Barley, wheat, rye and triticale paint different picture
"We are looking at an assorted picture for the crops in East Frisia," explains Hilko Kroon, grain trader at AGRAVIS Ems-Jade GmbH. With regard to winter crops, barley is just maturing and grain filling is finished. "Here, the rain should have been sufficient for good yields," Kroon says. Wheat is in grain fill and would still need water to hold good HVAC weights. The first leaves are curling up. Rye and triticale are doing similarly.
Sowing conditions in summer tillage too wet and too dry
Regarding summer crops, farmers report that it was generally too wet at seeding time and too dry thereafter. "Thus, we have mediocre yield expectations for oats and beans, and spring barley is rather below average," Kroon says. In corn, mostly good stands are showing up on the Geest. On marshland, similar to spring barley, it is more problematic.
Fewer crops expected with storage space in short supply
"The grain harvest usually begins around mid-July in our area," describes the expert. If the drought continues, the stands will certainly mature a little faster. Early stands could also ripen a week earlier. "Looking at harvest volumes, we therefore tend to expect somewhat less than last year. One reason is also that the rapeseed acreage has been increased and these areas are primarily missing in wheat." However, there are also farmers in the East Frisian region who want to store through quantities from the previous harvest. "Thus, we are currently still assuming a shortage of storage space," says Kroon.