- Bavarian cereals are imported
The wheat harvest is largely completed for most farmers in the Free State. "In recent weeks, the wheat harvest has unfortunately been repeatedly interrupted by rain," said Anton Huber, crop production expert at the Bavarian Farmers' Association (BBV). This week, the warm days should be used to bring in the remaining stocks.
A BBV survey found an average yield of 7.2 tons per hectare for winter wheat. However, there are high fluctuations. The protein content of the grain is sometimes very low, with difficult weather conditions and the effects of the fertilizer ordinance also playing a role, said Huber.
Weizen ist das wichtigste Getreide auf Bayerns Feldern and was grown on 456,396 hectares, according to the crop production report of the State Agency for Agriculture (LfL). However, the area under cultivation decreased compared to the previous year, when wheat was grown on 498,000 hectares.
For winter barley, the farmers' association calculated an average yield of 6.4 tons per hectare - again with large fluctuations. This is a significant decrease compared to the previous year's value of over 7.1 tons.
Winter barley is mainly used as animal feed and was grown on approximately 221,000 hectares - an increase in the area under cultivation compared to the previous year's 213,880 hectares.
The area under cultivation for oats remained almost unchanged at 25,703 hectares. According to LfL, about half of this is farmed organically.
Maize for livestock and biogas plants
The situation with maize was assessed by BBV expert Huber as "mostly good", "although heavy rain and difficult soil conditions will cost yield". Currently, maize is growing on 399,008 hectares, which will soon be stored in silos and used as animal feed or for biogas plants. Around 110,000 hectares are used for grain maize, which is harvested. The area under cultivation for maize decreased slightly by 3.2 percent compared to the previous year, according to data from the crop production report.
While yields in recent years have suffered from long dry periods and insufficient rainfall, this year heavy rain has caused problems for many farmers, especially in flood areas, where there were sometimes complete failures.
The European Union has expressed concern over the fluctuations in wheat and barley yields in Bavaria, citing the impact of weather conditions and the fertilizer ordinance. Farmers in Bavaria, a member state of the European Union, are expected to export a significant amount of their harvested wheat to other EU countries to help meet their demand.
