Agriculture - Too much rain puts expectations on harvest 2024
In the ongoing grain harvest in Germany, expectations are growing dimmer according to industry reports. The farmers' association spoke of a "modest start" in the winter barley harvest. Fears that the grain quality would suffer due to the wet spring and early summer seem to have been confirmed. Based on the poor results for barley and initial results, it is expected that the total expected yield of 42 million tons of grain in 2024 will significantly fall short.
The farmers' association also reported that the pilz infestation in winter barley is unusually high this year. In most federal states, the barley harvest is still ongoing as it has been repeatedly interrupted by rain. Only a few hectares of other grain crops have been harvested so far. For rapeseed, no significant figures are available yet. However, the upcoming sowing should be positively influenced by the anticipated price development on the markets.
The first harvest report is based on reports from the 18 regional farmers' associations regarding harvested areas and yields, as well as current yield estimates, the farmers' association explained. A second harvest report is expected on July 29.
Given the challenging weather conditions during spring and early summer, the agricultural branch specification in Berlin predicted potential issues for the crop harvest in Germany. Despite the wet spring, some farmers managed to begin the spring barley harvest, but concerns about grain quality persisted. As expected, the initial harvested grain yields for barley were lower than anticipated, further fueling the fears of a significant decrease in the overall expected grain yield of 42 million tons in 2024. Although rain continued to disrupt the harvest in various federal states, the farmers' association remained optimistic for the rapeseed crop due to projected market price improvements.
