Correlation Between Agricultural Machinery Fleet and Arable Land Area

The paper examines the dependence of grain and crop production volumes on the availability and utilization of land resources in agriculture. (Research purpose) The study carries out a retrospective analysis of overarching trends and correlation between agricultural land area and the size of the tractor fleet. (Materials and methods) The analysis focuses on the evolution of land use systems and the integration of agricultural lands into economic turnover over three distinct historical periods in Russia: 1920-1940, 1945-1990, and 1991-2022. The study identifies key evolutionary factors and development patterns in the correlation between agricultural land area and tractor fleet capacity. (Results and discussion) The analysis reveals that the industrialization and collectivization programs implemented between 1928 and 1940 led to a significant expansion in agricultural land area, increasing from 113 million to 150 million hectares, and in the tractor fleet, which grew from 27,000 to 531,000 units. In 1945, the sown area reached a low of 113.8 million hectares, with the tractor fleet reduced to 397,000 units. By 1960, the development of virgin and fallow lands had expanded the sown area to 203 million hectares, and the tractor fleet had grown to 1,122,000 units. The study further identified that the highest recorded expansion in sown land area, reaching 210.3 million hectares, occurred in 1985 due to an increase in mechanization, with the tractor fleet peaking at 2,830,000 units. From 1991 to 2022, however, a steady decline in the tractor fleet led to the gradual withdrawal of agricultural land from use. In 1991, the tractor fleet stood at 1,344,200 units, but by 2022, it had decreased by 1,147,400 units, leaving only 196,800 units. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the shift from a state-command to a market economy had a profound impact on the trajectory of Russian agricultural development. (Conclusions) The dynamics of soil use over different periods have reflected both extensive and intensive farming methods. The extensive approach involved expanding agricultural land by developing virgin, fallow, and unused lands. Currently, development follows the intensive path, marked by increased mechanization, automation, chemical use, and higher crop yields.