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Front line farming: Bombs disrupt critical Ukraine industry

Farm workers take a pause for lunch during the sunflowers harvesting on a field in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Ukrainian farms near the front lines are facing constant shelling that is damaging fields, equipment and buildings and making it difficult to plant and harvest crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) A worker drives a tractor during the sunflowers harvesting on a field in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Ukrainian farms near the front lines are facing constant shelling that is damaging fields, equipment and buildings and making it difficult to plant and harvest crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Seeds are poured on a truck during the sunflowers harvesting on a field in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Agriculture is a critical part of Ukraine's economy, accounting for about 20% of its gross national product and 40% of its export revenues before the war, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The country is a key agricultural exporter and is often described as the breadbasket of Europe. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) A driver uses a tarp to cover the back of his truck loaded with seeds during sunflower harvesting on a field in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Agriculture is a critical part of Ukraine's economy, accounting for about 20% of its gross national product and 40% of its export revenues before the war, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The country is a key agricultural exporter and is often described as the breadbasket of Europe. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) A worker drives his truck past a tractor harvesting sunflowers on a field in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Agriculture is a critical part of Ukraine's economy, accounting for about 20% of its gross national product and 40% of its export revenues before the war, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. The country is a key agricultural exporter and is often described as the breadbasket of Europe. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Viktor Lubinets stands next to a part of a rocket that was found on an area at the Veres farm, Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Returning to sowing and harvesting "will be difficult, very difficult," said Lubinets, an agronomist at the Veres farm. Even if the fighting ends, the fields must be cleared of unexploded ordinance and shrapnel before they can be worked. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Viktor Lubinets, an agronomist at the Veres farm, looks at smoke rising in the air following a explosion in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Returning to sowing and harvesting "will be difficult, very difficult," said Lubinets, an agronomist at the Veres farm. Even if the fighting ends, the fields must be cleared of unexploded ordinance and shrapnel before they can be worked. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) A part of a rocket sits wedged in the ground in an area at the Veres farm in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. All work has halted on this large eastern Ukrainian farm, whose fields and compound have been hit so many times by mortars, rockets, missiles and cluster bombs that its workers are unable to sow the crater-scarred land or harvest any crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) An employee walks past part of a rocket that sits wedged in the ground in an area at the Veres farm in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. All work has halted on this large eastern Ukrainian farm, whose fields and compound have been hit so many times by mortars, rockets, missiles and cluster bombs that its workers are unable to sow the crater-scarred land or harvest any crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) An employee walks nearby a crater created by an explosion on a field at the Veres farm in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. All work has halted on this large eastern Ukrainian farm, whose fields and compound have been hit so many times by mortars, rockets, missiles and cluster bombs that its workers are unable to sow the crater-scarred land or harvest any crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) An employee enters a shelter in an area at the Veres farm in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. All work has halted on this large eastern Ukrainian farm, whose fields and compound have been hit so many times by mortars, rockets, missiles and cluster bombs that its workers are unable to sow the crater-scarred land or harvest any crops. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)