We started the winter barley harvest in mid-July with hope, only to experience a three-week harvest break due to heavy rain. Since then, only isolated threshing days have been possible; the wheat could only be harvested in stages with greatly reduced qualities and on 1 September, spring barley and spring oats as well as part of the field beans are still standing.
In such difficult years it seems even more important to make our arable farming even more resilient and resistant. The future of agriculture is largely shaped by climate change and other stressors such as new pests and diseases, as well as an increasing focus on bioeconomic aspects. The crop production systems of the future must integrate solutions for sustainable, resource-, climate- and environmentally friendly arable farming and still enable effective and high-yield farming to ensure food production.
The challenge is big!
