May 2022: MARS corrects estimate of EU area yields 2022 downwards In the May 2022 issue, the EU Commission's Agrometeorological Institute (MARS) reduced the yield estimates from the previous month by 0.9%. The basis is climate data up to May 20th, 2022. After a phase of too cold and dry weather in Mar/Apr. This was followed by a period of warm but always low-rainfall climates. In most EU regions, excessively dry weather has worsened the yield prospects. Sufficient rain is therefore urgently needed to stabilize the area yields. However, the reduced earnings expectations still remain above the 5-year average values. The soil conditions and the weather forecasts basically continue to provide sufficiently good conditions for the development of yields. However, some regions are exempt from this. The extreme drought in southern France and in eastern and central Italy is a cause for concern.Insufficient precipitation will also continue in the rain shadow of the Alps, some Balkan states, parts of the south-east of the EU, as far as Ukraine and Turkey. Below-average rainfall can also be found in the adjacent regions of the North and Baltic Seas. In contrast, southern Spain and the north-west African coastal region received above-average amounts of rain after a preceding dry period. After the spring phase with unusually low temperatures, above-average Celsius degrees prevailed in a strip across western central Europe from April to mid-May, which contributed to high temperature totals. MARS now estimates the average grain yields to be only around 1.6% above the 5-year average. Compared to the previous month's estimate, the expected yields for the most important types of winter cereals have been reduced by between -0.2% for rye and -3% for spring barley.MARS has increased yield expectations for corn and durum wheat . The Z. beets should also deliver more. Particularly high results of +4.2% are also predicted for potatoes . The current and foreseeable weather conditions indicate more precipitation again; however, the regionally occurring storms with downpours and hail contribute to reduced yields.
