France: Barley and soft wheat crop condition declines affected by persisting dry spell

The condition of French wheat and barley crops declined last week, marking a second successive weekly fall, farm office FranceAgriMer said on April 21, suggesting a persisting dry spell was starting to affect crops.

Warm, dry weather in the past month has raised concern about low moisture levels in France after a very dry winter.

FranceAgriMer estimated that 85 percent of soft wheat crops were in good or excellent condition as of April 17, compared with 89 a week earlier.

Winter barley was rated 78 percent good or excellent, down from 82 percent a week earlier, while spring barley was rated 85 percent good/excellent against 86 percent the prior week, it said in a weekly crop report.

For grain maize, farmers had sown 57 percent of the expected area by April 17, up from 31 percent a week earlier and well ahead of the 9 percent progress seen at the same date last year, FranceAgriMer said.

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