EU Crops off to “Fair Start” After Rapid Temperature Change

The European Union’s MARS weather forecasting agency says it’s been a fair start to the spring for winter crops in Europe. Cold spells in February were followed by warm weather that kick-started plant growth. A MARS monthly report says cold weather in southern Russia has likely caused some damage to winter crops. Temps in parts of western and northern Europe swung a long way, going from five degrees above zero to 59 degrees during February. The agency says, “The warm weather contributed to rapid snowmelt and the restart of growth and development after winter dormancy.” Based on trend models, MARS now says it expects 2021 yields to be higher than the disappointing yields of recent years. EU wheat sales will likely rise 3.1 percent year-over-year and 3.5 percent over the prior five-year average. Soil moisture levels shouldn’t be problematic for EU farmers, as even the eastern EU countries all have moisture levels above critical thresholds.