Agric. & Environment
German farmers warn drought will spell heavy crop losses
Picture taken on August 14, 2026 with a drone shows the "Binger Mäuseturm" (Bingen Mouse Tower) on a small island in the dried-up river Rhine near Bingen, western Germany. (AFP)
By: AFP ., Journalist @New Vision
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BERLIN - Germany's farmers' association warned Friday that persistent drought and summer heat will spell reduced harvests and even total crop failures in the worst-hit regions.
Lower grassland yields have meanwhile also sharply reduced winter fodder reserves for livestock, Joachim Rukwied, head of the German Farmers' Association, told AFP.
Southwestern Germany has been especially hard hit by high temperatures and low rainfall this summer, which has stoked wildfires, dried out farmland and seen river levels drop.
In some southern regions where no rain has fallen for weeks, Rukwied said "yield losses or even total crop losses are very likely".
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service this week reported that Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July on record as climate change fuels an historic summer of heat, drought and wildfires.
"We farmers have been feeling the effects of climate change for a long time now," Rukwied told AFP in one of a series of media interviews he has given to sound the alarm.
"The growing seasons have shifted and the harvest is starting much earlier in the year than before. In addition, extreme weather events, from long periods of drought to heavy rains and hail, have increased significantly."
This year's grain harvest shortfall could reach three million tonnes, with losses of about 600 million euros ($700 mn), according to estimates from the German Raiffeisen Association of agricultural co-operatives.
The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service this week reported that Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July on record as climate change fuels an historic summer of heat, drought and wildfires.
"We farmers have been feeling the effects of climate change for a long time now," Rukwied told AFP in one of a series of media interviews he has given to sound the alarm.
"The growing seasons have shifted and the harvest is starting much earlier in the year than before. In addition, extreme weather events, from long periods of drought to heavy rains and hail, have increased significantly."
This year's grain harvest shortfall could reach three million tonnes, with losses of about 600 million euros ($700 mn), according to estimates from the German Raiffeisen Association of agricultural co-operatives.
"2026 will go down in history as a year of extreme heat," said its grain market expert Guido Seedler, who added that the losses "deal a heavy blow to the agricultural sector".
Rukwied urged the government to step in and financially support farmers, for example by reducing tax on agricultural diesel.
"Farmers cannot sustain this for much longer," he told the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, saying wheat and rapeseed were particularly badly affected.
Regarding autumn crops, he said that "we must expect significant yield losses here as well," including for potatoes, vegetables and sugar beets but also maize and soybeans.
The situation is somewhat better in northern Germany, which had seen some rainfall over the past few weeks, he said, adding however that the long-term trend there also suggests "below-average harvests."
Rukwied urged the government to step in and financially support farmers, for example by reducing tax on agricultural diesel.
"Farmers cannot sustain this for much longer," he told the media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, saying wheat and rapeseed were particularly badly affected.
Regarding autumn crops, he said that "we must expect significant yield losses here as well," including for potatoes, vegetables and sugar beets but also maize and soybeans.
The situation is somewhat better in northern Germany, which had seen some rainfall over the past few weeks, he said, adding however that the long-term trend there also suggests "below-average harvests."