Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - Despite the above-average hot and dry summer, farmers in North Rhine-Westphalia have had a good grain harvest this year. The wheat harvest even brought in the highest yield since 2016, said North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Agriculture Silke Gorißen (CDU) on Monday at the presentation of the preliminary harvest balance for 2022. However, farmers are concerned about crops that are only harvested in autumn, such as potatoes , corn and sugar beets.
"The farmers have brought in a really good harvest of grain and rapeseed," said Gorißen. The supply of bread and feed grain is secured due to the total amount available. So far this year, a total of 3.93 million tons of grain have been harvested in North Rhine-Westphalia. That is around eleven percent more than in 2021. Around 2.15 million tons of this is wheat. Here the increase of 17.5 percent was even clearer compared to the previous year. Harvest volumes also increased for rye and oats. The rapeseed harvest also produced high yields and good quality. "For all types of grain, the long-term average yield was reached or even significantly exceeded," stressed the President of the North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture, Karl Werring.
Because of the heat and drought since early summer, things are looking worse for potatoes, corn and sugar beet, which are not harvested until autumn. They badly need rain. The minister reported that some of the corn had completely dried up on light, sandy soil. The first stocks are therefore already harvested when they are not ripe. The grassland is also suffering greatly from the current drought and heat. The first cuts in spring were still productive. In late summer, however, plant growth came to a standstill almost across the country. The full impact has not yet been conclusively assessed.
