View From The Cab

By David Tollefson, Columnist

Last April of 2023 I wrote a column titled “Battle For Ukraine,” about Howard G. Buffett, and written by Clinton Griffiths of Farm Journal Magazine.

In the latest issue of Successful Farming is a multi-page insert written by Buffett, and includes numerous photographs of the tragic war in that part of the world.

Here is part of the introduction to the photos and stories:

I had not given Ukraine much thought since I first visited the country in February of 1991 to meet with farmers and the Minister of Agriculture. In 2014, I watched news accounts of protests by Ukrainians against their pro-Russia president and Russia’s subsequent occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea. These events, as significant as they were, did not keep my attention because at the time they didn’t relate to our Foundation’s mission.

We have a long history of working in Central America, South America, Mexico and on the African continent. One of our Foundation’s main focus areas is investing in agricultural development to improve food security. Ukraine, historically a global leader in exports of agricultural commodities, was a country where our support for agricultural development would not typically be needed.

My focus shifted when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. I immediately recognized the impact this would have on global food security, particularly in some of the most unstable and food-insecure countries in the world, many of which we know well from past work. I anticipated some of the humanitarian consequences the war would create, though I initially underestimated its scale. The war in Ukraine very quickly created the largest humanitarian crisis I have witnessed in my lifetime and the largest food crisis in modern history. Russia has used starvation as a war tactic, in direct violation of the Geneva Convention. I learned long ago that food is power; in Ukraine, Russia is using it to try to break the will of the people. This strategy has failed.

Russia’s invasion of a sovereign country has and will continue to shift the geopolitical landscape that has historically allowed for a mostly peaceful post-Second World War order. It is hard to fathom that Russia, with support from Iran, North Korea, mercenaries from Syria and militias from Chechnya, is waging a war of choice on the European continent. Also incomprehensible is Russia’s willingness to contract with private militaries and deploy tens of thousands of convicted criminals from Russian prisons to fight against Ukraine. These were unimaginable events a year ago; today they are reality.

I was recently asked by a reporter to share my single biggest observation when comparing my visit to Kyiv in 1991 and today. I didn’t hesitate in my response. In the middle of this brutal war, Ukrainians have more hope and faith in the future today than I witnessed on the streets of Kyiv (Kiev) in 1991. Ordinary people have summoned extraordinary levels of courage, resiliency and commitment to their country rarely seen in today’s world. They are not giving up on Ukraine, and neither can we.

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Here are a couple pictures from the several shown in the magazine insert.

The first one is of three John Deere combine headers, the kind very commonly seen around here at harvest time. The one that still has green paint on it is a model 635F, 35 feet wide, and used to cut either small grain or soybeans. They are totally destroyed by the Russians, including the trailers used to haul them around before attaching to the combine. It is estimated that Russia has destroyed over 84,000 pieces of farm machinery.

The second picture is of stamps used to raise money for the fight against the Russians. It depicts a farm tractor pulling a tank which had run out of fuel.

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Please contact David Tollefson with thoughts or comments on this or future columns at: adtollef@hcinet.net