The film begins with the final moments of grandfather Semyon (Simon) Opanas beneath a pear tree.<ref name=dovzhenko>[http://rayuzwyshyn.net/dovzhenko/Earth.htm Philosophy, Iconology, Collectivization: ''Earth'' (1930)]</ref> Next local kulaks, including Arkhyp Bilokin, contemplate the process of collective farming and declare their resistance to it, while elsewhere Semyon's grandson Vasyl (Basil) and his komsomol friends also meet to discuss collectivization, although his father is skeptical.