Harvest’s in the air
Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture
It has been a very busy summer as always with the smell of the harvest in the air and the tractors and combines going at full speed. I know most of my colleagues are also taking the time to relax and recharge their batteries away from Bruxelles. Myself, I have gone back to my farm in Denmark which is now run by my daughter and her husband.
I have been demoted or should I say promoted, to fetching and carrying this year, to the most important job on the farm keeping everyone fully fuelled with sandwiches and plenty of coffee. I do miss driving the tractors but it has also allowed me time to spend with my grandchildren, and I value that highly.
We are still not done with the wheat harvest as the weather has been trying its best to interrupt the process with frequent rain. I see that most of the Northern and Central part has been affected the same as we have by rain which makes it a stop start exercise in patience, with the early wheat harvest being impacted by the weather in terms of output and quality.
According to some market reports, the rape seed market seems to have been plunging rapidly down with a better than expected harvest. I also see that the barley yield and quality is very good this season with between a good increase in yield and an anticipated surplus for the harvest. It is always great to have a good harvest and see the grain sheds full but it does have an influence on the market.
The biggest drawback has been the sad news from our southern European Member States that are struggling with the ever recurrent problem of forest fires. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. The damages are heart-breaking and I would like to take the opportunity to send my thoughts of encouragement to those touched by the fires.
As I said earlier, it has been a very busy summer at the farm. I am sure that all farmers will agree with me that there is a certain satisfaction in seeing the result of months of hard labour. For those who are not spending their holidays harvesting, I would recommend that you take a detour into the countryside to watch the work in the fields. There is no thing like harvest in the year of a farmer. It’s is an extremely fascinating time - regardless of whether you get to drive the tractor or not!
By Mariann Fischer Boel, European Commissioner for Agriculture
http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/fischer-boel/
Tags: agriculture, harvest, summer