Recent volatile weather patterns – a dry spring followed by a wet summer – are reportedly impacting the quality of Germany’s harvested grain, according to agricultural associations.
Martin Courbier, Managing Director of the German Agricultural Trade Association, stated that grain qualities are increasingly failing to meet the standards required for sale as baking wheat or brewing barley. He warned that Germany’s self-sufficiency in grain has been declining in recent years and even average harvests are no longer guaranteed.
Peter Röhrig, a board member of the German Association of Ecological Food Producers (BÖLW), observes a similar deterioration in grain quality within the organic farming sector. Röhrig notes that regions experiencing increased rainfall have seen a decline in the baking properties of grain, while other areas are anticipating improved qualities. He indicated that regional variations in harvest quality are becoming more pronounced.
