Agriculture - Bavarian farmers hope for sun for wheat harvest
scarcely a day without rain: For the upcoming grain harvest, it is too wet in many regions of Bavaria. Therefore, farmers are counting on an average result this year, as Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) said on Thursday in Schwabhausen (Landkreis Dachau) during the BBV harvest tour. Heavy rain and flooding caused significant damage to wheat, corn, grasslands, and potatoes at the beginning of June. "We need two to three weeks of real sun now," says BBV wheat president Herrmann Greif.
Farmer Josef Göttler shows Minister Kaniber and BBV vice president Ely Eibisch fields. The soil is wet and muddy. The sun is coming out again after recent rain. This has been going on for weeks. The constant rain is wearing on farmers, as Kaniber notes. They have only short windows of time to work in the fields. The wheat looks good, Göttler says, but the quality may be less good.
Göttler farms about 220 hectares of conventional land with potatoes, sugar beets, summer wheat, and wheat, as he says. A small area with beans was flooded and destroyed by the June flood.
From the perspective of an organic farmer, Kilian Kellerer reports that he grows wheat, clover, sugar beets, and soybeans in addition to his regular job. In addition to the rain, he has two other challenges: a shortage of seasonal workers for sugar beet farming. Therefore, he bought - with government funding - a beet harvester robot. It can sow beets and weed the field. The other problem is that pigeons have caused damage on a cornfield.
Early frost, then wetness
The wet soils have already made sowing difficult for farmers in the spring, according to Eibisch and Greif. Late frost heavily damaged fruit cultures and then many fields were flooded. Now, the rain is causing additional problems with weeds and diseases on the fields, as the experts note. The harvest results are likely to be very different regionally. Farmers are also concerned about the current price drop in wheat in the face of rising costs.
The state government is supporting farmers affected by flooding with emergency aid in the amount of 200 million Euro, says Kaniber. Some payments have already been made. In addition, there is insurance protection against hail, storm, heavy rain, frost, and drought in Bavaria as the first federal state. Over 6000 farmers have already insured themselves. The minister appeals to the food retail trade to ensure that farmers benefit from price increases in supermarkets.
And BBV vice president Eibisch appeals to drivers in the country: They should be patient if they encounter more tractors on the roads in the coming weeks due to the harvest.
- Despite the challenging weather conditions, with scarcely a day without rain, Potatoes, like other crops, have been affected by the heavy rain and flooding in Bavaria.
- The wet soils have caused problems for organic farmer Kilian Kellerer as well, not just with plants like wheat and clover, but also with his Potatoes and sugar beets.
- During the Harvest trip to Schwabhausen, Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU) discussed the impact of the rain and floods on farmers' ability to Harvested grain, including Potatoes.
- The Agriculture Department at California State University is conducting research to develop strategies to improve crop resilience to weather conditions, such as rain and floods, including Potatoes.
- In response to the damage caused by the rain and floods, associations of farmers in Bavaria are coordinating efforts to provide support and resources to members who grow Potatoes and other crops.
- Farmers in Schwabhausen, Bavaria, are hoping for better weather in the coming weeks to complete their Potatoes harvest before the end of the season.
- To help mitigate the effects of weather-related challenges on agriculture, the government is investing in modern technology, such as robots for beet farming, which can help manage crops like Potatoes more effectively in adverse conditions.
