Despite the many thunderstorms and hailstorms in recent weeks, Bavarian farmers expect a good harvest. “The weather has largely played into the cards for the arable farmers this year, with the exception of the local storm events,” said the President of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, Walter Heidl, on Monday according to the announcement. It is therefore a “good growing season” for farmers who have been spared from damage. Regardless of this, Heidl expects storm damage on around 120,000 hectares – around three million hectares are used for agriculture in Bavaria. “After the frosty April, the coldest for 83 years, May brought so much rainfall in good time that the grain grew well,” said Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber, who was on the road with Heidl on this year’s harvest press trip.
Unlike in the three very dry previous years, enough rain has fallen everywhere in Bavaria this year. In 2020 it was only sufficiently humid for farmers in the south, while it had rained too little in all other parts of the country. Heidl criticized the tightened official and political requirements for agriculture in environmental protection and other areas. “Ever higher standards and higher costs in the field and in the barn mean that our farming families are gradually running out of air.” The BBV boss by no means only criticized politics. He accused many consumers of double standards. “If you want regionality and animal welfare, you have to act accordingly at the shop counter,” demanded Heidl for the voluntary renunciation of cheap food.