Drought and heat waves will cut corn yields in half in Europe than predicted in July, ProAgro Group reported, citing UkrAgroConsult.
Corn yields will fall 16 percent below the five-year average, the EU’s Agricultural Resources Monitoring Unit said in an Aug. 22 report. That’s a 7.8% drop from the July forecast.
The decline in EU production is likely to raise the cost of feeding cattle herds, adding obstacles for farmers struggling with hefty energy and fertilizer bills. Meat prices jumped 12% in July compared to July 2021. Milk, cottage cheese and egg prices are also rising at a record pace.
“The periods of water and heat stress partially coincided with the sensitive flowering and grain filling stages. This led to an irrevocable loss of yield potential,” the EU report said.
