Prospects For Soviet Grain Production

Brigitta Young

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781000308396
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Geschichte
• Subtopic: Weltgeschichte

This book challenges the conventional view that the present low yields of the Soviet agricultural system result primarily from its institutional structure, demonstrating that other factors are of equal or greater importance. Ms. Young examines two alternative explanations: first, that weather is the dominant force underlying trends in Soviet grain

1
Land Use, Climate and Soils

Land Use

The Soviet Union encompasses almost 2.5 times as much land area as the United States. The country's stretch from north to south is almost 5,000 kilometers, from 35°8'N at the southern border of Central Asia to 77°45'N at Cape Chelyuskin on the Arctic coast of Eastern Siberia. West-east, the country extends almost 10,000 kilometers, from 19°38'E in Kalinigrad Oblast to 169°2'W at Ratmanov Island in the Bering Straits. At this high latitude, such a distance covers eleven time zones.¹ As can be seen from Table 1-1, agricultural land in the Soviet Union comprises 27 percent of total land area, of which 10 percent is arable; the remainder is in range, meadows, and orchards. Only 0.5 percent of the total land is left in clean fallow in comparison to 5 percent in the United States.²

Most of the arable land is cultivated in grain and fodder crops. Table 1-2 shows the distribution of Soviet grain production by regions. More than half the cultivated area is in wheat and barley. Wheat is grown primarily in the relatively mild climates of the Volga. To the east, spring wheat is found, where the ciimate is too severe for winter crops. Barley is grown as a feed grain throughout the agricultural belt. Corn is also an important crop in the Ukraine and in other fertile areas of the southwest.³ Wheat is a major staple and accounts for 90 percent of food grain production and 50 percent of total grain production.⁴ While both spring and winter wheat production are significant, the area sown to spring wheat is approximately 2.5 times larger than the cultivation in winter wheat (Table 1-3).⁵ But

Table 1-1
DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND

Table 1-2
DISTRIBUTION OF SOVIET GRAIN PRODUCTION BY GEOCLIMATIC REGIONS

Table 1-3
PRODUCTION AND AREA SOWN IN SPRING AND WINTER WHEAT

despite the much greater area in spring wheat, the production ratio of spring to winter wheat in the USSR is only 60:40 because spring wheat yields are lower than those of winter wheat. The latter is concentrated in the western USSR, where it can withstand the winter conditions; the spring wheat belt is primarily east of the Volga, often too cold for winter crops to survive.⁶

Average yields in spring and winter wheat, although fluctuating, have continued to increase. The average 11960 spring wheat production o 14f bushels per acre rose to 20 bushels per acre in 1973. Average W bushels in 1973, the latter exceeding yields in the United States' W bushels in 1973, the latter exceeding yields in the United States.⁷ A comparison of average USSR and US wheat production and yields between 1969 and 1971 is provided in Table 1-4.

Tables 1-5 and 1-6 give regional data for average spring and winter wheat yields, production, and sown area from 1969 to 1971. Yield improvements in wheat have made it possible to increase total production while decreasing total sown wheat area in Kazakhstan and Western Siberia. Table 1-7 illustrates the trends in total wheat, barley, and corn planting from 1940 to 1970.

Climatic Conditions

The problem with the Soviet natural resource base stems from the uneven combination of rich soil, adequate rainfall, and warm temperatures. "Where the soil is 'excellent' the rainfall is inadequate and where the rainfall is (barely) adequate the soil is usually poor."⁸

Climatically, the Soviet Union resembles Canada more than the United States. Table 1-8 shows the North American climatic analogs for USSR crop regions. More than 30 percent of the country is too cold for agriculture, and another 40 percent is so cold that only hardy, early-maturing crops can be grown.⁹

The Soviet Union is remarkably insulated from maritime influences. Only the Atlantic flow reaches the Soviet territory, and only after it has crossed the entire European continent. Despite this long distance,

Table 1-4
USSR-US COMPARISON OF WHEAT PRODUCTION AND YIELD

Table 1-5
AVERAGE WINTER WHEAT YIELDS: PRODUCTION AND SOWN AREA FROM 1969-1971

Table 1-6
AVERAGE SPRING WHEAT YIELDS: PRODUCTION AND SOWN AREA FROM 1969 TO 1971

Table 1-7
TRENDS IN WHEAT, BARLEY, AND CORN PLANTING 1940-1970

Table 1-8
NORTH AMERICAN CLIMATIC ANALOGS FOR USSR CROP REGIONS

much of the precipitation falling in the Soviet Union comes initially from the Atlantic and bordering seas.¹⁰ The Atlantic also influences the thermal conditions, particularly in the western part of the country, where temperatures are close latitudinally to Canada. But "while European USSR on the average gains heat from the Atlantic during winter, it is subject to Arctic intrusions from the north that are more severe than anything in the corn belt of North America."¹¹

Seasonal extremes are particularly pronounced in the northeastern part, where the Verkhoyansk-Oymyakon region has a temperature range of over 100C, certainly the greatest...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• List of Figures and Charts
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 - Land Use, Climate and Soils
• Chapter 2 - Statistical Problems
• Chapter 3 - The Grain Problem: An Historical Perspective
• Chapter 4 - Critique of Recent Western Analyses of Soviet Grain Shortfalls
• Chapter 5 - The Role of Fertilizer in the Production of Soviet Grain
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index