In Altai Krai’s unusually collaborative veg-growing scene, SOYUZAGRO stands out: nearly 1,000 ha of potatoes, steady processor partnerships, and a deliberate push on equipment and storage. The 2024 season was the toughest in the farm’s history (ridge soil temps up to 64 °C, then rain and storage issues), but 2025 brought a clean, on-schedule planting campaign.
Origin story
- Potatoes since 2008: the founder borrowed $6,000 and planted 20 t of seed — and never looked back.
- The company was formally incorporated in 2013.
Scale & locations
- Potato area: ~1,000 ha (“a thousand minus a few”).
- Two sites: the historical base, plus Sannikovo (12 km from Barnaul).
- Irrigation exists in Sannikovo, but the site is under rotation/fallow in 2025.
Seasons 2024–2025: a study in contrasts
- 2024 (worst on record):
- Disrupted planting (about 21 days of stoppages).
- Ridge heat 40 °C+; soil on ridges up to 64 °C, then heavy rains → disease pressure.
- Quality dropped: a crop that usually stores to June struggled; tubers wouldn’t run on the washer.
- Average yield ~29 t/ha (vs. the farm’s normal 40+, with 60–65 t/ha on intensive varieties).
- Spring 2025 (back on rhythm):
- Only 4.5 days of weather downtime; finished planting in 20 days.
Agronomy & soils
- 75-cm system (a deliberate, long-term choice; no plans to switch to 90 cm).
- “Greening” solved by proper planting depth, variety choice, and updated kit.
- Soils: loams with 20–25 cm of topsoil over a dense sub-layer; better moisture retention than sands.
Storage & sales
- A rolling program to add machinery and build storage.
- Works with a processor; manages by a business rule of thumb: “Yield is what you sell,” not just what you tip into store.
- 2024’s price “corrections” happened amid national shortage signals and regulatory scrutiny.
Community matters
- In Altai Krai, veg growers meet several times a year to share practice — a culture of co-op mindset over rivalry that helps keep technology and markets on track.
Key facts (at a glance)
- ~1,000 ha potatoes across two locations.
- 75-cm row spacing; greening under control.
- Typical years: 40+ t/ha; intensive varieties up to 60–65 t/ha.
- 2024: ~29 t/ha under extreme heat → rain → disease.
- 2025: planting downtime 4.5 days; campaign done in 20 days.
- Sannikovo site with irrigation (rested/rotated in 2025).
- Processor partnerships + ongoing storage expansion.
Quotes
- “We’re always learning — that’s how you work well.”
- “2024 grounded us: when weather breaks the playbook, yields and quality follow.”
- “At 75 cm, with depth and the right varieties, it works.”
- “Yield is what’s sold, not only what enters the store.”
