Rainy July Weather May Reduce Grain Yields

In early July, Ukraine experienced warm, rainy weather with thunderstorms and hail. As predicted by the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (NAAS), this could negatively affect the grain yield in the 2021 season.

It is reported that precipitation of varying intensity was observed in different regions of the country. For example, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, there were protracted downpours for 2-3 days. In the Kherson region, showers with thunderstorms, sometimes with hail with a diameter of up to 10 mm were observed.

The NAAS reported that heavy rains caused local lodging and soaking of winter and early grain crops. Fungal infections were also observed. This can lead to a decrease in cereal yields. The NAAS states that farmers are obliged to take such phenomena into account when preparing for harvesting. It is necessary to foresee in advance the possible costs of collecting fallen crops.

The Ukrhydrometeorological Center reported that at the end of June, in a number of regions of Ukraine, excessive soil moisture was observed in a number of regions, including the Kyiv region, Donetsk region, Sumy region, and Chernihiv region. On the contrary, in the Poltava region, Cherkasy region, and Luhansk region, moisture reserves were assessed as insufficient.

As of July 13, winter cereals in all regions of Ukraine, except for the southern regions, are in the phase of “milky-wax ripeness”. In the southern regions of the country, winter crops have already entered the stage of “full ripeness”. However, farmers from the southern regions cannot fully harvest due to bad weather.