Vegetable farmers in Austria are once again battling extreme weather conditions this year, ranging from hail to flooding and drought. After a rainy spring, there is now “serious drought, which is causing high irrigation costs,” says Josef Moosbrugger, head of the Chamber of Agriculture.
250 million euros total damage
“Currently, the total damage to agriculture in Austria (in total, note) is 250 million euros, 150 million euros due to drought, 100 million due to frost, hail, storms and flooding,” explained hail insurance boss Kurt Weinberger in a press release on Tuesday. Agriculture almost everywhere except in the west is “facing dried-out fields in many cases due to the historic number of hot days.” According to hail insurance, drought damage is mainly affecting corn, sunflowers, soy, sugar beet and grassland.
The persistent heat and lack of rainfall have had a significant impact on vegetable cultivation this year. Despite irrigation, heat-sensitive crops such as cabbage are suffering severely from heat stress, which according to the Chamber of Agriculture leads to yield losses of up to 80 percent. Carrots, onions and sweetcorn are experiencing lower yields. According to Agriculture Treasurer Moosbrugger, pest problems are increasing in the heat. He considers criticism of plant protection products in this situation to be “incomprehensible and populist”.
One third fewer apples
In the 2024 fruit growing season, there were frost events in April that led to crop losses. Some farms were able to limit damage through frost protection measures, but for many the investment costs were too high, the Chamber of Agriculture said. For apples, the most important crop in Austrian fruit growing, only a third of the normal harvest is expected. In the last ten years, there have only been two normal harvest years.
A dry heat wave starting in July benefited the grain harvest, but damaged autumn crops such as corn, sugar beet, soybeans and sunflowers, some of which are already being harvested with poor yields. The full extent of the damage will only become apparent after the harvest, said the head of the Chamber of Agriculture.
Impact on the 2025 harvest
Farmers across Austria are complaining about “dormant” sugar beets that have not grown due to a lack of water. The drought is also affecting the 2025 harvest, as the rapeseed that has already been sown needs water to germinate. The lack of rainfall is now making this even worse.
The dry, hot summer of 2024 will also bring a relatively low wine harvest for Austria. The Chamber of Agriculture is expecting around 2 million hectoliters. If the extreme heat and drought continue, it could be a little less. However, very good quality is expected, said winegrowing association head Johannes Schmuckenschlager on Tuesday. The average harvest of the previous five years was 2.41 million hectoliters.
The scientific association Scientists4Future warned of increasing soil sealing in connection with the heat and drought problems. Studies predicted a fertility decline of 19 percent throughout Austria and of up to 50 percent in the east of the country. The approximately 150 scientists are now calling on the population to take action against soil destruction in order to secure food sovereignty, according to a press release.
