Voronezh Faces Agricultural Crisis as Storms Devastate Crops and Prompt State of Emergency

The Voronezh region has declared an emergency in two districts following severe storms earlier this month that devastated significant areas of crops in one of Russia’s key grain-producing regions.

The emergency order, signed by Governor Alexander Gusev on July 25 and released on Tuesday, pertains to the Verkhnekhavsky and Novousmansky districts, which were struck by a fierce hurricane and hailstorm between July 13 and 14.

Voronezh is among Russia’s top five grain-producing regions and plays a crucial role in supplying sugar beets.

Regional agricultural authorities have been instructed to finalize damage evaluations by August 1.

Previously, Voronezh had been under a statewide emergency from late May until last week due to a series of unusual frost events that nearly destroyed half of the region’s anticipated fruit and berry harvest.

The neighboring regions of Krasnodar and Rostov have also declared emergencies in nine and 19 districts, respectively, in recent weeks as vital agricultural areas face extreme weather challenges.

Collectively, Voronezh, Krasnodar, and Rostov contribute to almost 20% of Russia’s total grain production.

The People’s Farmer association, a Russian agribusiness organization, warned that the affected areas might experience crop losses of up to 25% for wheat, corn, and sunflower in the 2025 harvest.

The outlook is particularly bleak in Rostov, which is Russia’s largest grain-producing area.

After last year’s harvest fell 29% below expectations due to frosts—producing only 11.4 million tons instead of the anticipated 16 million—officials now predict a further 20% drop in 2025, potentially marking the smallest grain harvest in a decade for the region.

Analysts from the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR) anticipate that Rostov, along with Krasnodar and Stavropol, will yield their lowest combined grain production in five years.

Despite the growing losses at the regional level, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry has, to date, maintained its national grain forecast of 135 million tons, a slight increase from last year’s 129.8 million, citing robust results from the Central, Volga, and North Caucasus regions.