First a lot of rain, now a lot of sun: This has allowed the meadows to grow strongly. Our picture shows a farmer in Oberbierbach turning the grass. On the horizon, the church tower Großwimpasing peeks out. © Peter Bauersachs
First too wet, now too dry: the extreme weather conditions have consequences for agriculture. The vegetation is two weeks back. Now the grain would need water to germinate.
County – Farmers in the county are struggling with major challenges. The continuous rain has been followed by persistent drought for two weeks. Nurseries and hobby gardeners are also affected by this change in the weather. How does this affect yield and harvest?
"There has always been heavy rainfall, but these events have been increasing in recent years," explains Josef Schächtl, head of department at the Office for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (AELF) Ebersberg-Erding. According to him, with "70 to 80 liters per square meter", as much precipitation has fallen in a very short time as otherwise in a whole month. "That's rare so early," he says. Normally, such precipitation events are not expected until June or July. But unlike in previous years, this year there was a "wet, damp spring", which allowed the soil to soak up.
Farmers therefore had to be patient. This is because premature work would have led to soil compaction in deeper layers, which could have a negative effect on plant growth. Usually, corn, potatoes and soybeans in particular are grown in the spring and are most affected by prolonged rainfall. For example, the sowing of maize is currently "two to three weeks, sometimes even four weeks later," says Schächtl, but at the same time gives the all-clear. "With favourable weather in summer and autumn, maize can compensate for this."
But the farmers, who took advantage of the short window of good weather before the rain events, are now struggling with a crust in the fields that has to be broken open by machine.
BBV district chairman Jakob Maier reports on maize fields that had to be ploughed up and reseeded again after sowing. In some cases, farmers have switched to precocious varieties, where a lower yield is to be expected. Maier explains that the rain has delayed everything. "The vegetation is about two weeks back."
In addition, structural damage had occurred due to the persistent wetness. But "you have to take it as it comes, have patience and make individual decisions," says Maier. The weather was ideal for grassland pruning. And the "winter crops are also doing well outside," the BBV district chief has observed.
However, a lot of work has accumulated because the fields could not be driven on for so long. In order to make up for lost time, work is often done into the night. "Now it would be important to get some rain again," says Maier. This is because the grain needs water to germinate.
In the nurseries, too, some things have been postponed due to the heavy rain. It is true that Andrea Hagl "sold the spring flowers well". But this has it "completely washed out". That's why many customers are buying the summer bloomers much earlier this year. So far, the owner of the Hagl nursery in Erding does not expect any real damage.
Since the pandemic, the trend towards self-sufficiency has been much more noticeable. This is because fruit and vegetables from the supermarket are expensive, which is why the nursery is currently almost unable to keep up with the work.
"We are well on the way to recovering what April cost us," says Claudia Warneke. The perennial master of the Erdinger nursery Strohmair und Hirsch expects that there will be more planting after the Whitsun holidays.
Some customers have even taken care of the seedlings they bought early, and the nursery is also a good place to cope with the adverse weather conditions: "That's why no pot is thrown away."
At the Gauster nursery in Dorfen, customers initially shopped much more cautiously. But owner Robert Gauster is certain: "As soon as the weather is nice, it will be made up."
From his point of view, cold would have a much greater effect on the plants, and the rain, on the other hand, would even have been needed. Nor does he fear that there will be a significant delay in the harvest. "The early vegetables may be shifted by two weeks," says Gauster. In the case of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers, planting does not begin until the end of May anyway. There is even a real rush on cucumber plants at the moment. "Now everyone is coming at the same time," says the master gardener.