Astarta, Ukraine’s largest sugar producer, has commissioned another building for keeping heifers aged two to six months in the Poltava region as part of a large-scale reconstruction of dairy farms, the agricultural holding’s press service reported.
“This is part of a major infrastructure renewal program that Astarta continues to implement throughout 2025. The company is modernizing farms, introducing new animal husbandry technologies, improving energy efficiency, and working to improve livestock genetics. In total, Astarta invested about UAH 543 million in this area during the 11 months of 2025. Last year, about UAH 300 million was invested in the reconstruction and modernization of the industry,” the agricultural holding said, adding that these measures are aimed at increasing production efficiency.
The building has been reconstructed in compliance with requirements for room layout, animal density, microclimate, and sanitary and hygienic conditions, which reduce dependence on external resources and make the farm more autonomous.
Astarta systematically invests in upgrading livestock infrastructure, improving animal welfare, applying modern technologies, and increasing energy efficiency. The opening of each new facility is another step towards strengthening the competitiveness of our livestock farming, implementing good animal welfare practices, and strengthening the company’s production base,” said Yaroslav Kushnir, Director of Astarta’s Livestock Department.
The company is convinced that systematic work on the development of livestock farming yields stable results — the agricultural holding remains the largest producer of industrial milk in Ukraine.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine and the largest sugar producer in Ukraine. It includes six sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 220,000 hectares and dairy farms with 22,000 head of cattle, an oil extraction plant in Hlobyn (Poltava region), seven elevators, and a biogas complex.
In the first half of 2025, Astarta reduced its net profit by 10.3% to EUR47.11 million, and its consolidated revenue decreased by 29.3% to EUR320.71 million.
On October 17, 2025, ProAgro Group will hold the fourth Ukrainian Livestock Summit (Ukrainian Livestock Summit 2025) in Kyiv, a leading industry platform for discussing current trends and prospects for the development of livestock farming, poultry farming, livestock product processing, and feed production, writes SEEDS.
Among the speakers at the summit will be Oksana Yurchenko, coordinator of animal health and food safety projects at the FAO Investment Center and representative of the educational platform AgriAcademy, who will present an analytical report on “Livestock farming in Ukraine: trends, challenges, and prospects.”
Oksana Yurchenko will present an overview of key trends in the livestock industry, including issues of staff shortages, the transformation of agricultural professions, the sector’s adaptation to the requirements of European integration, and the role of modern informal education in training a new generation of agribusiness specialists.
“Today, the livestock industry is facing a number of serious challenges, one of the key ones being an acute shortage of qualified personnel. Companies are actively looking for specialists, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find them, while a new generation of farmers with a completely different vision and approach to work is entering the market. That is why it is extremely important to integrate distance learning into the daily activities of farms, making it an integral part of the production process. AgriAcademy is an effective tool that will motivate employees and help improve their professional level,” emphasizes Oksana Yurchenko.
During the summit, a promotional video about AgriAcademy will also be shown, highlighting the opportunities offered by certified free online education for farmers. The platform currently offers more than 30 practical courses, created in collaboration with leading universities around the world, companies in the agricultural sector, and industry experts in Ukraine.
Oksana Yurchenko’s presentation is intended not only to assess the state of the livestock sector, but also to show how modern educational initiatives contribute to strengthening the human resources potential of Ukrainian agribusiness in the context of post-war recovery and European integration.
This is a free online learning platform created on the initiative of the EBRD as part of its food security support program in Ukraine. Its goal is to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainable development of agriculture, which has suffered significant losses due to the war.
The platform’s creation and management (including course development, training tours, etc.) is supported and funded by the EBRD, as well as:
AgriAcademy, ANALYTICS, livestock farming, market review, ProAgro Group, Ukrainian Livestock Summit 2025
