catastrophic maize harvests following the drought

In Berneuil-en-Bray (Oise), Bertrand Tourard’s corn no longer grows. It should reach three meters in height, but is barely taller than him. He will harvest for the first time a month in advance. Due to the drought, he estimates that he is losing 50% of his harvest. “The cob is much smaller. We have almost a quarter of the corn cob less”, he comments. The lack of water and the successive heat waves prevented the grain from growing. “Instead of having 100 tonnes per hectare in a conventional year, we will go down to 50 tonnes per hectare, so twice as much corn as a normal year”he comments.

The exceptional drought will lead to a catastrophic harvest. Everywhere in France, the report is without appeal. The harvest should be at a historically low level: 10.5 million tonnes, 30% less than in previous years. The decline in production particularly affects breeders. Xavier Philippart feeds his dairy cows with corn all year round, and cannot do without it. “Half of his food is maize, and we need about 1,500 tonnes of that to be able to feed this herd”, he comments. His stocks are not sufficient, so he will have to buy it for twice as much from the neighboring cereal farmer.