France: Winter barley and soft wheat condition declines slightly in France

The condition of French soft wheat and winter barley declined slightly last week, though most crops were in a good state ahead of winter, data farm office FranceAgriMer said on December 6.

Farmers in France, the European Union's biggest grain producer, are wrapping up soft wheat and winter barley planting. A drier November let growers make up for earlier rain delays that had threatened a repeat of last year's waterlogged campaign that ended with the smallest wheat harvest since the 1980s.

Some 86% of French soft wheat was rated in good or excellent condition as of Dec. 2, down from 87% a week earlier but up from 77% a year ago, FranceAgriMer said in a weekly cereal report.

The rating was nonetheless the second-lowest for the period in the past five years, suggesting some crops may have suffered from the soggy start to the growing season.

For winter barley, 83% of the crop was rated as in good or excellent condition, down from 84% the previous week and approaching the year-earlier score of 81%.

Soft wheat sowing was 96% complete while winter barley sowing was 99% done, with progress for both crops slightly ahead of the five-year average, FranceAgriMer's data showed.

For durum wheat, the variety used in pasta and which can be sown later than soft wheat, 78% of the expected area had been drilled, ahead of a five-year average of 72% for the same week.

Maize harvesting, which has also recovered from rain delays earlier in autumn, was 94% complete by Monday compared with a five-year average of 98%.

FranceAgriMer's next cereal report will be in mid-February after the winter dormancy period for crops.