France & Germany: Winter barley yields and quality so far disappointing in France and Germany

Winter barley yields and quality so far are said to be disappointing in top European producers France and Germany. This follows persistent wet weather this summer, which is also now causing harvest delays, AHDB reported on July 19.

Two German associations representing farmers, DBV and DRV, this week reported lower yields and specific weights for winter barley. As a result, and combined with lower planted areas, the German Farmers Association DBV expects production to fall 3% year-on-year. DRV, the German association of farm cooperatives, is more pessimistic, estimating output to fall 6% year-on-year; a month ago it had predicted a 2% fall.

While winter barley harvesting is into the latter stages, the results also enhance concerns for wheat crops. In France just 14% of wheat (exc. durum) had been harvested by 15 July (according to FranceAgriMer). While up from 4% a week earlier, this is well behind the average of 43% for the time of year (2019-2023), despite crops finishing flowering in line with average.

Wheat production (exc. durum) is currently expected to fall 15% year-on-year in France (according to the Ministry of Agriculture). While still early in terms of harvest progress, there’s speculation that the crop could be lower than this. In Germany, DRV expects total wheat production to fall 6% year-on-year.

Spring barley harvesting, which is key for European malting supplies, has also started in France and is 15% complete. France and the EU has a larger spring barley area for harvest 2024, giving more room for manoeuvre when it comes to quality. But these results will still be in the spotlight with limited quality stocks to fall back on.

France and Germany are having a couple of dry days but the forecast again looks unsettled over the weekend and into next week.

Last year, heavy rain through July and into August reduced both yields and quality in these countries. This contributed to higher premiums for bread wheat and malting barley during the 2023/24 season, both in Europe and the UK. If quality in France and Germany struggles again, this could again offer support to milling, and more uncertainly malting, premiums in the 2024/25 season.

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