In France, this year's maize harvest was completed on November 8th on 83% of the land. A week ago the harvest progress was 73%.
The harvest continues to be slower than it was last year, when 97% of the maize areas had already been cleared. This is what FranceAgriMer reports in its weekly report. The harvest is now 11 days behind the pace of the last 5 years.
The growth of the maize plants was slowed this year by cold weather in spring and summer. Rising post-harvest drying costs - due to an increase in gas prices - have also led some farmers to leave crops in the field longer to dry.
However, high corn harvests are expected after the yield potential has been increased by the summer rain.
When sowing winter cereals, farmers in France had sown 87% of the expected common wheat area by November 8, up from 80% the previous week and 86% a year ago, FranceAgriMer said.
Winter barley was sown on 94% of the planned areas, compared to 90% a week earlier and 93% a year ago.
In an initial assessment of winter barley plants, FranceAgriMer estimated that 99% of the plants were in good or excellent condition, up from 94% a year ago.
Durum wheat sowing has lagged behind the pace of last year, with 38% of the expected land being tilled compared to 50% a year ago.
Source
Hansa Terminhandel GmbH