Many did not think that the wheat harvest would require so much patience when mid-July – historically early – all the combine harvesters were able to get to work. The regional differences are enormous. In the southwest, a considerable acreage has already been obtained, while in the north of the Netherlands barely a grain of wheat has left the land. The quality is also influenced by the weather.
It was in Zeeland and South Holland where wheat could already be harvested in mid-July. There was also threshing in places last Tuesday and Wednesday. The counter at the CZAV cooperative stood at 80% harvested at the end of last week. Some of the South Holland islands still need to be threshed, and this also applies to some other areas, such as the north of South Holland and the River area. At Agrifirm Plant, harvest progress for this corner of the Netherlands is comparable. Aart den Bakker, grains manager, estimates national progress for the company at a third.
Shot in wheat
That's normally not something to worry about considering August has yet to start. This is different because relatively many plots are flat this year. What growers and grain collectors are concerned about is the quality of the wheat. On the one hand, persistent precipitation causes a decreasing hectoliter weight. It was not particularly high, but the longer the grain has to remain, the more kilos it costs. Den Bakker also sees shot formation on plots that were blown flat when storm Poly passed over the country. "This wheat has now been in the moisture for fourteen days. When the wheat is ripe, bolting occurs."
Arable farmers take every opportunity they can get to harvest the wheat. The moisture percentage is less important. "In Flevoland, threshing could take place on Saturday afternoon and especially on Sunday," Den Bakker saw. “Moisture percentages of 17,5% or 18,5% are now accepted because maintaining quality is more important.”
Higher moisture percentages
The North Holland CAV Agrotheek also has to settle for higher moisture percentages this year, says director Jeroen de Schutter: "The winter barley came in well and a few growers have already harvested wheat, with varying moisture percentages between 18% and 23%. Normally we use 18% as the upper limit at which wheat can be brought, but we have already increased that to 20%."
North has yet to start
In the Northern Netherlands - Groningen and Friesland - hardly any winter wheat has been harvested. Agrifirm estimates progress at a few percent. Den Bakker: "It is estimated that approximately 10% of the wheat in Groningen is lying flat. The crops there had not yet matured that far, making lodging less of a problem." The wheat also weathered relatively well in North Holland - where the storm was the most intense. De Schutter: "The 'heavy' plots in particular were blown flat. Other than that, it wasn't too bad. You notice that the wheat is ready for harvest for ten days, which means that shot is lurking."
The whole of Northwestern Europe is struggling with a similar type of weather, making it difficult for the grain harvest to proceed smoothly. In Germany, (Northern) France and England there is threshing between showers. The winter barley has arrived nicely and so has a large part of the rapeseed. However, when the wheat was ready it started to rain.
Persistently variable
The most recent weather models expect the current changeable weather to continue for at least the first half of August. This precipitation does not have to be negative for autumn crops, but for the grain harvest it is far from welcome. A little moisture is also desirable when sowing green manures. The supply of soil moisture has been considerably depleted in Europe since May and is being replenished somewhat.
The wheat market is getting warmer, although the (price) peak is now a week behind us. The Matif then concluded the contract for September delivery at €264,75 per tonne. On Friday, €247,75 remained, a decrease of €17 per tonne. This peak on the futures market may have briefly translated into a slightly higher daily price, but there does not seem to have been much enthusiasm among growers. “We clearly see more interest in the pool, which has grown somewhat,” says Den Bakker. "Growers who traditionally sell at the daily price are often not saying goodbye to their wheat at the moment." On Monday, July 31, the Matif was again in the red and the price fell to €240. The lowest price since July 18.
Look closely at racial differences
What is also striking this season are the problems with the barley yellowing virus, De Schutter notes. "That is not new, but we have not seen it in the Netherlands for a while. This season it mainly appeared in the southwest and has caused considerable yield differences. We are therefore now taking a critical look at which varieties are sensitive to it. We looked at which varieties cope better in this weather. Perhaps we can get a better idea of the sensitivity of a variety and take this into account."