Competent Technological Change at “TAS Agro” with BEDNAR Equipment

“TAS Agro” is one of the most progressive agricultural companies in Ukraine, cultivating over 80,000 hectares of land divided into four clusters: South, North, West, and Center. The company has been present in the Ukrainian market for nearly 20 years. Over the past year, the agricultural holding has introduced a new production strategy, investing in equipment upgrades and the implementation of advanced technologies.

Currently, “TAS Agro” is undergoing significant changes in which every employee is actively involved. Notably, the top management has been refreshed, $15 million has been invested in new equipment, and each cluster is establishing self-sustaining production bases and mobile service teams to maintain equipment in the field. These qualitative changes have affected almost the entire structure of the company, including technological approaches in crop production, explains the General Director of “TAS Agro,” Oleg Zapletnyuk.

We met and spoke with Oleg Zapletnyuk at the company’s Western cluster in Vinnytsia region, where tillage 22,000 hectares of land are cultivated, with the main crops being winter wheat, winter rapeseed, corn, sunflower, and soybeans.

At the end of 2023, we began a thorough overhaul of production processes. First and foremost, we decided to completely abandon plowing, particularly because our region can no longer be considered stable in terms of moisture. Due to several well-known factors, profitability in crop production has decreased, so we must find ways to overcome the problem and work as efficiently as possible, notes Mr. Oleg Zapletnyuk.

An important part of the company’s strategy was the acquisition of modern equipment that would allow working with the most optimal technology for each cluster.

This could involve vertical tillage, strip-till, or competent minimal tillage. In the Western cluster, this means stubble cultivation before sowing winter crops using tine cultivators to thoroughly mix crop residues, chop them, and distribute them evenly. For spring crops, it involves combined tillage with tine equipment to a depth of 18-20 cm for modern disc drills. However, we do not focus on just one approach and select the most effective solutions, explains the General Director of “TAS Agro.”

This also applies to the mineral nutrition of crops, as it has become clear that with the significant rise in fertilizer prices and the low grain prices, the methods of applying fertilizers need to be changed.

For this purpose, we acquired unique equipment such as the BEDNAR TERRALAND TN chisel ploughs, capable of deep loosening the soil for corn or sunflower while simultaneously applying fertilizers to deeper soil layers, even at two different levels. These machines have performed very well, so we will purchase a few more units – in the PROFI modification. Specifically for them, we also acquired another interesting BEDNAR development – the COMBO SYSTEM dual-chamber fertilizer hoppers, which allow deep loosening of the soil with simultaneous fertilizer application, says Oleg Zapletnyuk.

Oleg Zapletnyuk highlights the need to find more efficient methods of mineral nutrition for crops. We have already seen that local application of granules into the soil at such depths is much more effective than broadcasting. Alongside this, we are practicing different methods of restoring soil fertility, particularly by using hoppers on soil cultivation equipment to sow cover crops. This is a comprehensive process. Generally, we believe that there is no need to reinvent the wheel – it has existed for a long time. In this regard, we fully rely on the experience and knowledge of the Americans, who argue that the soil should not be left idle. A week ago, the air temperature in our fields reached 42 degrees, while the soil temperature was all 60… – he notes.

Our interlocutor also mentions several other advantages of BEDNAR’s soil cultivation and mineral nutrition technology using the TERRALAND and COMBO SYSTEM models.

The simpler the fertilizers, the cheaper the active ingredient unit in their composition. Therefore, with this tandem of a deep ripper and a dual-chamber hopper, we can, for example, apply potassium chloride together with ammonium phosphate in the fall and reduce the cost of cultivation technology. Or apply a combined fertilizer in one layer and urea in another under corn. And in doing so, eliminate an additional technological pass. Finally, placing two portions of fertilizers at different depths under the seed allows us to stimulate the root system of plants to grow downward – where there is more moisture and nutrients, emphasizes Oleg Zapletnyuk.

By the way, the functionality of the COMBO SYSTEM dual-chamber hoppers is not limited to aggregation with TERRALAND chisel ploughs alone. They can be perfectly used together with a disc harrow or another BEDNAR implement – the versatile VERSATILL tine cultivator, capable of both effective stubble cultivation and pre-sowing soil preparation. This way, you can apply, for example, ammonium nitrate for stubble decomposition or for sowing to enrich the topsoil with available nitrogen, explains the General Director of “TAS Agro.”

Let’s return to the previously mentioned versatile BEDNAR VERSATILL VO_PROFI tine cultivator, a batch of which was purchased by “TAS Agro” and which has already demonstrated its advantages in performing various field tasks.

unstable moisture, better solutions must be sought. The plow does not create a good soil structure for us and does not allow thorough mixing of crop residues. Essentially, the biota does not work. Another factor is excessive fuel consumption. With VERSATILL VO_PROFI and sowing using Strip-Till technology Strip-Till we spend 16 liters of fuel per hectare for stubble cultivation and sowing, while with the plow – up to 35 liters. These figures speak for themselves. Next, we consider the productivity of the work, which is much lower with the plow. And finally, with VERSATILL VO_PROFI cultivators, we need fewer tractors, notes Oleg Zapletnyuk.

The General Director of “TAS Agro” explains the company’s choice in favor of BEDNAR VERSATILL VO_PROFI cultivators by the comprehensive combination of various advantages.

Firstly, these are versatile soil cultivation implements that can be intensively used throughout the season. With their help, we can lightly close moisture at a depth of 3 centimeters or work all the way down to 15 centimeters. There is a wide range of additional equipment here – leveling boards, cutting rollers, and all of this works excellently. After harvesting wheat, rapeseed, soybeans, or other crops, we can qualitatively cultivate stubble, sow cover crops, and then reliably incorporate the cover crops into the soil with the same VERSATILL VO_PROFI cultivator. VERSATILL VO_PROFI can also perform precise final leveling of fields. These implements do not clog and can work with a large amount of crop residues in the field, says Oleg Zapletnyuk.

The design features of the VERSATILL VO_PROFI cultivators and a range of different equipment and working bodies allow these machines to perform various tasks throughout the year. Thus, at “TAS Agro,” for pre-sowing soil preparation, VERSATILL VO_PROFI cultivators are equipped with chisel points and a front leveling bar CRUSHBAR. And for stubble cultivation after harvesting, the cultivators are re-equipped with chisels and a TRASH CUTTER cutting roller.

Oleg Zapletnyuk says that many agricultural companies primarily use disc implements for such operations, but chisel models like VERSATILL VO_PROFI are much more effective.

With discs, you can chop crop residues, but you will never distribute them evenly. They essentially work like a roller. On the other hand, VERSATILL VO_PROFI distributes the chopped straw evenly across the field while also leveling its surface. These are ideal conditions for subsequent operations, including sowing. We analyzed all the cultivators of this type available on the market and realized that VERSATILL VO_PROFI is the optimal solution. I would add that the official dealers of BEDNAR carried out all the work on commissioning the equipment we purchased and conducted thorough training for our operators. The Czech company provides truly reliable service for its machines and implements, which is another significant factor in its favor for us, concludes Oleg Zapletnyuk.

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