Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) estimates the harvest for 2022 at around 2.9 million tons. The grain yield is thus in line with the average for the past five years and exceeds the previous year’s level of 2.8 million tons. AMA CEO Günter Griesmayr cited the expansion of acreage and higher yields per hectare as reasons for the positive result.
Compared to the previous year, the area under cultivation increased in particular for spelt (+24 percent), durum wheat (+19 percent), winter barley (+6 percent) and rye (+4.8 percent). The area under cultivation of soft wheat – the crop with the largest share of the area in Austria – increased by 2.9 percent to 244,501 hectares. “All types of grain that are primarily required in food production were increasingly cultivated,” Griesmayr informed.
The areas under summer crops have fallen due to the weather. Spring barley (-19 percent) and oats (-16.7 percent) fell sharply. However, the largest decline was recorded in millet acreage at minus 21 percent. The area under corn has changed only slightly (-1.3 percent).
The choice of crops and the distribution of land was partly determined by the effects of the Ukraine war. Due to the skyrocketing prices for fertilizers, local farmers increasingly resorted to soybeans, which are less fertilizer-intensive. After an increase of 22.7 percent, the area under soybean cultivation reached a record level of 17,176 hectares this year.
With regard to the harvest volumes, growth in durum wheat (+31 percent), rye (+9.7 percent) and soft wheat (+8 percent) stand out. The grain obtained this year is of high quality and has good kneading and baking properties, the AMA reported.
Source: Nachrichten
