Across the countryside, both newer and older tractors sit ready for work after winter repairs. For older mechanics, repairing Soviet-era machines is straightforward work.

"First thing's first, everything gets taken apart," said Kaimi Kukka, an electrical specialist who repairs tractors. He described stripping engines down to their core components before rebuilding them.

Older machines like the T-25 remain essential for smaller farms. They're fuel-efficient, compact and versatile, Kukka said, handling everything from plowing to fertilizing to summer field maintenance.

But for large-scale farmers, the bigger concern is economics. Many are running the numbers and finding that planting grain may not pay off at all.

"Summer grains just aren't adding up in Excel right now," said Kalle Hamburg, supervisory board chair at the Estonian Farmers' Federation (ETKL). "Factor in the weather risks too and the potential losses could be significant."

Input prices outstripping output prices

The main pressure comes from global markets shaped by the war, which has driven up energy costs. Fuel and fertilizer prices are rising faster than grain prices, squeezing margins.

"At current fertilizer and fuel prices, producing grain at today's market prices isn't viable," Hamburg said, noting that the global nature of fertilizer markets affects farmers everywhere, including in the U.S.

For now, the equipment is ready and waiting. Fields will be sown once conditions allow, though Hamburg said the season is already trending dry after a winter of deep but fluffy snow that brought little runoff and no significant rise in rivers.

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