Posted on 01/12/2012 5:45:56 PM PST by DeaconBenjamin
In the 18th century, Catherine the Great invited German farmers to come to Russia and cultivate the land. Over two centuries later, the country is recruiting Teutonic pioneers once again to put vast tracts of fallow land to use. The land holds great opportunities for agricultural entrepreneurs -- provided they have strong nerves.
Stefan Dürr, 47, is now the owner of more than 170,000 hectares (about 420,000 acres) of prime Russian farmland. He is cultivating fields in the Kursk, Voronezh, Orenburg, Novosibirsk and Kaluga regions. Through his holding company, EkoSem-Agrar, he employs 2,800 people in farming, owns a herd of 28,000 cattle and most recently generated revenues of €80 million ($102 million). In good years, he earned €200 million selling agricultural machinery, a business he has since spun off. According to Dürr, EkoNiva, one of his subsidiaries, is among the top 30 agricultural companies in Russia.
Russia is once again courting Western settlers to revive a farming industry that is ailing in some areas.
Dürr has, in fact, attracted imitators. The Westphalian meat baron Clemens Tönnies wants to build 10 new pig farms, which are expected to produce 62,500 tons of meat a year. It promises an investment of more than €100 million in the Voronezh region.
Eckart Hohmann farms 29,000 hectares 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Moscow. His "Rheinland Farm" produces brewers' yeast, seed grain and wheat. "The Russians practically forced the land on us," says Hohmann. The business already achieved profitability some time ago.
Some 23 million hectares of fertile farmland is currently not being used in Russia. Much of this land is in the coveted Black Earth Region. In the early 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, collectives everywhere went bankrupt, and the country was forced to import grain.
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
What is the connection between yeast and the Pongam tree?
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/bedard_emil/interactions.htm
Russia is also experiencing a dramatic depopulation on top of the migration to the cities. They’re actively seeking farmers to drive up food production for export as their country side empties. The question will be if this is just a “cash crop” for the regime until its renationalized or a long term investment toward true capitalsim.
Russia is also experiencing a dramatic depopulation on top of the migration to the cities. They’re actively seeking farmers to drive up food production for export as their country side empties. The question will be if this is just a “cash crop” for the regime until its renationalized or a long term investment toward true capitalism.
It may be a move towards true capitalism.
Would such a farm in Russia be on the yeastern front?
Yeast is yeast and wet is wet and if ever the two should meet it could mean spore.
Lookin’ for a little liebenstrom?
I guess they are looking for a little liebenstrom...
Love storm? LOL.
The last time around, this didn’t end so well — Ostlieben or whatever.
That was pretty awful. My compliments!!
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