The company «Atlantic Farms II», which was established by the American family, has been raising cattle for meat. Profitability of the company — about 12%. With a closed cycle (has its own forage — plant products and animal feed production), this Ukrainian company with U.S. investments felt itself confidently even during the crisis and unexpected price fluctuations. Domestic manufacturers could compete with their foreign competitors for 50% of marble meat market: Ukraine has significant deficit of this elite product.

Growing cattle is one of those areas of livestock, which suffered mostly from the decline of collective farm system. Once powerful farms are barren now, and Ukrainian supermarkets buy New Zealand beef. Although several years ago the revival of agriculture in Ukraine began, and investors do not hurry to invest in beef production. Crop production remains favorite industry. Fattening a bull lasts for 18 months — three harvests can be taken off the field for this time.

Cowboys in the steppes of Ukraine

David and Denial Svir also started their business in Ukraine with the crop production. Registered in 1992, the company began to import Russian diesel fuel to Ukraine. Here it was changed barter for peas, which were exported to Germany. Within six months, the company employed 40 traders. «Pea» money provided a solid financial foundation for business: monthly turnover increased to a million dollars. In May 1995, like the company «Kyiv-Atlantic Ukraine», Svir have partnered with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This was the first agricultural project of the EBRD in Ukraine. Now founded by American investors the company began to specialize in growing hybrid corn and soybeans and introduction (adaptation) of early modern varieties of crops to the local climate. The next step was the production of animal feed under its own brand. Powerful crisis in 1998 nearly led to bankruptcy, so they had to rebuild the business almost from scratch.

Availability of own fodder and feed helped to create its farm production company — «Atlantic Farms II». It was founded in 2004 in the village of Demko, Drabiv District, Cherkasy region, which now handle about 6,000 hectares of arable land and cattle reaches 2000 heads.

«We bought first youngstock in 2005. It was fifteen hundred bulls, weighing preferably50-100 kg.First, we tried to fill the matrix, to grow cattle of different age groups. So we bought calves from people weighing three tonns and fatten them to 550 tonnes»- says Alexander Beneda, deputy director of the company. According to his words, the most numerous herd on their farm once was 4000 heads. The financial crisis in 2008 and losses incurred by farmers after an unprecedented crop of 2011 (due to low prices for crop production, some companies were forced to replow the crop or to sell it at cost), made some adjust policy management. To minimize the loss and promptly pay for the loans they had to cut not only all the550-kgbulls, but also 390 kg youngstock.

More information is available in the magazine «Milk and Farm» № 1 (8), February 2012