Russians wheat farmers to get a relief

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Published Jun 11, 2017

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London - Russia’s

wheat fields are expected to see warm, dry weather in the next two weeks, a

relief for farmers that have struggled with a cold and soggy planting season.

Wet fields of winter wheat will start drying out, which

would benefit the crop to be harvested next month, according to Commodity

Weather Group. Later in June, most models show rain will return,

which would replenish soil moisture and keep the crop in good shape, said

David Streit, a forecaster for the Bethesda, Maryland-based firm.

“Russia

has a good soil moisture supply in place going into this drier spell that the

wheat can tap into,” Streit said, adding that the dry weather will help prevent

disease.

Read also:  App ploughs link between small and big farmers 

Bad weather has lowered expectations for Russia’s total grains production,

and traders are closely watching weather forecasts ahead. Earlier this month,

the Agriculture Ministry cut production estimates to as low as 100 million

metric tons from a previous forecast of 110 million tons, according to a report

from Tass news service, which cited an interview with the minister.

Cold, Wet

Earlier in the year, cold weather in central and southern Russia, the

main areas for winter wheat, raised the risk of delays to the wheat and barley

harvest. It’s also possible that central and eastern Ukraine,

and central portions of Russia’s

North Caucasus could see lower yields, said

Kyle Tapley, a senior agricultural meteorologist at MDA Weather Services.

“I don’t see major problems for the winter wheat except for

some falling behind with vegetation, but it is not the major issue,” said

Dmitry Rylko, director general of Institute for Agricultural Market Studies in Moscow.

The weather could be a bigger problem for spring crops, such

as wheat, barley and corn, which are falling behind in planting and

development, he said.

In the spring-wheat areas of Volga

region and the Urals, the fields will likely remain cold and wet over the next

10 days, which could slow planting and early crop growth, said Tapley of MDA.

However, conditions could improve later in the season, he said.

Sowing of spring wheat, the smaller of the two main wheat

harvests in Russia,

are lagging behind last year’s pace. Plantings account for 12.5 million

hectares [30.9 million acres] as of June 2, compared with 13.3 million hectares

a year before, according to the Agriculture Ministry. Spring wheat, mainly

grown in Siberia, usually accounts for a third of Russia’s total harvest.

BLOOMBERG 

 

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