Overview

• Persistent July rains have brought combine harvests to a halt in Bavaria, Saxony, Sachsen-Anhalt, Niedersachsen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
• Over half of winter wheat remains unharvested in Sachsen-Anhalt after two weeks of rain; late July figures show only 16 percent of winter wheat, 45 percent of rapeseed gathered in Lower Saxony.
• Prolonged moisture exposure risks grain germination, fungal infections, quality downgrades from bread wheat to feed.
• Feed-grade grain fetches up to half the price of bread wheat; steep drying, energy costs further strain farm incomes.
• Farmers await a forecast dry spell to resume harvesting.