Severe drought is devastating harvests across the Czech Republic, with grain yields falling 30 to over 40 percent in many regions and the country's basic cereal output expected to drop 16.9 percent year-on-year to 6.39 million tonnes. More than half of Czech territory faces exceptional to extreme drought, the worst in decades, prompting farmers to begin feeding livestock early amid fears of hay and straw shortages.
In neighbouring Germany, conditions are mixed. Farmers in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern report satisfaction with the completed barley harvest, but rapeseed crops suffer from pest infestations including flea beetles and midges, with heavily affected produce relegated to biogas plants. Late June heat stunted wheat grains during formation.
Meanwhile, sugar beet diseases spreading in southern Germany are expected to cut sugar output by a third compared to last year.