The harvest is not yet completely complete; some sugar beets and corn are still in the fields. What is already certain, however, is that this year there will only be an average to below-average autumn harvest for Upper Austria’s arable farmers: the yield of grain corn will be eleven tons per hectare, compared to the long-term average of 11.2 tons. The harvest volume is expected to fall by four percent to 532,000 tons. The average year for soybeans was also 63,300 tons, as Helmut Feitzlmayr, director of crop production at the Upper Austrian Chamber of Agriculture (LKOÖ), said at a press conference on Tuesday. The volume of oil pumpkin rose by eleven percent to 1,330 tons, and there was also an increase in the area under cultivation.
“Agricultural farmers have to deal with two major challenges this year. On the one hand with the weather and on the other hand with the poor price level,” said Franz Waldenberger, President of the LKOÖ: The extreme weather damage in Upper Austria this year amounts to 33 million euros, around 75 percent of which is accounted for Heat and drought. The harvest in our state this year was divided into two parts: the northeastern part in particular suffered from heat from mid-July onwards. The harvest started earlier in the affected areas, while in most western parts of the country it began at the end of September and resulted in good yields. There was also more regular rainfall here. The damage caused by the flood in September plays a minor role in Upper Austria: only three percent of the total damage can be attributed to this.
According to Waldenberger, the prices for grain corn and soy have also settled at a low level this year: 185 to 200 euros net per ton were paid for grain corn in October. Contract prices of 400 to 140 euros per tonne were already offered for soy in the spring: these did not rise any further until the harvest. At the same time, the costs of operating resources have increased.
Image: LKÖÖ
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Image: LKÖÖ
The challenge this year is also big for beet farmers: there are 1,160 beet farmers in Upper Austria. However, as reported, the removal of the harvest started with a delay and reduced capacity due to the flood damage in Lower Austria and the closure of the western route. As of today, October 15th, deliveries are running at 100 percent capacity again, which corresponds to around 160 rail wagons daily. Although the cultivated area has increased to 9,500 hectares this year (an increase of 1,400 hectares year-on-year), “however, it was the drought that slowed down growth, and the high level of rainfall has recently led to a decline in the sugar content of the beets,” says Feitzlmayr. In addition, higher supply in the EU, imports from Ukraine and a decline in consumption are leading to a fall in sugar prices by around a third to 850 euros per ton.
The year was also bad for vegetable farmers, especially for the varieties that were harvested after July: for example, a disappointing yield or lower quality is expected for cabbage vegetables this year. The reason here is also capricious weather. According to Feitzlmayr, 2024 was an average year overall, “but the beauty of farming is that the game starts over again every year.”
