IN GERMANY, about 75% of wheat has been harvested, while winter barley is about 90% complete although further interruptions due to rain are expected.

Yields are better in the later harvested northern and eastern regions than in the south, however grain quality is deteriorating due to heavy rain. Sources believe a significant amount of rye will not be of bread-making quality, while wheat quality is also lower. The later-harvesting regions may still see reasonable amounts of milling wheat.

Wheat and barley harvest is now complete in Spain with the severe drought having had a significant impact on production levels.
The hot weather is now affecting maize production, as temperatures reached above 35C while the crop was at the
crucial flowering stage.

Wet weather has disrupted the Swedish harvest, and concerns about grain quality are growing, although details of yields and quality are not yet available.

Heavy rainfall which fell over northern Greece in July does not appear to have affected the winter grain crop as the rain reportedly arrived after much of the harvest was completed.

Although the Irish barley harvest is complete, very heavy rain during August in the south has affected the winter barley crop, lowering yields and leading to some quality concerns.

Winter barley production is now estimated at 1m tonnes (1.3m tonnes in 2004).Yields and quality reportedly vary widely depending on region, according to Strategie Grains. Wheat production is also lower, with yields at about 9.4t/ha (9.9t/ha in 2004).