Drought in Germany threatens harvest losses
Germany, one of Europe's leading agricultural powers, faces a serious challenge: prolonged heat and drought sweeping the country threaten not only wheat and rapeseed harvests but also livestock farming. Farmers in the southern regions already speak of the risk of total crop failure, and food prices may rise. In this battle for every ear of corn and every litre of milk, nature seems to have won the upper hand.
On Friday, the German Farmers' Association said that prolonged high temperatures and drought would likely lead to a noticeable decline in agricultural production in Germany this year, with both yields and livestock farming under increasing pressure. German Farmers' Association President Joachim Rukwid said wheat and rapeseed production was likely to fall below average this year, with significant losses expected for autumn crops including maize and soya. He noted that the situation was most acute in southern Germany, where farmers face the risk of total crop failure in some areas. High temperatures and drought have already led to a sharp drop in fodder yields, which in turn affects livestock farming, Rukwid said.
Germany is experiencing one of the driest seasons in decades. According to the German Weather Service, many regions of the country have received less than 60% of the average annual rainfall from May to August. The south has been particularly hard hit, where farmers have already begun culling livestock early due to feed shortages. Experts warn that falling yields will lead to higher prices for grain, meat and dairy products, exacerbating inflationary pressures on consumers.
The German government has not yet announced large scale compensation measures, but farmers' associations are demanding emergency financial aid and a review of the agricultural risk insurance system. Climatologists link the current drought to global warming and predict that such extreme events will become more frequent, calling into question the sustainability of European agriculture.
As CCTV+ reports, the dry summer in Germany has become another link in the chain of climate anomalies hitting Europe, and farmers now face not only the battle for harvests but also the need to rethink their farming strategies in a new climate reality.
