French winter barley rated 94pc good, soft wheat sowing nears end

PARIS: Nearly all winter barley in France was in good condition as of Monday while sowing of soft wheat, the country’s main cereal crop, was almost complete, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday.

A mix of showers and sunny spells since last month has helped field work in the European Union’s biggest grain-producing state, though a drought that decimated maize crops persists in some regions.

In its first published ratings for recently sown winter barley, the office estimated that 94 percent of crops were in good or excellent condition by November 9.

That was nonetheless down from 96 percent a week earlier and 98 percent a year ago. Farmers had sown 93 percent of this year’s soft wheat crop by Monday, up from 83 percent a week earlier, the office added in a cereal crop report.

Soft wheat sowing progress was ahead of the 88 percent level a year ago and an average of 82 percent for the same week in the past five years.

For durum wheat, the niche variety notably used for pasta, sowing accelerated last week, with 70 percent of the expected area planted against 24 percent the previous week. That was well ahead of year-ago progress of 44 percent and the five-year average of 37 percent.

Showers this week followed by more widespread rain forecast for next week could boost early growth of newly sown crops. France’s geological office, however, has warned that above-average rainfall will be needed this winter to replenish groundwater reserves, most of which were below normal levels in October.