In the Black Sea region, the United States (US) and in Europe, the weather has not always been positive so far. After a year with many records, the realization is starting to sink in that this year could turn out to be less positive. How are the weather conditions worldwide at the beginning of May, and how are the crops doing?
Everyone knows that the weather conditions in Europe have been wet and cold for a relatively long time. That makes the sowing and legs has been delayed; for example, the sowing of grains and sugar beets in France has slowed considerably. The weather has now improved and the backlog in maize and barley, but also in the sugar beets, almost caught up again. However, a lot of damage to sugar beets is now being reported, partly due to excessively high temperatures.
In the EU-5 we are dealing with an exit planting season for potatoes. This causes a delayed start to the harvest. In the United Kingdom (UK), only 50% of the potatoes were still in the ground at the beginning of May. Production is also estimated lower as a result. In the UK, the start of the season was difficult anyway, partly due to the large amount of rain and low temperatures. It is estimated that the season started 3 weeks later. However, there is plenty of activity now.
Black Sea region
In the East of Europe (Poland, southern Russia, Romania and Ukraine) the consequences of the shortage of precipitation are palpable. It leads to thin and uneven crop emergence, which is especially true for summer grain. Late spring also has an influence, because the crops are currently less developed than normal. The drought has less of an impact on winter grains, because they have a developed root system. Most potatoes have now been planted in Poland.
The season also started later in the south of Europe. A lot of rain fell in Spain and Portugal from March to April. In Spain, however, they are happy with the rain, given that there is water scarcity in the country.
USA
Cold weather still prevails in the northern US. Temperatures are expected to improve in the coming days, but rain is also forecast. That could further hinder the progress of the sowing. In Canada, potato planting has also started later, where the yield of the early harvest in particular is expected to be lower.
The 'Corn Belt', in the mid-west of the US, also has a significant backlog incurred. It has been warm and dry in the southern 'Great Plains' for more than 6 months. This has negative consequences for the hard, red winter wheat. Last week, American farmers sowed an area comparable to the size of Greece. This involved corn and sugar beets. This has been a big step, with which they are trying to catch up.
Lower yields?
It means that the sowing of various crops in the Northern Hemisphere has been delayed worldwide. It is slowly becoming clear that this year's yields will probably not be what they were last year. For example, record yields were achieved in Russia last year, but expectations have already been adjusted downwards. A shorter growing season is also expected for potatoes, which may result in lower yields.