As predicted

[Old Rocks]

A change in climate, in the winds and precipitation patterns that create climate, has always been the focus of the danger of global warming. For our agriculture depends on the climate.

Russian grain harvest could fall 38% y-o-y - Putin | Russia | RIA Novosti

Russia's grain harvest in 2010 may total just 60 million metric tons, or 38% less than last year, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a government presidium meeting.

"According to the latest Agriculture Ministry forecasts, the harvest will be much more modest than we assumed at the beginning of the year. It could total 65 or even 60 million tons," Putin said, adding that Russia's domestic grain requirements for 2010 amounted to 78 million tons.
A total of 97.1 million tons of grain was harvested in 2009.

The Russian government announced a ban on the export of grain and grain products on Thursday due to the worsening drought

 

[Old Rocks]

Sweden set for worst grain harvest in 15 years - The Local

Sweden is set to experience the worst grain harvest in 15 years due to adverse weather conditions during the sowing season and the summer, according to a new forecast from the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket).


Fungal disease threatens Swedish wheat harvest (4 Aug 10)
Summer drought threatens harvest (13 Jul 10)
Israeli military admits to organ harvesting (21 Dec 09)
The board forecasts that the total grain harvest for 2010 is set to amount to 4.8 million tonnes, around 8 percent lower that 2009 and around 3 percent down on the average for the past five years.

"This would thus mean the lowest overall harvest of grain since 1995," the board wrote in a statement on Thursday.

The board outlines the reasons for the poor harvest in the growth of the proportion of oil-yielding crops, such as rape seed, and its impact on acreage used for grains. Furthermore the cold winter and warm, dry summer have impacted the size of anticipated harvest.

Changeable weather during the cultivation season, combined with snow covered fields has impacted autumn crops while the dry hot summer has primarily hit sensitive soil, affecting growth, the board explained

 

[Old Rocks]

Grain Harvest in Germany May Slump 12% After Drought, Flooding Hits Crops - Bloomberg

Germany, the European Union’s second-biggest wheat grower, will likely follow Russia in reporting a slump in grain harvests this year after crops were stricken by both drought and flooding, a farmers group said.

Grain harvests will fall to 43.9 million tons in 2010 from 49.7 million tons last year, the DBV German Farmers Association said today in an e-mailed statement. Prices for some grains have increased, including wheat for making bread, which has risen to 181 euros ($230) a ton from 107 euros in March.

Like many European countries, Germany experienced record temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) accompanied by drought in June and July, followed by heavy rains in August, the DBV said. Russia declared a drought emergency in 32 crop-producing regions this month and slashed its grain crop forecast to 60 million to 65 million metric tons because of water scarcity.

 

[Old Rocks]

Canadian Wheat Harvest to Drop 21%, USDA Unit Says - BusinessWeek

Adds barley and oats forecasts starting in sixth paragraph.)

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s wheat production will drop 21 percent in the year ending July 31 because of excess rain in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Output will fall to 20.9 million metric tons from 26.5 million a year earlier, the USDA’S Foreign Agricultural Service said in a statement posted today on its website. Statistics Canada said on June 23 that production will drop 7.1 percent to 22.7 million.

Exports will decline 16 percent to 15.5 million tons from a year earlier, the USDA unit said. Wheat futures in Chicago have surged 70 percent from this year’s low on June 9 because of adverse weather in Russia, other parts of Europe and Canada. Last year, the U.S. was the world’s biggest shipper, followed by Canada.

 

[Old Rocks]

Here in the US we are doing well this year. Even though there will be a price increase in the cost of bread and beer, our farmers will do very well. A good crop, and even better prices.

However, looking to the future, the type of conditions that have created the bad harvests in Russia, Pakistan, and other nations could happen here just as easily, and are likely to as the patterns of wind and precipitation become more unstable.