialist Pam Iwanchysko, who has worked
with the program in Ukraine, said communism may have faded, but
centralized command and control still exists and makes it hard to
operate.
“A lot of people are set in their ways and don’t want to give up any
power or allow any decisions to be made without their consent,”
Iwanchysko said.
For example, getting a telephone installed can require permission from
the mayor.
Lysenska said Canadian knowledge, cattle embryos and semen, and
experience could help Ukrainians build a strong beef industry.
“The potential there is huge.”
But the problems are great. Ukrainian pastures are badly overgrazed and
producers do not practise rotational grazing.
Hay is not deliberately cultivated.
People are used to working on giant farms, rather than much smaller
private farms.
The 12 people on this tour were the top students in the six courses
that have been taught through the beef development program in the past
two years.
The Ukrainian agrologists spent a week at the University of
Saskatchewan learning about Canadian beef production before touring
various livestock operations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
On this day, the Ukrainians toured an ostrich farm near Dauphin and a
dairy farm at Ste. Rose du Lac, Man.
They asked questions about feed mixes, feed conversion rates and how
the farms operated.
At the dairy farm, many were interested in the plastic-wrapped round
hay bales and closely questioned the farmer about the feed value
differences between wrapped bales and dry hay in his shelter.
Lysenska said a high-quality beef herd is slowly being built in
Ukraine. Through this program, 250 Canadian embryos and 3,000 doses of
sperm were sent to Ukraine, material that has now produced 300 calves.
There are several similarities between the Canadian Prairies and
Ukraine, including the weather.
“Canada is the closest country in the world for us in climate,”
Lysenska said
It’s also culturally close, which shocked some of the Ukrainian
visitors.
“They do Ukrainian dances here probably better than we do (in
Ukraine),” Lysenska said.
Iwanchysko said the Ukrainians she has worked with are startled to find
Ukrainian heritage so proudly displayed in Western Canada.
“They’re amazed we carry on the traditions.”
She said Ukrainians were delighted when Saskatchewan agriculture
minister Clay Serby and Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk
visited Ukraine and appeared to be able to speak Ukrainian.
The close cultural ties have made Ukrainians enthusiastic about coming
to Canada to learn about beef production.
“The relations between Canada and Ukraine are very special,” Lysenska
said.
