Rising costs, fickle weather may push farmers to skip summer grains
Facing soaring input costs and unpredictable weather, some Estonian farmers are weighing whether to plant summer grains at all this year.
Jõgeva County farmer Tõnis Soopalu grows grain on 300 hectares, mostly rented land.
"Sixty to seventy percent is winter crops," he said. "Summer grain doesn't grow reliably in Estonia's fickle climate."
Soaring fuel and fertilizer prices make summer crops an even riskier gamble.
"At today's input prices, summer wheat, summer barley, beans and peas would need yields rarely seen in Estonia just to break even," Soopalu explained, adding that summer barley and oats are particularly unprofitable.
"Oats used to be very popular," he said. "But the current price is around €158 a [metric] ton. I'd need a yield of seven tons a hectare for it to even be worth it."
'I'd rather recoup a small loss'
In Järva County, farmer Raido Allsaar grows 1,300 hectares of cereals and legumes, with only 10 percent dedicated to summer crops. Early signs of drought already appearing in his fields have him considering skipping summer crops altogether and planting more winter grains this fall instead.
"Even if summer grains could make a profit, it's marginal," Allsaar said. "And I'd rather take the small loss this year and recoup it next year."
Hannes Prits, director of the grain and rapeseed growers cooperative Kevili, said profitability depends on whether farmers already have enough fertilizer and slurry on hand.
"To put it bluntly, whoever didn't buy fertilizer at the right price in time likely isn't planting summer crops this year, given current market prices," Prits said.
Regardless, the coop chief said leaving summer crops unplanted this year will pose no threat to Estonia's food security.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla
