Austria - The extended heatwave has made life in the Austrian agricultural sector rather difficult. The growers are already afraid of substantial losses because of the long lasting drought. Sugar beet and maize amongst others have been hit. Only the onions benefited from the heat.
The onion growers are the only ones this year not suffering a loss in turnover because of the heat. Onions prefer heat and a dry environment. With potatoes, however, a decrease in the harvest of 30% is feared. Because of the drought the potatoes remain far too small and this also applies to the corncobs. "With maize the coming rain will not have any influence any more. The plants are now already in the development phase, in which the kernels of maize and the ears start to develop" Johann Fally, chairman of the
Landbouwschap of the district Mistelbach, says.
The onion growers are the only ones this year not suffering a loss in turnover because of the heat. Onions prefer heat and a dry environment. With potatoes, however, a decrease in the harvest of 30% is feared. Because of the drought the potatoes remain far too small and this also applies to the corncobs. "With maize the coming rain will not have any influence any more. The plants are now already in the development phase, in which the kernels of maize and the ears start to develop" Johann Fally, chairman of the
Landbouwschap of the district Mistelbach, says.
Also the sugar beets did not want to grow this year. "At first sight all looks well. But when looking better one notices that the lower leaves are dead," Fally says. This then goes at the expense of the sugar yield. For federal State Lower Austria, this results in harvest losses of about 60 million Euro. If it rains sufficiently during the coming days the sugar beet yield may still improve.