Black Earth Farming Ltd (BEF) is a farming and land owning company that is incorporated in the Channel Islands and operates in Russia. It acquires, owns and cultivates agricultural land assets primarily in the Black Earth region in southwest Russia. The Company's main business is constituted by crops, which consists of such elements as on-field production, pre- and post-harvest logistics, as well as handling and trading. In addition to the cropping, it is also involved in dairy farming and meat farming, which is conducted on a small scale. It is also engaged in land acquisition and registration. As of March 31, 2009, the Company controlled approximately 321,000 hectares of land. BEF is a holding company for a wholly owned Cyprus-based subsidiary Planalto Enterprises Limited and a number of wholly owned Russian subsidiaries under the joint name of Agro-Invest.