Corn yields will fall 16 percent below the five-year average, the EU's Agricultural Resources Monitoring Unit reported in an Aug. 22 report. That's a 7.8% drop from July's forecast.
Lower EU production is likely to raise the cost of feeding herds of livestock, adding obstacles for farmers struggling with hefty energy and fertilizer bills. Meat prices jumped 12% in July compared to July 2021. Milk, cottage cheese and egg prices are also rising at a record pace.
"The periods of water and heat stress partially coincided with the sensitive flowering and grain filling stages. This resulted in an irrevocable loss of yield potential," the USDA report said.
Earlier in August, the USDA said it expects the EU to overtake China as the world's largest corn buyer in the 2022|23 season.
Pastures are drying up across the continent, and many countries are limiting irrigation. According to MARS, most of France, which is one of the leaders in EU agriculture, had less than 20 mm of rainfall from July to mid-August, and twice as many hot days.
PigUA.info by agravery.com