While French grain growers have already largely completed the harvest, it appears to be a lot more difficult for the German growers. The extreme rainfall, in combination with hail of the past week, has caused a lot of damage. The prospect of more rain raises concerns about yield losses.
As little rain as has fallen recently, so much is falling now. And that while the growers want to harvest right now. In the German state of Hesse, in the middle of Germany, growers have had to stop the harvest for the time being. In other places, growers are trying to get onto the land with caterpillar tracks. The agricultural organization in the federal state speaks of quality and yield losses. It is still too early for figures on the losses, which depends, among other things, on the amount of water that the country still has to expect.
Fiasco is approaching
The weather is also not reassuring the sector in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Minister of Agriculture talks about a delayed harvest due to the unstable weather and fears a fiasco. The ministry emphasizes that the situation is not yet as dramatic as in 2011, but the soil conditions are not good. Where an average of 129 millimeters falls in the months of June and July, this year there was no less than 236 millimeters.
Millions of hail damage
The damage caused by the hailstorms at the beginning of this week is estimated at millions of euros. The insurer reports that United Haguel† The showers spread all over the country and caused considerable damage to 14.000 hectares of agricultural land. For wheat, the damage remains limited for the time being, but maize and rapeseed are in worse shape. More than 800 companies have reported their damage to the insurer.
Allemagne: Toutes les parcelles ne sont pas comme ça, mais il y en a... #rain #Germany #wheatharvest17 #moisson2017
— Antoine Grasser (@antoine_grasser) 1 August 2017
Ce n'est pas du riz!😵 pic.twitter.com/Klax3KJiYX
Wheat harvest in Germany being slowed by wet weather. Quality is starting to fall and yields below average. pic.twitter.com/srLihKBplu
— Ashley Stewart (@ashstewart398) 4 August 2017
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