France: Wheat harvest showing uneven results, barley should meet malting requirements – farm office

This year's rain-affected French soft wheat harvest was showing uneven results for test weights, a key measure of milling quality, farm office FranceAgriMer said on August 16.

Heavy summer rain in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, has slowed field work and led to some low readings for quality criteria, with concerns centred on test weights.

"In terms of quality, results are particularly contrasting this year because of the weather context," FranceAgriMer said of soft wheat in a harvest note with crop institutes Arvalis and Terres Inovia.

Hot weather during the grain-filling growth stage followed by wet conditions when soft wheat was waiting to be cut led to the mixed test weights, it said.

Test weights were particularly weak in soft wheat gathered after rainfall, it said, adding, however, that initial harvesting in the northern Hauts-de-France region was showing satisfactory test weights.

The office did not give any figures on test weights, but said additional sorting of grain would be necessary.

Grain group Soufflet estimated last week that only 35% of soft wheat it had collected met the 76 kilos per hectolitre milling standard.

Regarding other soft wheat quality criteria, Hagberg falling numbers were satisfactory overall, despite some weak results due to the weather, while protein content was varied but generally satisfactory to high, FranceAgriMer said.

The office is due to give detailed quality results, including figures, in the coming weeks.

For durum wheat, used in pasta, quality results were mixed, includinglow Hagberg falling numbers in some regions, it said.

For barley, winter and spring varieties were showing protein levels that should meet malting requirements. Winter crop was showing low test weights that would not affect use in livestock feed, the office said.

For rapeseed, oil content was expected to be in line with or slightly below the five-year average, it added.

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