Agriculture - The Gerstene harvest in Lower Saxony is almost completed.
Lower Saxony farmers are close to completing the barley harvest. On average, 90 percent of the arable land in the region has been harvested for winter barley, according to the farmers' association in Hannover.
However, the harvest is further advanced in the south-east than in the north-west. In East Friesland, the rain showers of the past weeks have brought the harvest work to a standstill.
Large regional differences
Currently, farmers have to deal with unpredictable weather, where sun and rain alternate. Every dry weather window is used for the harvest. Barley is very sensitive to weather conditions, so it also affects the harvest, which is about ten percent below average. Regional differences are significant, ranging from 4 to 10 tons per hectare.
In many regions, rapeseed is now ready for harvest. This must be done promptly from the field. Wheat can still ripen slowly under the current weather conditions - its main harvest could begin in early August.
Despite the challenges posed by intermittent rain, Wintergeese can be spotted migrating through East Frisia's fields, benefitting from the abundance of ripe grains that have not yet been harvested due to the weather delays. The agriculture sector in Lower Saxony, particularly in Hannover, has been affected by these conditions, with the barley yield for Wintergeese significantly lower than the usual average. The unpredictable weather has also impacted agriculture in other regions, resulting in a variation of ten tons per hectare in barley harvest.
