Harvests will fall significantly in Germany this year due to the hot and dry climate, the German Farmers Association (DBV) warned on Wednesday.
Citing effects of climate change as witnessed during an ongoing heatwave in Europe, the DBV downgraded its forecast for grain yield in 2018 once again from 41 million tons to 36 million tons. Earlier, DBV vice-secretary general Udo Hemmerling had already described the development of German crop output in the current year as the "worst harvest of the century."
As a consequence, the industry association reiterated its demand for financial assistance from the government to prevent widespread bankruptcies. "Based on the reports we have received from regional farmer associations the conditions which must be met for financial aid to be obtained from state governments are clearly fulfilled in the worst-affected regions," DBV President Joachim Rukwied said.
Among others, Rukwied pointed out that the drought experienced in recent months would make it more difficult for farmers to feed their livestock. Arid conditions have led to widespread corn crop failures in Germany, depriving the local agricultural industry of a key source of feed. Similarly, wheat yields for 2018 currently are 25 percent below the average output measured by the BVD during the previous five years.
The average temperature in July was 20.2 degrees Celsius, the fifth-highest for the month since the beginning of measurements. However, even greater damage was done to farmers by a simultaneous shortage of rain. Precipitation was only half the long-run monthly average at 40 liters per square-meter.
Commenting on the ongoing heatwave which has gripped Germany and much of Europe, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) has highlighted that temperatures which were still considered unusual for July could become normality in Europe within the coming decades.
"In Germany, average temperatures have already risen by 1.4 degrees since the industrial revolution," PIK researcher Fred Hattermann told press. Higher average temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions were hereby likely to lead to more extreme heatwaves in the future.
Julia Kloeckner (CDU), the German minister for agriculture, recently told press that she was very concerned about the effects of the drought, from which many farmers, especially in northern and eastern Germany, are suffering. Representatives of the German federal and state-level government are holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss potential policy responses to address the damage created by the heatwave.
