After a particularly dry and hot summer, "the harvest results for summer crops are below usual yields", announced the Ministry of Agriculture in a press release on Monday evening, after a fourth committee to monitor the situation of drought in agriculture.

Corn would experience its “weakest harvest since 1990”, according to forecasts by the ministry's statistics service, with 11.3 million tonnes of grain corn produced.

In detail, the production of grain corn, mainly used to feed livestock, fell by 17.1% on September 1 compared to the 5-year average and by 25.4% compared to 2021.

“Lasting” consequences?

The balance sheet of grass growth, which feeds ruminants, is also in deficit: “While on September 20 the cumulative growth normally reached 88% of the annual reference growth, it was only 59% this year. “, said the ministry.

“The consequences for agriculture of this 2022 drought (…) could be long-lasting and weigh on the decline of perennial crops or the decapitalization of livestock at the end of next winter”, declared in the press release Marc Fesneau, Minister of l 'Agriculture.

To support dairy farming, particularly exposed to the consequences of the drought and the heat wave, and the most vulnerable farmers, compensation will be paid to them “from the beginning of November”, a period advanced “by several months compared to the usual calendar. ".

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