Plant growers in the Chelyabinsk region have increased production

The results of the crop production sector in 2025 and the objectives for the coming year were discussed at an extended meeting of the Board and Public Council of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Chelyabinsk Region.
Heads of rural municipal districts of the Chelyabinsk Region participated in the meeting via videoconference.
Opening the meeting, Deputy Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region and Minister of Agriculture Alexey Kobilin thanked farmers for a successful agricultural year.
"The Chelyabinsk Region's agro-industrial complex has fulfilled all its objectives, and the region is now supplied with essential food products. This is all the result of the dedicated and highly skilled work of farmers: the implementation of advanced technologies, arable land management, seed management, and fertilizer application," noted Alexey Kobilin.
The increase in crop production is in line with the goals of the national project "Technological Support for Food Security." In 2025, the Chelyabinsk Region harvested a record grain crop (2,378,000 tons) and oilseeds (495,000 tons as of December 23). A record average grain yield of 20.6 c/ha was achieved. Farmers in the Verkhneuralsk District achieved yields of 25 c/ha, the Etkul and Chesmensky Districts achieved 24.3 c/ha, the Argayashsky District achieved 21.8 c/ha, and the Uvelsky, Uysky, and Nagaybaksky Districts achieved 20.8 c/ha each.
With regional support, grain storage facilities with a total capacity of 107,000 tons have been commissioned in the region over the past three years. This will help maintain the economic stability of enterprises.
The potato harvest increased by 42% to 149,900 tons, and field vegetable yields increased by 17% to 29,100 tons. Greenhouse complexes planned to harvest 37,300 tons of vegetables this year, and by mid-December, 39,400 tons had already been harvested (an increase of 2,800 tons compared to 2024 ). This ranks second in the Urals Federal District and 12th in Russia.
Seed procurement for the 2026 sowing season has been successful: grain and leguminous seeds are already in full supply, with 98% of potato seeds and 97% of oilseed seeds available.
Farmers face the challenge of increasing the share of domestically bred seeds in 2026. Incidentally, in the Chelyabinsk Region, 99% of grain acreage is sown with domestically bred seeds. Their share of sunflower seeds is also growing: from 30% in 2023 to 93% in 2025. Starting in 2026, an increasing coefficient will be applied to the calculation of subsidies for growing potatoes and vegetables, and for the purchase of elite potato seeds, using domestically bred seeds.
To increase production volumes by 2030, Alexey Kobylin instructed municipal district heads to strengthen efforts to reclaim land for agricultural use. A state program for reclaiming agricultural land is underway in the region. From 2017 to 2025, 103,200 hectares of arable land were reclaimed with state support totaling 126.75 million rubles, with a 50% cost reimbursement rate. In 2025, the Oktyabrsky, Kasli, and Troitsky districts made good progress in reclaiming arable land.
The state program also includes work with municipalities to prepare land surveying projects and conduct cadastral work. As Deputy Minister of Agriculture Yevgeny Nedbaylo noted, in 2025, state cadastral registration was completed on 7,000 hectares, and surveying projects were prepared for an area of ​​57 hectares. Active participants this year include the Varna, Nagaybak, Oktyabrsky, Satka, Sosnovsky, and Chebarkul districts. The Russian
Ministry of Agriculture is currently selecting applications for 2026, and municipalities are required to participate. Work has also been completed to verify agricultural land: municipalities have assessed its suitability for further development, and the information has been submitted to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.
Igor Troshkin, head of the Ural Interregional Administration of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, spoke at the meeting about current issues of biological security and phytosanitary well-being in the region.