- DRV harvest estimate: slightly better than feared - barley weak - corn strong
The German Raiffeisenverband (DRV) rated the German grain harvest slightly better in the July edition than in the previous month. The reason is better than expected area yields due to the recent rainfall. In particular, the late-ripening cereals such as wheat and corn benefit. At the same time, the current rain is also undesirable because it interrupts the barley harvest. The first threshing results vary in a very wide range. The May / June drought combined with subsequent frosting caused considerable damage to the less water-resistant locations. Sometimes the ears of barley were deaf. Small grain is also a problem. The total grain harvest is estimated at 44.56 million tons . The result is composed of a stat. Federal Office determined acreage of 5.23 millionha and the DRV yield estimate of an average 71.5 dt / ha . In a 5-year comparison, the 2020 harvest is slightly above the average at +0.4% . This year's harvest is 0.6% higher than last year. Wheat reaches around 22.5 million t . half of the total harvest. The wheat area was 2.6% smaller compared to 2019 because the autumn order suffered from weather difficulties. The average yield rises to slightly above average 77.1 dt / ha . The rye harvest rises by 21% to 3.6 million t and is significantly above the 5-year average. The result is significantly influenced by an increase in cultivation of almost 4% and an increase in yield of 7.2%. Because of its pronounced drought tolerance, the rye can survive phases of low precipitation better.The barley results are overshadowed by the over 3% lower yields due to the dry phase, the frost slumps and reduced acreage. The harvest volume is calculated at 11.2 million tons. Winter barley quantities are 5.3% worse, but cannot be recovered due to the smaller summer barley cultivation. The summer fruit has hardly been damaged by the drought. High expectations are attached to the K. maize harvest . A 10% higher acreage and 8% higher area yield should lead to a total harvest of 4.4 million tons in autumn. Compared to the 5-year average, this translates into an increase of 14%. The result could change if, due to the lack of feed, areas for silage maize are branched off. The weather forecast for the next few weeks does not promise favorable harvest weather with continuous rainfall. Hopefully there will be no loss of earnings!
