First harvest in the Duchy of Lauenburg: winter barley under pressure!

Landwirte im Herzogtum Lauenburg beginnen mit der Gerteideernte 2025, trotz schwankender Erträge und niedriger Preise.
Farmers in the Duchy of Lauenburg begin with the gross harvest in 2025, despite fluctuating yields and low prices. (Symbolbild/MND)

First harvest in the Duchy of Lauenburg: winter barley under pressure!

In the beautiful Duchy of Lauenburg, the first farmers have started their thresher and are now starting with the harvest of the winter barley. As the district farmers' association reports, the starting signal for this year's harvest has been given, and the first fields are already being harvested. In bright sunshine and high temperatures, the ripening of the crops is quickly progressed. Association leader Peter Koll explains that the weather conditions have a significant influence on this year's harvest.

However, a mixed picture is shown in the fields, because while in some locations the yields are on average to good, others fight with the consequences of drought during the month of April and May. Here the water supply and the soil conditions were not optimal, which leads to lower yields. In addition, prices for barley are currently low, since there are currently sufficient grain worldwide and the markets are well cared for.

harvest yields in comparison

Destatis , the harvests were 39 million tons of cereals in 2024. That is 8 % less than in the previous year. Around 10.6 million tons were harvested in the winter barley, which represents a decline of almost 4 % compared to 2023.

Overall, the hectare yield for winter barley has fallen to 67.9 Decitons, which is 3 % below the previous year's value of 70.1 Decitons. With regard to winter wheat production, there was a significant decline of 16 %, which says a lot about the challenges of the last harvest period. With 17.8 million tons, winter wheat also dropped significantly less than in the previous year.

regional application and meaning

In northern Germany, the winter barley is mostly used as a high -quality pig feed. This will probably continue to play an important role, especially if you look at the current market conditions. The farmers are required to adapt their strategies and, if necessary, to break new ground.

Overall, it turns out that the agricultural land Germany faces challenges, but also offers opportunities. Agricultural companies have to react flexibly to market developments and at the same time keep an eye on the quality of their products. In Duchy of Lauenburg it remains exciting to see how the ongoing harvest develops!

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OrtHerzogtum Lauenburg, Deutschland
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