2026
The interest in agriculture of Mykola Yuskiv, now director of the western regional offices of LNZ Group, arose in childhood, when he worked in the field with his tractor-driver grandfather. Later, college studies, an internship in Denmark and obtaining a degree in Agronomy at an agricultural university in Lviv opened the door to the wide world of agribusiness.
Distribution is no less responsible than agricultural production
In 2017 Mykola Yuskiv took the position of director of the Khmelnytskyi office of LNZ Group. Today he is head of the western region and is responsible for eight regions (Lviv, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Rivne and Volyn), offers farmers seeds and crop protection products of the DEFENDA brand, and organises the work of managers. According to the director, sales work is no less responsible than production, because the manager is responsible for the harvest, its quality, and the correct application of products.
Mykola Yuskiv's team consists of nine specialists who work together for the result and for many years in a row have confidently held sixth place in distribution. Each manager is in charge of 30-70 farms, of which 50-60% are key clients who buy more than 50% of the overall crop protection system.
"I serve 35 farms, I sell and supply crop protection products and seeds. I pay attention to every client, drive around the fields with the managers or agronomists, assess the situation, and also involve the agro department of LNZ Group in the work. I am not an office person, I cannot sit in one place, I spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Only once or twice a week do we meet with the managers in the office. That is enough to discuss urgent matters and plan the work," the head says.
Farmers confirm the guaranteed quality of DEFENDA products
On the fields of the Agroinvest farm in the Ternopil region, classic field crops and vegetables are grown: onions, carrots, table beet. DEFENDA brand products are used on all crops. They have been cooperating with LNZ Group for 7 years already and note good results from the crop protection products and seeds.
"I thank Mykola Yuskiv for his understanding, cooperation, and for the fact that in certain difficult situations we always find common ground and a solution, because the most valuable thing is, above all, human relations. We highly value the quality of DEFENDA products and the seed material. The seeds, in particular of corn, provide us with 15 t/ha — this is a very good result. We recommend other farmers use these seeds too. Thanks to people like Mykola Yuskiv, we see development, we have an understanding of how to move forward, we implement something new to achieve success. And for a good result, you need to ensure quality soil preparation, choose the seeds, nutrition, and crop protection," notes Yurii Pudlyk, general director of PAP Agroinvest.
According to Roman Ivaskiv, chief agronomist of Agroinvest, 70% of the DEFENDA brand products are used on the farm's fields. On corn, pre-emergence soil herbicides were applied (Sora-Net, 2 l/ha, Idaho, 1.5 l/ha) and the result was visible. At the 5-6 leaf stage on corn, the micro-fertilisers DEFENDA Bor, 1 l/ha, DEFENDA Micro, 1.5 l/ha, DEFENDA Asko Humate, 0.5 l/ha and the insecticide Presto, 0.5 l/ha were also applied. On cabbage the systemic insecticide Octant, WG was applied by drip, and during vegetation — the fungicide Split Duo, the insecticide Presto, the micro-fertiliser DEFENDA Bor and, if necessary, DEFENDA Macro.
"I rate the products' action at 10 out of 10. Our partner Mykola Yuskiv helps us a lot, makes decisions quickly, responds to our needs, often comes to the farm, advises, so we are 100% satisfied with the cooperation," Roman Ivaskiv sums up.
Assessing the situation both from the producer's side and from the seller's side, Mykola Yuskiv is ready to confidently offer DEFENDA products and guarantee their action in the fields. He is convinced that this will give farmers the opportunity to save and to obtain efficiency in the field. The DEFENDA brand is developing its portfolio, with new products added every year that buyers speak highly of.
The harder you work, the better experience you gain
For a successful manager and leader, it is important to constantly learn and improve qualifications, and in the age of digitalisation this is quite easy to do, notes the director of the western regional offices of LNZ Group. A lot of information about new technologies, machinery and agronomic measures can be found online. By the way, LNZ Group has an agro department that conducts crash tests (in the LNZ Hub project), where they show in the fields how and what should be applied to achieve maximum results on various crops. Every farmer can see the trial results directly in the field or online.
Source: agroportal.ua
