Combine harvester, metal detector and water truck: what the harvest looks like now in Mykolaiv region

A single spark from a drone fragment can ignite tens of hectares

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07 Jul 2026

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Harvest season continues in the Mykolaiv region, but this year farmers are harvesting not only under heat, labor and equipment shortages, but also under the constant threat of Russian attacks. Fragments of munitions and enemy drones cause fires in the fields, where dry crops can ignite from a single spark.

How farmers are saving the harvested grain was shown in a segment of the marathon “United News”, published on 6 July 2026.

For farmer Vitalii Sydor from the village of Novohryhorivka, the harvest began in mid-June. He cultivates over 200 hectares of land, where he grows winter barley, wheat and rapeseed. The crop must be gathered as quickly as possible before it is destroyed by fires or new shelling.

The farmer said the field was preliminarily cleared of mines, and the expected wheat yield could be at least 3.5 tonnes per hectare.

“The field was cleared, so far so good, we’re mowing. We’ll know the exact yield when we finish, but I think it will be no less than three and a half tonnes per hectare of wheat, something like that”, – said Vitalii Sydor.

Weather conditions this season are favorable for harvesting, but the farm lacks machinery, freight transport and workers. The farmer is forced to perform some of the work himself, including organizing deliveries of water, spare parts and other necessary items.

According to Vitalii Sydor, the problem of vehicles to deliver the harvested grain to ports remains particularly acute.

“It has affected the fact that there are hardly any vehicles to deliver to the port. There is a very big problem with the machines. There is a very big problem with people; even help with the farm here in the field, some delivery of water or discs, well, you have to do everything with your own forces”, – said the farmer.

A few years ago it was almost impossible to work on these fields. After the territory was de-occupied, Vitalii Sydor and his friends inspected the land themselves to return it to agricultural use.

The farmer, who was internally displaced during the fighting, said that after returning home they bought 2 metal detectors and walked every field:

“When we were returning home, we bought two metal detectors, a friend of ours knew about them. And so we walked every field, put flags, and where we didn’t know we called, accordingly, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) – they know more than we do. We also did everything by our own efforts, because the DSNS is not enough for everyone, and we wanted to clear the fields of mines faster so that such beauty would be on the fields, and not what it was when we arrived home, with different rockets sticking out, different munitions, well, anything you can imagine”, – said Vitalii Sydor.

Now grains are sown and harvested again on lands that were previously dangerous. Farmers from other regions are helping local farmers. In particular, combine operators from the Kirovohrad region came to the Mykolaiv region.

The owner of the combines Vitalii said that his team came to help farms in areas that were previously under Russian occupation:

“It used to be an occupied territory, now people here are starting to develop again, they are demining the fields, working. And we come here to help people. The area is about 2.5 thousand hectares; that’s what has been mown so far. And I think that we plan to harvest about 500-700 hectares here. Regarding the harvest, in principle, it’s not bad this year. I think that Ukraine will have bread”, – said the owner of the combines.

This year’s harvest turned out to be better than last year’s. Last season, due to unfavorable conditions, a significant part of the crops burned out and there was almost no grain. However, even a good yield does not guarantee profit for farmers:

“Last year here was completely, well, completely bad, everything burned, there was no grain. So this year the harvest is quite decent, so to speak. If only the price were right, because with current diesel prices, taxes, and lease payments for land shares, it’s hard for farmers here”, – said combine operator Vitalii.

The greatest threat to the harvest in summer remains fires. Dry crops ignite instantly as a result of falling fragments of Russian munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles. The situation is especially dangerous in areas located near the Kherson region, from where Russian occupiers launch drones.

Vitalii Sydor said that farmers try to harvest the grain as quickly as possible before the field is engulfed in flames.

“Mainly because of Russian drones, because they fly from Kherson. From us to Kherson it’s 25 kilometers, maybe even less. And they fall, accordingly, the field is dry, it all catches fire. We try, while the weather favors us – we try to gather it all quickly so it doesn’t burn”, – the farmer said.

To protect the harvest, farmers must strictly follow fire safety rules. Combines and other equipment must be equipped with serviceable fire extinguishers, and during field work a vehicle with a supply of water should be on standby.

“At the start of the harvest season in the territory of the Shevchenkivska community, 4 field fires have already been recorded. Statistics show the most common causes – of course, Russian munitions, fragments, but human carelessness also plays a large part”, – said the Shevchenkivska community’s fire safety instructor Oleksandra Krotyk.

Overall, since the start of the harvest in the Mykolaiv district, rescuers have already extinguished 14 fires, the segment reports. Despite the danger of new shelling, mined lands, shortages of workers, machinery and transport, farmers continue to go out to the fields to save the harvest and provide Ukraine with bread.

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