Europe's Winter Grain Planting Gets a Weather Break

Europe's farmers are having a better time planting winter grains this year. The weather has been kinder than in the past two years. This could mean more stable grain areas, even though prices are low. The early part of October was dry. This let farmers plant a lot before the wetter weather came. The rain that's coming should help the crops grow. Soft wheat is Europe's main grain crop. Experts think the area planted with it will stay about the same. Rapeseed might see more planting because it's more profitable than grains. Spring barley and maize could see less planting. Last year and the year before, rain made planting hard. But the end of autumn last year was dry. This helped wheat and barley crops recover. In France, farmers have planted over half of the expected soft wheat area. They've also planted nearly three-quarters of winter barley by October 20. This is ahead of the average for the past five years.Experts say the conditions for planting soft wheat and winter barley are good. There's enough moisture but not too much water. Soft wheat and winter barley areas might grow a bit in France. Rapeseed could see bigger gains. In Germany, planting is almost done. The weather has been good. There might be little change in grain crop areas. Rapeseed could see a small increase. In Britain, field work has gone well. Winter sowing is already finished in some regions. Farmers hope to plant winter cereals as planned. This hasn't been possible in recent years because of extreme weather. Major changes in crop areas aren't expected. But rapeseed might expand after a good harvest. In Poland, winter wheat and rapeseed sowing might fall slightly. A delayed maize harvest could limit winter wheat sowing. This could lead to more spring barley and spring wheat. Farmer dissatisfaction with rapeseed prices might also reduce its area.