Increased expenditure
A very poor harvest: “Farmers have too little left”
Grain, fruit, vegetables - Carinthia's yields have fallen sharply this year. As the prices for seed, diesel and fertilizer are also rising, farmers are left with less and less!
"We have the worst grain harvest for many years. Even if things are looking a little better for soybeans, the 2024 harvest is far below average overall," complains Siegfried Huber, head of the Chamber of Agriculture, at the harvest review.
In addition, expenses for seed, fertilizer and fuel have also increased. "This simply leaves our farmers with too little," continued Huber. "We represent a total of 18,000 farms, and there was already a drop in income in the previous year."
Above all, the capricious weather and climate change are to blame for the low yields. "Precipitation was particularly high in the fall of 2023, at the time of sowing for wheat, rye and other cereals," explains Erich Roscher, Head of Crop Production. "High temperatures in March and April ensured an early start to vegetation. We even measured 30 degrees in the Drau Valley. However, frost followed in April and 20 hot days in August, when temperatures were four degrees above average." As a result, there was a 19 percent drop in grain yields. "The maize harvest is still ongoing, but from today's perspective it is below average, while the soybean harvest is still good overall."
When a weak harvest meets high producer prices, farmers are simply left with too little. We have demands such as tax-privileged agricultural diesel and an end to bureaucracy on farms for the new government.
Siegfried Huber, Präsident Landwirtschaftskammer Kärnten
Fruit growing has also seen lower harvests this year, with stone and soft fruit in particular falling victim to the weather conditions. Winegrowers are also complaining about a low harvest yield, although the fall still ensured excellent quality.
Incidentally, organic farmland is growing steadily in Carinthia. Around 11,800 hectares are currently farmed organically.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Da dieser Artikel älter als 18 Monate ist, ist zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt kein Kommentieren mehr möglich.
Wir laden Sie ein, bei einer aktuelleren themenrelevanten Story mitzudiskutieren: Themenübersicht.
Bei Fragen können Sie sich gern an das Community-Team per Mail an forum@krone.at wenden.