Giving thanks for our crops
Today it is thanksgiving in the U.S.. It is a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest. A day to be grateful for the food that nature provides and of course to the farmers that make it happen! As with many things there are good years and bad years. So how were this year’s harvests? Let’s have a look:
Europe
The total grain crop in Europe for 2020 was 294m mt. This was slightly down on the 2019 harvest. Of this, the wheat crop amounts to 130m mt, barley to 62m mt, and corn to 64m mt. The volume of rapeseed harvested in 2020 was approximately 17 m mt. Drought conditions across Europe lowered the expected harvested volumes per hectare this year. In the Ukraine producers had an exceptionally good harvest of 35m mt of corn and 26m mt of wheat.
Americas
In the US corn production this year amounted to 380m mt while soybean production stood at 117m mt during 2020. These yields set all-time high records for wheat and second largest for soybeans. Brazil soybean production reached a record 133 m mt, while in Argentina soybean volumes were 51 m mt, down 9% from the previous harvest due to drought and a reduction in area planted. In Canada with favorable weather prevailing this year the volume of soybean production was 6 m mt while wheat yields are up 6% to 34 m mt. Production in Argentina was approximately 18m mt, while in Mexico 27 m mt of corn was harvested along with 3m mt of wheat.
Asia
In China, the 2020 wheat harvest was 134m mt while the corn harvest was reported at 261m mt: a slight increase on the previous year’s levels. In Russia, above average crop yields were seen during 2020, with 82m mt of wheat and 14m mt of corn harvested. Total cereal crop output for Russia was 126m mt and a very positive 8% above the five year average!
India saw record production levels during 2020 at around 107mt of wheat. This extraordinary output was due to increased plantings as a result of government supports AND favorable weather conditions. In Pakistan favorable weather, ample irrigation and input supplies saw very favorable harvests for wheat (25m mt) and corn (6 m mt). Indonesia produced 26m mt of corn during the 2020 harvest.
Talking weather = talking shop
For farmers talking about the weather IS talking business. Judging by this overall report this season has been favorable in more places than not. So this thanksgiving we have plenty to be thankful for! Thank you to all the farmers who make it happen.
Successful harvests are always good news. But make sure we get to enjoy them by preserving the crops in storage. Store them well and protect them from yeasts, molds, mycotoxins and loss of nutritional value by using smart mold inhibitors.