TY - JOUR T1 - Ukraine JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 36A LP - 37A VL - 59 IS - 2 AU - V. Medvedev Y1 - 2004/03/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/59/2/36A.abstract N2 - The Ukraine traditionally has been a major agricultural region of Europe. For the past few decades, it produced one fourth of the former Soviet Union's agricultural output while also developing a heavy industry infrastructure. After some adjustments to its newfound independence on August 24, 1991, the Ukraine is growing into a sizeable agricultural and industrial power with an estimated purchasing capacity of over $110 billion1 in 1999 and $189 billion in 2001. The chief agricultural products of the Ukraine include livestock (beef and pork), a well-developed fishing industry, and crops (winter wheat, corn, sunflower, and sugar beets). At the end of the 1980s, before the period of transition to a market economy, the Ukraine peaked in agricultural production. By the 1990s, these values decreased reflecting a decrease of fertility and management. At the same time, wiser producers used management techniques to improve fertility and increased their grain yields above the 1980s yields. Terrain and climate The Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe with its capital in Kiev and an estimated population of 49 million-people (Figure 1). It is 603,700 km2 (233,100 m2) in area, slightly smaller than the state of … ER -