Groundwater in the soil is at critical levels following the dry and sunny spring, farmers say.
The regular sowing and fertilizing work for the time of year is ongoing, but the weather through the rest of May will have a crucial impact on this year’s harvest. Rising input costs are also a factor.
“Water reserves in the soil are at a critical level. The first three months of the year brought only 25 to 30 percent of normal precipitation, and April reached 60 percent. At the same time, there has been a lot of sunshine, which means water and moisture have evaporated. The decisive month now is May. If May is dry, it will definitely result in a poor harvest year,” Ants-Hannes Viira, head of agricultural policy at the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce (Põllumajandus-kaubanduskeskus), told “Aktuaalne kaamera.”
Another factor is the high cost of fertilizers.
Jõgeva County farmer Tõnis Soopalu cultivates cereals, but is having to consider more carefully whether to fertilize his winter crops. He has also been having to roll the soil to compact it down, in order to retain moisture in the soil.
“If no moisture comes, there’s no point in applying more fertilizer to winter crops — that way I can save money. Fertilizer is very expensive this year, and rash decisions can’t be made. The price has risen from €350 per ton to €500 per ton, so at this price fertilizing some crops is already highly in doubt, especially with the risk of drought,” Soopalu said.
Romet Rässa, who operates in Kastre Rural Municipality, to the southeast of Tartu, told “Aktuaalne kaamera” he had also started rolling spring crops in the fields,
“We have been seeing that there has been very little additional moisture this spring, while the forecast for summer also suggests we are expecting a rather dry season. The idea behind the rolling is that we compact the dry soil from above to preserve even the small amount of moisture currently in the ground. In a year with normal moisture conditions, this wouldn’t be necessary,” Rässa noted.
Soopalu said this rolling is one of the less energy-intensive field operations, though still involves significant costs on larger fields. This again is due to higher input costs, in this case of fuel, though the benefits still so far outweigh those costs, he said.
The price of grain products to consumers is determined by global market prices, which, Viira said, may fall a little.
“Current forecasts suggest that global grain yields may decrease by a couple of percent this year, and that should certainly be reflected in prices by autumn,” he said.
A dry spring in 2023 prompted the government to declare an emergency situation in the agricultural sector.
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