Dansk Gartneri reports that the Danish agriculture is losing around 400 Euro per hectare in income. There are also problems in other parts of Northern Europe. Interest organisation Landbrug & Fødevarer sees various opportunities to meet the growers to help them make it to the next harvest, such as VAT credit and prepayment of subsidies. At the same time they recommend bending the rules, which make it difficult for the growers to deal with the consequences of the lack of rain. For instance, in conversation with local authorities a dispensation can be given for irrigation.
According to Dansk Gartneri the horticulture is less affected by the dry spell than the agricultural sector as a whole, but this largely depends on the crop. Growers with multiple types of crop are better able to spread the risks. Hans Luunbjerg from Funen is happy he didn't limit himself to one crop according to local paper Fyens. "Both chive and lupins had a good yield. It already looked good before the dry spell started. We also sowed grass seeds, less than usual, but larger seeds, which compensates for this," he says. "On the other hand we are harvesting 50 percent less spinach than normally." They will have to wait and see how the other crops do. "The fields certainly don't look good in this dry spell at the moment," says Luunbjerg.