Drought since mid-June has destroyed roughly three million tonnes of grain and rapeseed in Germany, costing farmers about 600 million euros in lost revenue, after earlier reports of mixed regional conditions and pest-hit rapeseed crops.
The Deutscher Raiffeisenverband now expects a 2026 grain harvest of 40.6 million tonnes, down roughly 10 percent from 45 million tonnes last year. Southern states bear the heaviest toll, with grain losses reaching 20 percent in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria and the Deutscher Bauernverband warning of total crop failures in parts of the south. Schleswig-Holstein, by contrast, expects yields near last year's level. Wheat prices stand around 220 euros per tonne, while low river levels are hampering inland barge transport of grain.
The prolonged heat has also forced some farmers to slaughter livestock earlier than planned. Bauernverband president Joachim Rukwied has called for a tax-exempt risk reserve for farmers, higher EU fertiliser subsidies, and an advance of 80 percent of EU direct payments to October.