Agro Expo 2017

Agro Expo 

For the last couple years, we have been talking about going to this fall agriculture show, they put up billboards for it in Zaporosia. We have been to several shows in Kiev, but never the one in Kirvagrad, even though we have heard that it is bigger and better. We planned on going this year, even ordered the passes over the internet, but did not get away until the last day of the show, Saturday.

One reason its hard to get away is the beginning of classes for the students, and we have started our evening SEI followup English groups. The show started Wednesday, when we went to Kamanskya in the evening, and then Thursday Garry had to get the hay baled, Friday we had our evening class in Dnepro, so Saturday became the day of choice.

Max, Anton and Artem (our non-student workers) could go since it was supposed to rain on Saturday. That's the other reason it's hard to get to this show, we are in the harvest, plowing and wheat planting season. The students will get their usual trip to the farm show in Kiev, with the bonus of two overnight train trips in February, but Garry wanted to take the other guys to this show.

So Friday night at 9:30 pm we got back to the village as the storm front was moving in, there was lightning as we drove out of Dnepro and it poured rain in some places on the highway. It had not quite arrived in the village, so Garry decided to make feed for the morning, he drove the tractor with the TMR and I followed him with the van to light the way.

He got wet, but the feed got made, so when we woke up in the morning he drove over and fed the cows before we went to pick everyone up. Garry was a little disappointed with the rain, it didn't look very wet outside, it rained hard for a few minutes after we went to bed but the storm was more booming thunder and lightning than rain. I had even gotten up and unplugged the televisions.



We picked up Max, ready to go shortly after six am, but the other two decided to sleep in after he woke them up. (Turned out it was a good thing, Anton put out the fire Leila accidentally started on the stove at the new house when she put water on burning oil, from the story she told at Saturday evening meeting).

So we were off to Dnepro to pick up vet student Andrey who wanted to come with us. I talked Garry into a McMuffin detour since we were just around the circle in the city before heading out toward Kirovgard (which has a new non-Soviet name which is harder for me to remember and pronounce.)

We last drove there four years ago while driving to a European area mission conference in western Ukraine, and let me say the road has gotten worse. Forty kilometers of pavement have completely fallen apart, with a lot of the traffic driving along the road in the dirt and cars and trucks crawling and bumping along very slowly.

It was exciting to find further along that they are rebuilding some of it so we had a section of newly paved road further along to drive on. There are many more miles to go that need to be fixed, I hope they don't run out of money for infrastructure before they re done.

Anyway, the 296 km drive the GPS promised took about four hours (Garry was hoping for three when we left) but we got there. You can see the new name of the city in this photo. After driving through the city we found the show complex.

Kropin...niski?

beautiful church as we entered the city 

The show was amazing, we toured around looking at stuff outside for the first hour and a half, the crowd was much more like you'd see at a North American farm show like the Ontario plowing match, families walking around, even kids carrying advertising balloons.

The guys wanted to find a new sprayer to buy for next year, so we looked over a couple. We also found plastic calf hutches and they found a big generator to buy, they one we have cannot run the new farm if there is no electricity. 

I have a few more interesting farm show photos to insert here, I was taking some while the guys were busy talking to the sprayer guy. There was a whole section of booths outside selling food, crafts and household goods that we did not have time to walk through.

Patriotic equipment in the colors of Ukraine

Girls handing out brochures outside- in short shorts
and Garry said I'd be the only female  in a cap...

The guys had to look over this mini corn chopper 

how does it work?

At this point, it started to sprinkle, so the guys headed to the Agro Test Drive area:

That's what the giant blow up arch says-
Agro Test Drive

It seemed like you could go for a ride in the sprayer, it
stopped and they lined up to get in.

Our guys seemed more interested in looking at tractors

The rain drops were getting bigger as we found the animal displays. That's one thing we don't see in Kiev.

Korova! Cows! 

It started to really rain out

The rain started to be more steady, so we headed for the inside part of the show, there was not as much inside as out, and what was there had some empty booths with others packing up as we went past, however, they found a couple they were interested in with salesmen. Next time we will try to not go on the last day of the show!

What do we want to see?

We have one, its a little different, it came from Canada

the next aisle, not sure what Arnold was selling

How can we get parts here in Ukraine?

Turns out to be their favorite display

lots of cars in the back of the building

Window curtains anyone?

Still at their posts

everyone needs a photo on a tractor

or a combine

But some people are more interested in buying... if the sunflowers do well, can we possibly buy a real (non Belarus) tractor... like this Case IH 125 ? Let's check it out...

Max is hopeful

I don't think they are serious about the combine...

More girls handing out brochures 

Me with a straw cow at the indoor entrance

Garry with a fellow at the outside entrance

Looking at one more sprayer in the rain 

Then we were off on the road home, after stopping for lunch around two pm, getting home by 6:30 pm so Garry could do his Saturday evening meeting with the students. Max drove and it was even bumpier sitting in the middle seat of the van. 

It rained as we drove and when we got back, there had been more rain in the village during the day, dampening the village day celebrations, which were still on when we got back, kids were jumping on the rented trampolines. Shortly after Garry's meeting started the rain started up again, so the wheat should come up nicely. They should be able to harvest more sunflowers on Monday.