Significant increase in acreage of summer crops due to persistent wet weather

The Federal Statistical Office has published figures showing that the cultivation of winter cereals has fallen sharply due to the extremely wet autumn. The area under winter wheat alone has been reduced by around 200,000 hectares. The federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony are the worst affected.

Due to the prolonged wet phase, some of the areas sown will also have to be plowed up, so that the area sown for summer crops will increase even more than previously expected. A high seed demand for spring sowing is therefore expected for spring cereals, maize and grain legumes. Among legumes, not only peas and faba beans but also soybeans are playing an increasingly important role.

Farmers are advised to obtain seeds early, as the supply situation for summer crops is always difficult with such a sharp increase in acreage.