Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - In Saxony-Anhalt, many farmers have started harvesting grain - traditionally with winter barley. But the farmers are concerned about the expected yield. "Practitioners predict that the average yield will be almost a tonne per hectare lower than in the previous year," said a spokesman for the Farmers' Association of Saxony-Anhalt on Monday of the German Press Agency. The expected amount varies greatly. A few farms expect a barley harvest of 70 to 80 quintals per hectare. Others calculate with just 30 quintals per hectare.
For winter wheat, farmers are expecting a weak harvest in 2022. An average yield of around 61 quintals per hectare is expected. That would be just slightly above the yield from the particularly bad harvest year 2018, where, according to the farmers' association, 59.4 quintals per hectare were produced. The forecasts are similar for winter rape stocks: "According to estimates, the average yield will be less than 30 quintals per hectare," said the spokesman. In years with better weather and more precipitation, winter rape yields of 35 quintals per hectare and more are possible.
According to the farmers' association, the main reason for the poor expectations is the ongoing drought. "March and April were consistently too dry," it said. The trend that precipitation is increasingly taking place locally instead of regionally is also continuing. The growth on the grassland is below average in many places. Maize and sugar beets also urgently needed water. "When the ground has dried up, the water has to come from above," the spokesman continued.
According to the association, the economic situation for farmers is tense despite the high producer prices. "Energy and diesel prices have doubled, and the price of fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers, has more than tripled in some cases," said the spokesman. The prices for feed have also risen sharply for pet owners.
