A new report from France says the nation is facing a ‘catastrophic’ 30-year low in wheat yields. The Agriculture Ministry for France, the European Union’s biggest grain producer, says the country is heading for its worst wheat harvest in three decades due to heavy rains and a lack of sunlight. Wheat output is projected to fall by 30 percent from the 2015 harvest to 29.1 million metric tons, the lowest level since the drought year of 1986. A local farmers union says some farms are bracing for a 75 percent drop in production. The drop in French production comes at a period of high output in other wheat-producing countries, which has led to a fall in world prices, further adding to the woes of French farmers. France is currently the top wheat exporter in the EU, but that status is in jeopardy.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.
Image: Fields of wheat with Mont Aiguille, Vercors, France